(Sorry for non-threading, i read the digest)
As you've been lacking feedback from people using the jpackage EA
builds, here's mine FWIW.
I've been quiet because it's been working well enough for us. That said,
our needs and process probably simplify matters in that:
1. We're only producing Windows installers
2. We've been lucky in having patient clients during this post-webstart,
post-javapackager disruption.
3. We were happy to modify our versioning to match Windows standards
4. Our application is non-modular
5. We do it in three steps: jlink to make a JRE, then jpackage to make
an app image, then jpackage again to make both an exe and msi installer
based on that image. (client slow to reply which one they'd actually
prefer!) Not trying to do everything in one step.
Since the fix that made new versions of our app correctly replace older
ones I've mostly just been testing new EA builds to make sure they don't
break it! They do sometimes, usually because of changes in the parameter
names, and of course we lost our Inno Setup customisations. I haven't
yet made any attempt to customise the EXE setup installer since then.
Would be nice:
1. For it to use the supplied app icon for the installer, or be able to
supply another specifically for the installer. For it to be shown in the
installer in some fashion. Other exe customisations of straightforward
branding and/or flags to control what questions they're asked would be
very nice.
2. For it to be able to sign the installer in the fashion of, or
actually using, signtool. (Ideally internalised as installing signtool
itself is a pain.) Currently that's an extra step after the installers
are built
But I can wait for them, I want it in a release so I can use it via
ToolProvider rather than execing an external JDK. All the while it's the
way it is it massively complicates the build.
Later would-be-nices, not for this desktop app, but ability to use it to
package background service-type apps, as a service for windows, using
launchd for osx, and systemd for linux.
--
Rachel
