Replacement Of Components

If a component with the same name already exists on the PC in the same directory, the install application should replace the file only if its file is a later version and later date. This can be checked by several file checking functions, such as GetFileTime  or GetFi-leVersionlnfo.  If GetFileVersionlnfo  is to be used, it is the responsibility of the component developer to ensure that versioning information is contained in the component.

If the component to be replaced is an Application Specific or Shared component (see above), it is the responsibility of the vendor to take the appropriate steps to ensure that the replacement file retains functional compatibility with the replaced file.

Under no circumstances should a vendor use system-wide component file names (as described above) in the naming of a vendor specific file. For example, no vendor (other than Microsoft) should name a file MFC40.DLL (For more information, see "System-Wide Components", above).