Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript
Thanks, Chris - I didn't receive your original message but appreciate the re-send. This should make life considerably easier. Shaun Hayward | Senior Software Developer | Omnivex | 905.761.6640 ext 429 | www.omnivex.com -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 9:03 AM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfoundin subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject Perhaps SourceForge is swallowing my messages again but here are links and notes I sent you yesterday. - Original Message From: Christopher Painter chr...@deploymentengineering.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Mon, January 17, 2011 11:00:52 AM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject Take a look at http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/wix_xsd_filesearch.htm http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/check_the_version_number.htm Pay careful attention to: Important: When doing a locale-neutral search for a file, you must set the MinVersion property to one revision number lower than the actual version you want to search for. In this example, while we want to find file version 6.0.6001.1751, the MinVersion is set to 6.0.6001.1750. This is because of a quirk in how the Windows Installer matches file versions. More information is available in the Windows Installer documentation. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Mon, January 17, 2011 9:44:53 AM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. True :-) So let me rephrase: I didn't realize that MSI had a way to retrieve the DLL's version and compare against it. But since it does, the awesome WiX will support it. Does anyone have a WiX sample of how to accomplish this? Thanks! - Shaun Shaun Hayward | Senior Software Developer | Omnivex | 905.761.6640 ext 429 | www.omnivex.com -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 11:12 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. smile/ Check out the FileSearch element. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 6:17 PM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: I didn't realize WiX had a way to actually retrieve a DLL's version and compare against it. I was looking all over for that. Any chance you have a code sample up on your blog? And I'll be sure to check out the DTF articles on your blog. Thanks - Shaun From: Christopher Painter [chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:16 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript
Thanks, Rob - that's exactly what I was after. In all my Googling, I was looking for a way to retrieve the version number and then do my own comparison (with no luck). This is a slightly different way but acheives my exact aim. Many thanks - Shaun From: Rob Mensching [r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 7:54 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject The WiX Documentation for FileSearch element has a link to this page: http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/check_the_version_number.htm. On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 7:44 AM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. True :-) So let me rephrase: I didn't realize that MSI had a way to retrieve the DLL's version and compare against it. But since it does, the awesome WiX will support it. Does anyone have a WiX sample of how to accomplish this? Thanks! - Shaun Shaun Hayward | Senior Software Developer | Omnivex | 905.761.6640 ext 429 | www.omnivex.com -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 11:12 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. smile/ Check out the FileSearch element. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 6:17 PM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: I didn't realize WiX had a way to actually retrieve a DLL's version and compare against it. I was looking all over for that. Any chance you have a code sample up on your blog? And I'll be sure to check out the DTF articles on your blog. Thanks - Shaun From: Christopher Painter [chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:16 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I work). Good-bye, C++ Custom Action - hello, C# Custom Action. Thanks again - you made my week. - Shaun PS: No flack on using InstallScript. Whatever works at the end of the day and makes your life easy, right? -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 6:32 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject
Perhaps SourceForge is swallowing my messages again but here are links and notes I sent you yesterday. - Original Message From: Christopher Painter chr...@deploymentengineering.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Mon, January 17, 2011 11:00:52 AM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject Take a look at http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/wix_xsd_filesearch.htm http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/check_the_version_number.htm Pay careful attention to: Important: When doing a locale-neutral search for a file, you must set the MinVersion property to one revision number lower than the actual version you want to search for. In this example, while we want to find file version 6.0.6001.1751, the MinVersion is set to 6.0.6001.1750. This is because of a quirk in how the Windows Installer matches file versions. More information is available in the Windows Installer documentation. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Mon, January 17, 2011 9:44:53 AM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. True :-) So let me rephrase: I didn't realize that MSI had a way to retrieve the DLL's version and compare against it. But since it does, the awesome WiX will support it. Does anyone have a WiX sample of how to accomplish this? Thanks! - Shaun Shaun Hayward | Senior Software Developer | Omnivex | 905.761.6640 ext 429 | www.omnivex.com -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 11:12 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. smile/ Check out the FileSearch element. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 6:17 PM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: I didn't realize WiX had a way to actually retrieve a DLL's version and compare against it. I was looking all over for that. Any chance you have a code sample up on your blog? And I'll be sure to check out the DTF articles on your blog. Thanks - Shaun From: Christopher Painter [chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:16 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject
WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. True :-) So let me rephrase: I didn't realize that MSI had a way to retrieve the DLL's version and compare against it. But since it does, the awesome WiX will support it. Does anyone have a WiX sample of how to accomplish this? Thanks! - Shaun Shaun Hayward | Senior Software Developer | Omnivex | 905.761.6640 ext 429 | www.omnivex.com -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 11:12 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. smile/ Check out the FileSearch element. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 6:17 PM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: I didn't realize WiX had a way to actually retrieve a DLL's version and compare against it. I was looking all over for that. Any chance you have a code sample up on your blog? And I'll be sure to check out the DTF articles on your blog. Thanks - Shaun From: Christopher Painter [chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:16 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I work). Good-bye, C++ Custom Action - hello, C# Custom Action. Thanks again - you made my week. - Shaun PS: No flack on using InstallScript. Whatever works at the end of the day and makes your life easy, right? -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 6:32 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either a) role an InstallScript custom action or b) write it in DTF first and then borrow a resource from development to port it over to C++. PS- Don't anyone jump on my InstallScript comment unless you know what you are talking about. :-) Prior is IS 12 I'd agree with you 100%. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject
The WiX Documentation for FileSearch element has a link to this page: http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/check_the_version_number.htm. On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 7:44 AM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. True :-) So let me rephrase: I didn't realize that MSI had a way to retrieve the DLL's version and compare against it. But since it does, the awesome WiX will support it. Does anyone have a WiX sample of how to accomplish this? Thanks! - Shaun Shaun Hayward | Senior Software Developer | Omnivex | 905.761.6640 ext 429 | www.omnivex.com -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 11:12 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject - Email found in subject WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. smile/ Check out the FileSearch element. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 6:17 PM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: I didn't realize WiX had a way to actually retrieve a DLL's version and compare against it. I was looking all over for that. Any chance you have a code sample up on your blog? And I'll be sure to check out the DTF articles on your blog. Thanks - Shaun From: Christopher Painter [chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:16 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I work). Good-bye, C++ Custom Action - hello, C# Custom Action. Thanks again - you made my week. - Shaun PS: No flack on using InstallScript. Whatever works at the end of the day and makes your life easy, right? -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 6:32 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either
[WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript
Hello, WiX Community I've been playing around with WiX for about a year now and took over my company's installations (WiX-based) a few months ago. I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for some advice on the pros/cons of various ways of writing Custom Actions. I understand that an issue with the Custom Action can prevent your installer from working at all. And obviously if a piece of functionality already exists in WiX then one should not re-write it in a custom action. I'm mainly a C# dev and doing some rudimentary VC++. I found it very easy to do Custom Actions in VBScript but Rob Mensching posted an article (http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix2/robmen_20040520.htm) that outlines why VBScript sucks for custom actions. Lack of debugging and conflict with Virus Scanners seem to be the biggies. I'm assuming these reasons still apply and VBScript (or Jscript) should be counted out. Most of the Custom Action examples I've found have been C# (my preferred language) and even Nick Ramirez's excellent book on WiX only gives the C# examples. However, I came across another Rob Mensching article (http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2007/4/19/Managed-Code-CustomActions-no-support-on-the-way-and-heres) from 2007 that outlines why Managed Custom Actions wouldn't work. Are these issues still a consideration? Of course, VC++ has very few dependencies and probably has the most compatibility. Theoretically, you should be able to static link against the VC++ Runtime and have no external dependencies at all. But C++ code is, for me, a lot harder to write. The worst is trying to figure out which string is which. Does anyone have any incites or advice on the pros and cons of each? In particular, what are the down-sides of writing custom actions in Managed code (C#/VB)? Thanks - Shaun The information in this e-mail is intended solely for the addressee and access by anyone else is unauthorized. Omnivex accepts no liability for the content of this e-mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. Any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Omnivex makes no warranties, express or implied and is not responsible for errors or omissions. -- Protect Your Site and Customers from Malware Attacks Learn about various malware tactics and how to avoid them. Understand malware threats, the impact they can have on your business, and how you can protect your company and customers by using code signing. http://p.sf.net/sfu/oracle-sfdevnl ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript
VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either a) role an InstallScript custom action or b) write it in DTF first and then borrow a resource from development to port it over to C++. PS- Don't anyone jump on my InstallScript comment unless you know what you are talking about. :-) Prior is IS 12 I'd agree with you 100%. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 12:39:11 PM Subject: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript Hello, WiX Community I've been playing around with WiX for about a year now and took over my company's installations (WiX-based) a few months ago. I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for some advice on the pros/cons of various ways of writing Custom Actions. I understand that an issue with the Custom Action can prevent your installer from working at all. And obviously if a piece of functionality already exists in WiX then one should not re-write it in a custom action. I'm mainly a C# dev and doing some rudimentary VC++. I found it very easy to do Custom Actions in VBScript but Rob Mensching posted an article (http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix2/robmen_20040520.htm) that outlines why VBScript sucks for custom actions. Lack of debugging and conflict with Virus Scanners seem to be the biggies. I'm assuming these reasons still apply and VBScript (or Jscript) should be counted out. Most of the Custom Action examples I've found have been C# (my preferred language) and even Nick Ramirez's excellent book on WiX only gives the C# examples. However, I came across another Rob Mensching article (http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2007/4/19/Managed-Code-CustomActions-no-support-on-the-way-and-heres) from 2007 that outlines why Managed Custom Actions wouldn't work. Are these issues still a consideration? Of course, VC++ has very few dependencies and probably has the most compatibility. Theoretically, you should be able to static link against the VC++ Runtime and have no external dependencies at all. But C++ code is, for me, a lot harder to write. The worst is trying to figure out which string is which. Does anyone have any incites or advice on the pros and cons of each? In particular, what are the down-sides of writing custom actions in Managed code (C#/VB)? Thanks - Shaun The information in this e-mail is intended solely for the addressee and access by anyone else is unauthorized. Omnivex accepts no liability for the content of this e-mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. Any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Omnivex makes no warranties, express or implied and is not responsible for errors or omissions. -- Protect Your Site and Customers from Malware Attacks Learn about various malware tactics and how to avoid them. Understand malware threats, the impact they can have on your business, and how you can protect your company and customers by using code signing. http://p.sf.net/sfu/oracle-sfdevnl ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Protect Your Site and Customers from Malware Attacks Learn about various malware tactics and how to avoid them. Understand malware threats, the impact they can have on your business, and how you can protect your company and customers by using code signing. http://p.sf.net/sfu/oracle-sfdevnl ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject
Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I work). Good-bye, C++ Custom Action - hello, C# Custom Action. Thanks again - you made my week. - Shaun PS: No flack on using InstallScript. Whatever works at the end of the day and makes your life easy, right? -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 6:32 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either a) role an InstallScript custom action or b) write it in DTF first and then borrow a resource from development to port it over to C++. PS- Don't anyone jump on my InstallScript comment unless you know what you are talking about. :-) Prior is IS 12 I'd agree with you 100%. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 12:39:11 PM Subject: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript Hello, WiX Community I've been playing around with WiX for about a year now and took over my company's installations (WiX-based) a few months ago. I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for some advice on the pros/cons of various ways of writing Custom Actions. I understand that an issue with the Custom Action can prevent your installer from working at all. And obviously if a piece of functionality already exists in WiX then one should not re-write it in a custom action. I'm mainly a C# dev and doing some rudimentary VC++. I found it very easy to do Custom Actions in VBScript but Rob Mensching posted an article (http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix2/robmen_20040520.htm) that outlines why VBScript sucks for custom actions. Lack of debugging and conflict with Virus Scanners seem to be the biggies. I'm assuming these reasons still apply and VBScript (or Jscript) should be counted out. Most of the Custom Action examples I've found have been C# (my preferred language) and even Nick Ramirez's excellent book on WiX only gives the C# examples. However, I came across another Rob Mensching article (http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2007/4/19/Managed-Code-CustomActions-no-support-on-the-way-and-heres) from 2007 that outlines why Managed Custom Actions wouldn't work. Are these issues still a consideration? Of course, VC++ has very few dependencies and probably has the most compatibility. Theoretically, you should be able to static link against the VC++ Runtime and have no external dependencies at all. But C++ code is, for me, a lot harder to write. The worst is trying to figure out which string is which. Does anyone have any incites or advice on the pros and cons of each? In particular, what are the down-sides of writing custom actions in Managed code (C#/VB)? Thanks - Shaun The information in this e-mail is intended solely for the addressee and access by anyone else is unauthorized. Omnivex accepts no liability for the content of this e-mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. Any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Omnivex makes no warranties, express or implied and is not responsible for errors
