Package

A package is an object that represents a software product in its distributable form. Packages can be installed on a device or uninstalled from a device.

Nexthink classifies packages into program packages and update packages:

Program

A program package holds a complete software product ready for installation.

Update

An update package, also called a patch, holds bug fixes, security fixes and any other kind of improvements for a program package.

In the Windows operating system, the dialog Add / Remove Programs in the Control Panel shows the list of packages installed in the computer.

Packages should not be confused with applications. Whereas packages represent a software product in its installable form, applications represent a software product in its executable form. Accordingly, Nexthink detects the presence of a package when it is installed and acknowledges the presence of an application when it is executed; that is, when one of the executable files that make up the application is run.

The link between an application and a corresponding package cannot be always established, so you cannot navigate from one to the other in the Finder. Still, the link is sometimes known for individual executables of the application. If this is the case, you can find the name of the package in the field packages of the executable. One executable can in fact be linked to several packages, yet only the names of the packages are given and drilling-down from executables to packages is not allowed either.

Applies to platforms | Windows | macOS |

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