IzPack

Deployment of video games and sophisticated applications is usually done through setup wizards, which can perfectly place files in the right place to make the target item functional. Creating an installer can require some programming language, but powerful, custom setup packages can be created with APIs like IzPack, which is an install generator for the Java platform.

Since it’s built around the Java platform, IzPack allows it to be launched from nearly anything fitted with Java Runtime Environment. Launching can be done through a simple double-click operation, or through Shell commands.

The application comes with a variety of customization options. Features are not presented in a predefined installation canvas, so custom elements can be picked up and used in different ways.

One of the last steps of the application installer offers to create an XML auto-install script to ease implementation work. An installation description file needs to be created, which is mostly a set of instructions for the compiler.

Sure enough, building the necessary functions for the install generator, some programming knowledge is required. However, IzPack’s features can be used from a graphical user interface, with DCP Setup Maker and PackJacket being just a couple of supported programs. Little to no programming knowledge is required when using IzPack with one of the above.