Distributing Client Software??

All,

    I would like to "idiot proof" the installation of Oracle Client software [on W2K machines]. Ideally, I'd like to circumvent the Oracle Universal Installer. I'm not a big Windows user...so... let me speak in UNIX terms -- I'd like to pass in arguments [to OUI] like one would with a HERE document (i.e., << EOF ... EOF). Since the OUI is a Java application, I don't even know if this is possible. Anyway, users would then download/copy the Oracle client software (win817client.zip) & the install script. Then, they'd double-click the install_script, search the Internet, get coffee, discuss the plight of the Peregrin Falcon, and BAM! -- the installation would be complete... in a perfect world...

    Alternately, I'd like to "tar-up" the client software on a sample W2K box, distribute it, and be done with the affair. Users would then simply untar on their client machines (e.g., tar xzvf). While I'm not a Windows guru, intuition tells me that that's entirely too easy. Sigh! Besides the paths (which, I imagine, should be configurable via a *.bat file), is it possible to automagically (*.bat) set registry keys & the other stuff (if any)???

    Again, let me stress that I'm fairly clueless, here. Still, I did a bit of online searching [via google, oracle, OTN, & MetaLink]... and I'm open to any suggestions that you may have. One last caveat: I don't want to use any third-party distribution tools (i.e.: I can't pay for additional licensing/etc).

Many thanks... Received on Mon May 14 2001 - 20:26:11 CDT