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original version by: Nikos Drakos, CBLU, University of Leeds
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<TITLE>Introduction</TITLE> |
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<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html317" |
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HREF="node3.html">Getting started</A> |
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HREF="node1.html">Contents</A></B> |
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<BR></DIV> |
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<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
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<!--Table of Child-Links-->
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<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A> |
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<UL CLASS="ChildLinks"> |
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<LI><A NAME="tex2html318" |
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HREF="node2.html#SECTION00210000000000000000">Welcome to I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> !</A> |
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<LI><A NAME="tex2html319" |
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HREF="node2.html#SECTION00220000000000000000">The Features</A> |
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<LI><A NAME="tex2html320" |
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HREF="node2.html#SECTION00230000000000000000">The Development</A> |
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<LI><A NAME="tex2html321" |
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HREF="node2.html#SECTION00240000000000000000">3rd party code used in I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> </A> |
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</UL>
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<!--End of Table of Child-Links-->
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<HR>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION00200000000000000000"> |
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Introduction</A>
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</H1>
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<P>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION00210000000000000000"> |
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Welcome to I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> !</A> |
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</H1>
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<P>
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<!-- MATH
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$\fbox{\includegraphics[scale=0.5]{img/lang-sel-splash}}$
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-->
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<SPAN CLASS="MATH"><IMG |
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WIDTH="269" HEIGHT="726" ALIGN="MIDDLE" BORDER="0" |
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SRC="img1.png" |
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ALT="\fbox{\includegraphics[scale=0.5]{img/lang-sel-splash}}"></SPAN> |
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I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> is a tool that will help you to solve your software installation |
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problems. It is a Java<SUP><SMALL>TM</SMALL></SUP> based software installer builder that will run |
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on any operating system coming with a <SPAN CLASS="textit">Java Virtual Machine |
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(JVM)</SPAN> that is compliant with the Sun JVM 1.2 or higher. Its design is
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very modular and you will be able to choose how <SPAN CLASS="textbf">you</SPAN> want your |
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installer to look and you will also be able to customize it using a very |
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simple <SPAN CLASS="textit">Application Programming Interface (API)</SPAN>. Although |
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I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> is essentially a Java<SUP><SMALL>TM</SMALL></SUP> only application (it can run on virtually |
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any operating system), it can interact in a clean way with the |
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underlying operating system. Native code can interact with it on a |
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specific platform without disturbing the operation on incompatible |
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operating systems. For instance, you can develop Unix-specific code that |
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will be silent if run on Windows. To put it in a nutshell, whereas most |
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of the other Java<SUP><SMALL>TM</SMALL></SUP> installers force you to go their way, I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> will |
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let you go <SPAN CLASS="textbf">your way</SPAN>. Some respectable companies have been using |
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it in order to produce customized installers for their <SPAN CLASS="textsl">very</SPAN> |
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specific needs. |
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<BR>
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<P>
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<SPAN CLASS="textit">"So, if it's so good, how much is it ?"</SPAN> : well, you can get it |
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for free. <SPAN CLASS="textbf">BUT</SPAN> I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> is not a <SPAN CLASS="textit">freeware</SPAN>. It's not |
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<SPAN CLASS="textit">free</SPAN> as in <SPAN CLASS="textit">"free beer"</SPAN> but <SPAN CLASS="textit">"free as in free |
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speech"</SPAN>. So it's neither <SPAN CLASS="textit">freeware</SPAN> nor <SPAN CLASS="textit">public domain</SPAN>. |
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It is software covered by the GNU G<SMALL>ENERAL </SMALL>P<SMALL>UBLIC </SMALL>L<SMALL>ICENSE</SMALL> (GPL). |
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It uses the tactic of <SPAN CLASS="textit">copyleft</SPAN> : to make it short, you can use |
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it, modify it and redistribute it freely but you must also make your |
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modifications available to everyone whenever you publish a modified |
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version of a <SPAN CLASS="textit">copylefted</SPAN> software. You have access to the |
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I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> source code and you can modify it to make it suit your needs, |
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but if you publish such a modified version, you are forced to publish |
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the modifications you've made. <SPAN ID="txt133">That's a fair exchange of |
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expertise and work</SPAN>. To learn more about the GPL license and the
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<SPAN CLASS="textit">copyleft</SPAN> principles, visit <TT><A NAME="tex2html7" |
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HREF="http://www.gnu.org/">http://www.gnu.org/</A></TT>. |
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<BR>
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<P>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION00220000000000000000"> |
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The Features</A>
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</H1>
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<P>
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I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> uses XML files to describe installations. When you make an |
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installer, you have a choice of panels. You can see panels as a kind of |
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plugin that composes the installer. For instance, a panel can choose the |
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installation path, the packs to install, prompt the user for a license |
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agreement and so on. This approach is very modular. You can also create |
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your own panels if you have specific needs. In some cases you even have |
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a choice from multiple panel versions for the same task. You can also |
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choose the order in which panels appear during the installation process. |
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I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> can be used in a number of different ways: |
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<UL>
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<LI>by writing the XML installation file "by hand" and compiling
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it with the command line compiler |
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</LI>
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<LI>by invoking the compiler from the great A<SMALL>PACHE </SMALL>J<SMALL>AKARTA |
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</SMALL>A<SMALL>NT</SMALL> tool (see <TT><A NAME="tex2html8" |
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HREF="http://jakarta.apache.org/">http://jakarta.apache.org/</A></TT>) as I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> can be |
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used as a task for A<SMALL>NT</SMALL> |
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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Here is a brief (and certainly incomplete !) list of the main I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> features : |
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<UL>
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<LI>XML based installation files
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</LI>
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<LI>easy internationalization using XML files (10 translations are already
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available) |
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</LI>
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<LI>Ant integration, command-line compiler
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</LI>
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<LI>easy customization with the panels and a rich API (even an XML parser is
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included !) |
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</LI>
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<LI>powerful variable substitution system that you can use to customize
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scripts and more generally any text-based file |
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</LI>
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<LI>different kinds of installers (standard, web-based, ...)