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject
Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I work). Good-bye, C++ Custom Action - hello, C# Custom Action. Thanks again - you made my week. - Shaun PS: No flack on using InstallScript. Whatever works at the end of the day and makes your life easy, right? -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 6:32 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either a) role an InstallScript custom action or b) write it in DTF first and then borrow a resource from development to port it over to C++. PS- Don't anyone jump on my InstallScript comment unless you know what you are talking about. :-) Prior is IS 12 I'd agree with you 100%. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 12:39:11 PM Subject: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript Hello, WiX Community I've been playing around with WiX for about a year now and took over my company's installations (WiX-based) a few months ago. I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for some advice on the pros/cons of various ways of writing Custom Actions. I understand that an issue with the Custom Action can prevent your installer from working at all. And obviously if a piece of functionality already exists in WiX then one should not re-write it in a custom action. I'm mainly a C# dev and doing some rudimentary VC++. I found it very easy to do Custom Actions in VBScript but Rob Mensching posted an article (http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix2/robmen_20040520.htm) that outlines why VBScript sucks for custom actions. Lack of debugging and conflict with Virus Scanners seem to be the biggies. I'm assuming these reasons still apply and VBScript (or Jscript) should be counted out. Most of the Custom Action examples I've found have been C# (my preferred language) and even Nick Ramirez's excellent book on WiX only gives the C# examples. However, I came across another Rob Mensching article (http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2007/4/19/Managed-Code-CustomActions-no-support-on-the-way
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject
I didn't realize WiX had a way to actually retrieve a DLL's version and compare against it. I was looking all over for that. Any chance you have a code sample up on your blog? And I'll be sure to check out the DTF articles on your blog. Thanks - Shaun From: Christopher Painter [chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:16 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I work). Good-bye, C++ Custom Action - hello, C# Custom Action. Thanks again - you made my week. - Shaun PS: No flack on using InstallScript. Whatever works at the end of the day and makes your life easy, right? -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 6:32 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either a) role an InstallScript custom action or b) write it in DTF first and then borrow a resource from development to port it over to C++. PS- Don't anyone jump on my InstallScript comment unless you know what you are talking about. :-) Prior is IS 12 I'd agree with you 100%. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 12:39:11 PM Subject: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript Hello, WiX Community I've been playing around with WiX for about a year now and took over my company's installations (WiX-based) a few months ago. I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for some advice on the pros/cons of various ways of writing Custom Actions. I understand that an issue with the Custom Action can prevent your installer from working at all. And obviously if a piece of functionality already exists in WiX then one should not re-write it in a custom action. I'm mainly a C# dev and doing some rudimentary VC++. I found it very easy to do Custom Actions in VBScript but Rob Mensching posted an article (http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix2/robmen_20040520.htm
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript
I'm a purist but I write my custom actions as declarative, data driven beasties designed so I never have to solve that problem again. That attitude is where the bulk of the WiX toolset custom actions come from. smile/ Simply put, custom actions will be the most vulnerable part of your install. Avoid them. When you can't, respect the complexity and write them well, with as few dependencies as possible. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 3:32 PM, Christopher Painter chr...@deploymentengineering.com wrote: VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either a) role an InstallScript custom action or b) write it in DTF first and then borrow a resource from development to port it over to C++. PS- Don't anyone jump on my InstallScript comment unless you know what you are talking about. :-) Prior is IS 12 I'd agree with you 100%. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 12:39:11 PM Subject: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript Hello, WiX Community I've been playing around with WiX for about a year now and took over my company's installations (WiX-based) a few months ago. I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for some advice on the pros/cons of various ways of writing Custom Actions. I understand that an issue with the Custom Action can prevent your installer from working at all. And obviously if a piece of functionality already exists in WiX then one should not re-write it in a custom action. I'm mainly a C# dev and doing some rudimentary VC++. I found it very easy to do Custom Actions in VBScript but Rob Mensching posted an article (http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix2/robmen_20040520.htm) that outlines why VBScript sucks for custom actions. Lack of debugging and conflict with Virus Scanners seem to be the