Install-ChocolateyPackage / Install-ChocolateyInstallPackage - In addition to SoftwareDisplayName/Version, add a flag for uninstall/reinstall

[bcurran3]

Sometimes during packaging it would be nice to know if the package is being installed or upgraded.

This comes in to play when some programs need to be uninstalled before a new version can be installed (drobo-dashboard off the top of my head).

Sure, we packagers can check "things" to figure it out, but a variable check would be a lot easier.

SUGGESTION:
$ENV:ChocolateyInstall = $True or $False as it can be assumed that if $ENV:ChocolateyInstall is false than an upgrade status would be $True. (Unless there are other scenarios I can't think of right now.)

or

$ENV:ChocoInstall = $True or $False as it can be assumed that if $ENV:ChocoInstall is false than an upgrade status would be $True. (Unless there are other scenarios I can't think of right now.)

or maybe since the upgrade status is more important, $ENV:ChocolatyUpgrade or $ENV:ChocoUpgrade would be more relevant and if $False it could be assumed an install was happening versus an upgrade.

[ferventcoder]

@bcurran3 why we don't provide anything -

• Installing a package for the first time could be installing or upgrading existing software.

So all we can do is provide a notice on whether the Chocolatey package is installed, not whether if it is an installer package that the underlying software is installed.

So sometimes an install is actually an upgrade, thus why the contract is that the packaging should handle those checks. There are plans to make some of that process a bit better by providing some options you can give to the functions. I think if we rewrite this a bit that this could be a great use for that. Let me change up the heading.

[ferventcoder]

I can't find if we have a logged issue for the softwaredisplayname / software version here or not - those are a couple of things which will determine if it is even necessary to procure a newer version, so they would also be available in Install-ChocolateyPackage.

[ferventcoder]

There is some design and future planning work to be completed here, so I'm holding this to core team for implementation.