The article talks about what installation is, why this process is needed, and describes the installation of games and software.

Digital Age

Nowadays, computers are becoming increasingly widespread, many can no longer imagine life without them, and almost all enterprises have switched to electronic document management. But just 15 years ago, not everyone could boast of having a home PC, or high-speed unlimited Internet access. And the development of new software has become a profitable business for many, bringing in billions. If you look at the statistics of in-demand professions on the labor market, every year more and more programmers and other similar specialists are required.

And this is natural, because even the most powerful and modern computer without software is nothing more than a set of expensive chips. Operating systems and programs are a kind of layer between man and machine, which serve for their interaction. But for the programs to work, they must first be installed, since you cannot simply transfer a set of files to your computer and expect everything to work by itself; this is why they need to be installed correctly. So what is installation? What is it like and what is it needed for? We'll figure this out.

Installation

Before answering this question, it's worth diving a little deeper into how programs work. In its pure form, any of them is a set of sequences of ones and zeros that the processor of a computer or other device interprets into certain commands. But such programs were common a long time ago, when PCs did not have a graphical interface and were “fed” programs directly.

But now, if you look at almost any software, then in addition to the interface, you will notice a lot of other things: additional fonts, language packs, help files, online checking for updates and much more. All this is hidden in special system libraries, and they need to be copied correctly. True, the installation can be different, but first things first. So what is installation?

Definition

Almost all programs are delivered in compressed or packaged form, which is natural, because it is much easier to download one installation archive and get everything you need from it than to download or copy dozens, or even hundreds of different files. For example, just look at the catalog of any software to ask the question: “What is an installation?”

Installation is a copying process to the end user's computer. It cannot be called a regular copying to the file system, since during the installation process a special program (package manager) checks the computer for compatibility, the presence of the necessary accompanying software, etc.

Then the installer places files on the disk in the required sequence, creates additional directories if they are needed, makes entries in the registry, startup, associates files, etc. So now we know what installing a program is.

As you can see, during this process the computer performs many actions, although the user, most often, does not notice any of this. It is also worth noting that we will use this term in relation to plug-ins and drivers, although they themselves are not programs.

Kinds

There are also several basic installation types. And although they do the same job, their methods are slightly different. And when examining the question of what software installation is, it is worth mentioning the most common ones.

For example, a “silent” installation is performed without displaying pop-ups and other things. The user starts the process and after some time simply receives a program ready to use.

Automatic installation (the most common) occurs without human intervention, of course, except for the launch itself and some settings, for example, instructions on where to unpack the software, whether to create a shortcut to launch, etc.

Manual installation is different in that it requires many complex steps.

There are also some that are not required, and the entire installation consists only in the fact that they simply copy the files to the hard drive on their own. So now we know what installing a program is.

Games

Computer games have long ceased to be some kind of childish or primitive entertainment. This is a profitable business, and many large companies spend tens or even hundreds of millions on creating the next toy that brings in profits several times more.

So what is a game installation? Essentially, this is the same as installing another program. During this process, game materials (models, sound, textures, etc.) and executable files are copied to the hard drive, which assemble it all into a three-dimensional controlled image.