biggies. I'm assuming these reasons still apply and VBScript (or Jscript) should be counted out. Most of the Custom Action examples I've found have been C# (my preferred language) and even Nick Ramirez's excellent book on WiX only gives the C# examples. However, I came across another Rob Mensching article ( http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2007/4/19/Managed-Code-CustomActions-no-support-on-the-way-and-heres ) from 2007 that outlines why Managed Custom Actions wouldn't work. Are these issues still a consideration? Of course, VC++ has very few dependencies and probably has the most compatibility. Theoretically, you should be able to static link against the VC++ Runtime and have no external dependencies at all. But C++ code is, for me, a lot harder to write. The worst is trying to figure out which string is which. Does anyone have any incites or advice on the pros and cons of each? In particular, what are the down-sides of writing custom actions in Managed code (C#/VB)? Thanks - Shaun The information in this e-mail is intended solely for the addressee and access by anyone else is unauthorized. Omnivex accepts no liability for the content of this e-mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. Any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Omnivex makes no warranties, express or implied and is not responsible for errors or omissions. -- Protect Your Site and Customers from Malware Attacks Learn about various malware tactics and how to avoid them. Understand malware threats, the impact they can have on your business, and how you can protect your company and customers by using code signing. http://p.sf.net/sfu/oracle-sfdevnl ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Protect Your Site and Customers from Malware Attacks Learn about various malware tactics and how to avoid them. Understand
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject
WiX doesn't do it, the Windows Installer does. WiX is just the language. smile/ Check out the FileSearch element. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 6:17 PM, Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com wrote: I didn't realize WiX had a way to actually retrieve a DLL's version and compare against it. I was looking all over for that. Any chance you have a code sample up on your blog? And I'll be sure to check out the DTF articles on your blog. Thanks - Shaun From: Christopher Painter [chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:16 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Emailfound in subject - Email found in subject Funny you say that, I was doing some work with KB976477 just today. Some much that I have that KB memorized. I don't use a CA to detect this hotfix. I just use the AppSearch/DrLocator/Signature tables to search [CommonFilesFolder]\Microsoft Shared\Office12 for MSO.DLL version 12.0.6520.5000 or greater. Rob has made some comments lately about targetting CLR runtime versions. Generally I write my custom actions to target .NET 2.0 and set up the DTF CA's to run against CLR 2.0 or 4.0. Either way I still find myself having to make sure .NET 3.5SP1 and .NET 4.0 are on my target machines. For example VSTO AddIns using .NET 4.0 targetting Office 2007 have to have both the 2.0 and 4.0 CLR loaded. Yeah, seriously. BTW, there are lot's of articles on DTF over at my blog. - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 5:56:44 PM Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject Thanks, Chris! Funny it should be you that replies. I'm looking at deploying a VSTO add-in and I've read the related articles on your blog. The custom action is to check for the presence of KB976477. I think I've FINALLY found a fool-proof (yeah, right) way to determine if it (or a newer patch that includes 976477) is present. (It's FOSS, so anyone who is interested can have the code) So it sounds like C# is just fine. YAY! The DTF classes look REALLY sweet in comparison to what I'm dealing with in C++ - I just didn't know if I should feel free to use them at this point. Should the add-in be targeting a specific version of the framework? My add-in requires .NET Framework 4, and .NET 4 does not necessarily seems to include full compatibility with .NET 2 (so saith the QAs where I work). Good-bye, C++ Custom Action - hello, C# Custom Action. Thanks again - you made my week. - Shaun PS: No flack on using InstallScript. Whatever works at the end of the day and makes your life easy, right? -Original Message- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 6:32 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript - Email found in subject VB/JScript is still a no go. The managed blog was ( thankfully ) O.B.E. when WiX released managed custom action via DTF. Personally, if I had the C++ chops, had enough reusable libraries and was typically shipping unmanaged apps then I probably would be an unmanaged purist for CA's. WiX uses C++ in it's custom actions because customers might not need/want .NET and since the CA's are being used by a very wide audience it's good to spend the time and make them perfect. But alas, I've got C# chops, the base class libraries are very powerful and I ship nearly all managed apps. For me, the choice is easy. For the rare occasion that I don't want a dependency on .NET I either a) role an InstallScript custom action or b) write it in DTF first and then borrow a resource from development to port it over to C++. PS- Don't anyone jump on my InstallScript comment unless you know what you are talking about. :-) Prior is IS 12 I'd agree with you 100%. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me - Original Message From: Shaun Hayward shayw...@omnivex.com To: WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 12:39:11 PM Subject: [WiX-users] Custom Actions - C++ vs C# vs VBScript Hello, WiX Community I've been playing around with WiX for about a year now and took over my company's installations (WiX-based) a few months ago. I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for some advice on the pros/cons of various ways of writing Custom Actions. I understand that an issue with the Custom Action can prevent your installer from working at all. And obviously if a piece
