ELI5- Why do I have to install a programm on a computer. Why can’t I just use it as I download the file or boot it from the disc?
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In the early days of computing, most programs were just a single file (executable).
But as things grew in complexity, they started to need libraries and other dependencies.
So the installers came to simplify the portability of more complex programs.
Some of them simply unzip all the necessary files and move them into the respective folders, others installers install other programs in order to work.
At the end of the day, it all depends on the idiosyncrasies of today’s operating systems, which are becoming increasingly messy.
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