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
