[wpkg-users] Blacklist package(s)

[Rainer Meier]

Hi Tomasz,

Tomasz Chmielewski wrote:
> The idea is good, but currently, there is no way to implement it.

And I see some possible problems and lots of support requests with 
"strange WPKG behavior" reports if it would be implemented. It's simply 
not transparent enough and could lead to random unexpected WPKG 
behavior. Please see my answer for a possible solution which is already 
possible.


> The closest you can do it to make a special script as an installation 
> command, which will start a proper installation depending on host name, 
> motherboard, hardware version etc.

In fact this is also a way I already used. The package install command 
might not run the installer directly but a small CMD script which 
determines if the package will not work on this host and then simply 
omit it.

One could combine that even with checks. For example the package could 
specify a check that either an uninstall entry OR a specific file like 
"c:\windows\installed-pkgXY" should exist.

A CMD script can then be called within the install command definition of 
the package. This CMD script either runs the silent installer or it 
writes a dummy file at "c:\windows\installed-pkgXY".
As a result package checks return "true" and the package is "known to be 
installed properly" to WPKG and the system administrator. If a later 
version of the software fixes the problem then a simple update of the 
package removing the check for "c:\windows\installed-pkgXY" will do the 
trick and WPKG will install the package on previously incompatible nodes 
too.

br,
Rainer