虽然我们大多数人都满足于为自己喜欢的软件安装可执行文件的“久经考验的”过程，但真的有必要这样做吗？我们真的可以提取那些相同的可执行文件而不是安装它们，并像它们的独立同类一样运行它们吗？

今天的问答环节是由SuperUser提供的，SuperUser是Stack Exchange的一个分支，是一个由社区驱动的问答网站分组。

问题

超级用户读者Tom Turkey想知道独立可执行文件和已安装可执行文件之间的区别：

I have noticed on Windows, at least, that you can download a direct, statically-linked executable file and launch it directly, or write your own program and execute it (even dynamically) without having to install it.

That brings me to my main point…what’s the purpose of the installation process? I mean besides maybe the Windows Registry. However, for practicality and usage purposes, it’s possible to have a single, independent, stand-alone program that can be run, stored on non-volatile storage, and accessed via the file system of whatever device it’s on, and executed on the OS.

So what’s the big deal with all the “install this” business if many great programs of virtually any magnitude can work perfectly without going through an installation configuration? It puzzles me a bit, and aside from a database or other metadata/access configuration systems, what is the real difference here if the latter (an installed executable) performs and works in the same way as a stand-alone?

Is there a difference here I’m unaware of with a non-installed program versus an installed one?

PS: This doesn’t just have to apply to Windows OSes, but any that implement a similar function.

独立的可执行文件和已安装的可执行文件之间真的有那么大的区别吗？还是它们比我们想象的更相似？

答案

超级用户贡献者Wyatt8740为我们提供了答案：

Brief answer: a stand-alone exe requires no libraries be installed on the computer to run, and requires no registry entries or other components.

An installed file can be a stand-alone in an installer package, but is generally dependent on a variety of components and libraries installed alongside it.

In many cases, through the use of Universal Extractor (unofficial update: here), you can extract the contents of an installer and run a program without administrative privileges in Windows. MSI installers can be unpacked with les**si.

In most other operating systems, all programs can be run without root/administrator privileges, through user-specific ‘bin’, ‘lib’, and other directories in the home directory. Personally, I despise installers the majority of the time, because they make it harder for me to use programs without administrative privileges when I don’t have them. But they are packaged that way by large companies to simplify the process for the average end user.

虽然我们已经了解到，可以提取和运行一些我们喜爱的软件作为独立的可执行文件，但有时为了在我们的系统上使用我们喜欢或需要的程序，我们无法逃避旧的“久经考验的”安装过程。

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