Package Management for Windows

[icekin]

Linux had had great package management for quite some time with apt-get, emerge and the like. But, I think the fact that most of the software is Open Source makes it easy to hold a central repository that integrates well with the OS. I've recently been interesting in using this feature on Windows. I never realized that there may be tools out there to do this until I came across FileHippo Update Checker.

Through Wikipedia alone, I've found the following :

1) AppUpdater (http://www.nabber.org/projects/appupdater/)

2) Windows-Get (http://windows-get.sourceforge.net/)

3) Get-It (http://puchisoft.com/GetIt/)

4) AppSnap (http://appsnap.genotrance.com/) - This one works with FARR as a plugin, it seems.

5) VersionTracker (http://www.versiontracker.com/windows/)

6) AppGet (http://www.app-get.com/)

7) FileHippo Update Checker (http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/) - Not strictly a package manager, but fetches information about new programs.

8) WinPackman (http://www.winpackman.org/)

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IDEA:

Ideally, I would like to see a package manager integrated with a uninstall utility like Revo Uninstaller (http://www.revouninstaller.com/). Maybe this could be done through FARR, so that you can for example, type 'uninstall software-A and update package information'.

Revo would then run, uninstall software-A, clean up leftover registry entries. One of the above package managers would then run, update the list of Add/Remove programs and then fetch information about new programs, organized into categories. Users can then pick a new one and hit install.
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So, which ones do the DC users prefer and why? Maybe we can do a mini or full length review on this one.

[moonwatcher]

One more to add to your list:

9) UpdateStar (http://www.updatestar.com)

[tinjaw]

I think this is as good as any to explain one reason why apt-get, yum, etc. work. It is not apt-get, yum or any other program if its nature. It isn't even because they are *nix-based. The only reason it works is, well... It's the data, stupid! There is absolutely no way you are going to get the necessary participation of the enormous amount of Windows developers to 1) conform to one standard, let alone a dozen 2) provide the necessary data in a timely manner to keep the backends current, or 3) in this day and age of spyware, malware, etc. get people to trust such a mechanism.

Just look at how long PAD files and PAD databases have been around. There is even an officially sanction means published by the ASP on how to extend PAD files. It is trivial to make an extension to the PAD file to provide the necessary message format. It is easy to say everybody should package their installers as MSIs as that is an official Microsoft standard that is supported by open source tools available from Microsoft. But there are a baker's dozen of formats used.

Until there is an economic reason for this to happen, it won't.

[icekin]

I think this is as good as any to explain one reason why apt-get, yum, etc. work. It is not apt-get, yum or any other program if its nature. It isn't even because they are *nix-based. The only reason it works is, well... It's the data, stupid!

tinjaw, while the *nix level of close integration will be hard to achieve, what I actually want to achieve is far simpler. I just need

1) A system to check for new software updates and inform me
2) The system should take me to the corresponding page and let me download the programs
3) It should show me the list of add/remove programs and let me uninstall what I don't want
4) It should list programs based on category rather than as a single long list

The neat thing about *nix package management is the way it handles dependencies and automatically gets the required modules to run the program as well. I am not looking for this feature since most windows programs automatically check and tell you if any other tools (e.g. JRE .NET Framework) are needed.

The grouping of packages is already done by some of the tools listed above. I am having exams over the next month, so I will probably write a review on this by early January, unless someone else wants to do it.

[joandark]

another free software that fits in this category is Update Notifier ( http://cleansofts.org/view/update-notifier.html )