The Portable Freeware Collection Forums

As guinness' thread pointed out, there are many ways to test for portability, but I wanted to look at exactly what we're testing for to maybe demystify some of the steps. So I developed a process map.

UPDATE: Version 3 has been posted later in this thread.

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Comments welcome.

Misses checking for dependencies.

Excellent MindMap! It's good to have a visual representation of what is required for those that Test Portable Applications. Thanks webfork.

Thumbs up to the process map. I love visual representation information.
If the process map is specific to TPFC, then i think the first criteria and most important for the app to be in the database is the app licenses should not be a payware

Really great work with this webfork

Wolfghost wrote:Really great work with this webfork

guinness wrote:Excellent MindMap! It's good to have a visual representation of what is required for those that Test Portable Applications. Thanks webfork.

Cool, thank you both.

crownixx wrote:Thumbs up to the process map. I love visual representation information.
If the process map is specific to TPFC, then i think the first criteria and most important for the app to be in the database is the app licenses should not be a payware

Wow, "license check" is a conspicuous absence. Well said.

m^(2) wrote:Misses checking for dependencies.

I think this is missing in my own portable checking process. How is this done and where should this step go in the order above?

Nice work (in progress) webfork.

One more thing missing is (in case it is an installer) the 'how to extract' method.

As for dependencies, PeStudio (portable) can help. Look under '.Net' tab, 'Libraries' and 'Imports' tab. Alternatives are Dependency Walker (not portable), FileInfo plugin for Universal Viewer (you would have to search the forum for that + it's not portable). There are a few more PE analyzers... will list a few more later.

webfork wrote:

m^(2) wrote:Misses checking for dependencies.

I think this is missing in my own portable checking process. How is this done and where should this step go in the order above?

It's a complex task because there are many types of dependencies:
-Dependencies on particular OS features, usually mentioned by the developers as "Works on:...". This info is not always accurate.
-Sometimes not mentioned at all dependency on a particular service pack
-Dependency on common libraries like MSVCRT
-Dependencies on other libraries from the same company. They might be installed on your PC, so you'll miss they are actually needed.
-Drivers. Please note that if you run a program once as admin, it may install needed drivers and then work w/out admin. You should check w/ only guest rights first.
-.NET
-Java
-I'm sure I forgot about some things.

The best way to spot a dependency is to have a set of virtual machines with OSes that you care for, in my case it was Windows XP, XP SP1, XP SP2, 2000 SP smth. , NT4 SP smth.. What matters is that they should be clean installations, nothing but OS. Then if something is required, it's missing and you see that a program doesn't run or is in some way limited. To identify what is needed you can use the tools mentioned by I am Baas. Personally I use FileInfo (which is actually a Total Commander plugin adapted by some other programs ). And Process Monitor to see all files read.

Where to put it? Don't know, but probably one of the later stages.

m^(2) wrote:Personally I use FileInfo (which is actually a Total Commander plugin adapted by some other programs ). And Process Monitor to see all files read.

Yes, FileInfo is the TC plugin I was referring to, but, afaicr, it creates an .ini file in WINDOWS folder + writes to the registry.

m^(2) wrote:Where to put it? Don't know, but probably one of the later stages.

I always check for .net and Java requirements first and if it is needed I normally would not bother with any further analysis.

webfork wrote:Comments welcome. Source file for xmind is here if you want to edit it directly.

Link is broken. Is the source file still available?

TP109 wrote:Link is broken. Is the source file still available?

Updated, thanks. Some time ago Dropbox changed all it's public links settings so I've slowly gone through the site and updated old posts but I there's still some missing.

Working now. Thanks

Update: Version 3.

When I fixed the links realized I never went back in and made changes based on feedback. I went ahead and updated the original with some of the suggestions.

Detailed

Image link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hrpe0f ... sp=sharing

View source file, which can be edited in XMind.

Any other feedback welcome.

Good improvements over 1st version. Thumbs up.

Great! You should probably link to v2 from the site FAQ.