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</LI>
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<LI>launching of external executables during the installation process and Unix
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executable flag support (useful for the scripts for instance) |
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</LI>
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<LI>layout of the installation files in packs (some can be optional)
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</LI>
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<LI>native code integration facilities
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</LI>
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<LI>jar files nesting support
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</LI>
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<LI>... <SPAN CLASS="textsl">more things to discover and create !</SPAN>. |
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION00230000000000000000"> |
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The Development</A>
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</H1>
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<P>
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I started writing I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> in April 2001 and many people have helped me |
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improving it since. I prefer not to mention them here as I would for sure forget |
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some of them, so please check the file named <TT>Thanks.txt</TT> which I try to |
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get as up-to-date as possible in order to mention everyone who helped me. As far |
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as I'm concerned, I'm a french student and I rather see this as a fun activity |
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in my free time where I can learn a lot of great things. The contributors to the |
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project are both individuals and companies. Help can take any form : |
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<UL>
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<LI>translations
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</LI>
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<LI>new features and various fixes
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</LI>
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<LI>bug fixes
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</LI>
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<LI>writing manuals
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</LI>
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<LI>... anything else you like :-)
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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The official I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> homepage is located at |
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<TT><A NAME="tex2html9" |
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HREF="http://www.izforge.com/izpack/">http://www.izforge.com/izpack/</A></TT>. The IzPack developer services |
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(mailing-lists, CVS, patches manager, bugs tracker, ...) are generously hosted |
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by BerliOS. The IzPack BerliOS section is located at |
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<TT><A NAME="tex2html10" |
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HREF="http://developer.berlios.de/projects/izpack/">http://developer.berlios.de/projects/izpack/</A></TT>. Feel free to |
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use these services. In particular, there are two mailing-lists: |
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<UL>
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<LI><TT>izpack-devel</TT>: used for the IzPack development |
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</LI>
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<LI><TT>izpack-users</TT>: general users lounge, great to get some help with |
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IzPack. |
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION00240000000000000000"> |
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3rd party code used in I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> </A> |
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</H1>
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<P>
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I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> uses several 3rd party libraries and I would like to mention them in |
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respect for their respective authors work : |
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<UL>
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<LI><SPAN CLASS="textit">NanoXML</SPAN> by Marc D<SMALL>E </SMALL>S<SMALL>CHEEMAECKER</SMALL> : the XML parser used |
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inside I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> and released under a <SPAN CLASS="textit">zlib/png</SPAN>-style license - see |
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<BR> <TT><A NAME="tex2html11" |
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HREF="http://nanoxml.sourceforge.net/">http://nanoxml.sourceforge.net/</A></TT> - |
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</LI>
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<LI><SPAN CLASS="textit">Kunststoff Look and Feel</SPAN> by Incors Gmbh : a Swing<SUP><SMALL>TM</SMALL></SUP> |
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Look and Feel |
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that can be used for installers. It <SPAN CLASS="textbf">really</SPAN> looks good and |
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is released under the GNU L<SMALL>ESSER </SMALL>G<SMALL>ENERAL </SMALL>P<SMALL>UBLIC </SMALL>L<SMALL>ICENSE (</SMALL>LGPL) - see |
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<TT><A NAME="tex2html12" |
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HREF="http://www.incors.org/">http://www.incors.org/</A></TT> - |
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</LI>
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<LI><SPAN CLASS="textit">Crystal-SVG Icons</SPAN> : the icons used in I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> come from |
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the great work of Everaldo (<TT><A NAME="tex2html13" |
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HREF="http://www.everaldo.com/">http://www.everaldo.com/</A></TT>) that makes KDE 3.2 |
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look so sweet |
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</LI>
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<LI><SPAN CLASS="textit">Some Apache Jakarta classes and libraries</SPAN> : released under the |
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<SPAN CLASS="textit">Apache License</SPAN> |
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</LI>
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<LI><SPAN CLASS="textit">Metouia Look and Feel</SPAN> by Taoufik Romdhane : released under the |
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<SPAN CLASS="textit">LGPL license</SPAN> - see <TT><A NAME="tex2html14" |
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HREF="http://mlf.sf.net/">http://mlf.sf.net/</A></TT> |
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</LI>
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<LI><SPAN CLASS="textit">Liquid Look and Feel</SPAN> by Miroslav Lazarevic : released under the |
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<SPAN CLASS="textit">LGPL license</SPAN> - see <TT><A NAME="tex2html15" |
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HREF="liquidlnf.sf.net/">liquidlnf.sf.net/</A></TT> |
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</LI>
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<LI><SPAN CLASS="textit">JGoodies Looks</SPAN> by Karsten Lentzsch : released under a |
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<SPAN CLASS="textit">BSD-style license</SPAN> - see <TT><A NAME="tex2html16" |
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HREF="http://looks.dev.java.net/">http://looks.dev.java.net/</A></TT>. |
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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So, now let's dive into understanding how I<SMALL>Z</SMALL>P<SMALL>ACK</SMALL> works. You'll be |
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surprised to see how powerful and simple it can be :-) |
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<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html317" |
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HREF="node3.html">Getting started</A> |
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<ADDRESS>
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Julien Ponge |
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2005-04-22 |
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