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Application Programming: Distributing Runtime Mode Applications |
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This section discusses the process of creating an application distribution that includes the files necessary to run IDL, allowing you to distribute your application to users who do not already have IDL installed.
| Note If your IDL application is intended to be run in an installation with an IDL development license, you do not need to create an IDL distribution. Simply package up your application files (either .pro files or .sav files, and any necessary data files) and distribute it to your users along with instructions describing how to install and launch the application.Similarly, if your IDL application is intended to be run in the IDL Virtual Machine using an end user's existing IDL installation or the IDL for Windows Installation CD-ROM, you do not need to create an IDL distribution. See Distributing Virtual Machine Applications for details. |
You have the following options for distributing your application:
Export feature. This method is useful for IDL applications consisting of multiple .pro files, as well as for Callable IDL applications that restore IDL SAVE files. The IDL Project interface automates the process of creating the SAVE file for your application and the IDL distribution tree to support it. See Creating a Distribution Using Project Export for details.
make_rt script (UNIX only). This method is useful for Callable IDL applications that do not use a SAVE file. Because the Project Export feature requires you to create a project and build a SAVE file before you export an IDL distribution, it may be easier to use the make_rt script when your application does not use a SAVE file. (The make_rt script is not available in IDL for Windows.) See Creating a Distribution Using the make_rt Script for details.
IDL Online Help (March 06, 2007)