Image components (or ICs) provide a different delivery mechanism for applications than packaging of executables described in Simple packaging or Advanced packaging. As their name specifies, the delivery mechanism allows delivery of application code by means of portions (components) of an image, rather than consolidating all application code into a single file.

It must be stressed that ICs are an alternative to existing runtime delivery mechanisms. The packaging of executables mechanism that you normally use is, in most circumstances, the best choice of delivery. However, ICs provide a highly valuable alternative for certain classes of applications and deployment strategies.

This chapter examines the conditions under which ICs might provide a superior deployment strategy to a reduced runtime image. It outlines the work that you must perform to move an existing VA Smalltalk application to an IC deployment strategy. Finally, it delves into some of the technical details of ICs and provides a reference for problems that you might encounter when creating ICs.