Our product "Setup Factory for Windows Installer" ships with a
completely scriptable bootstrap maker utility. Although in the simple
case you can configure and have it built automatically with your MSI
file from the design environment, the underlying technology is a console
app (modeled after WiX itself) that allows you to pass in an XML
confguration file and your custom script (based on the Lua programming
language) and builds an exe for you. It uses LZMA compression. It is
100% scriptable from front to back - with over 200 high-level actions to
do stuff like extracting files, call MSI API functions, download from
Web sites, etc. It allows you to pack as many MSIs into the bootstrapper
as you want and then conditionally extract and run them at runtime. It
also supports "plugin-able" dependency modules which are collections of
pre-configured scripts and files to allow you to detect and install
.NET, MSI engine, etc.
I am only jumping in here with a shameless plug because it is totally
relevant to the thread. Honestly, I think that the cost of the software
is well worth it even if only to use the bootstrap maker (although its
ability to generate WiX files is also very cool). I just couldn't let
this thread end with someone wishing the InstallAware would make such a
tool. :)
- Brett Kapilik (Indigo Rose Corporation)
_____
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Peterson,
Joel
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 11:07 AM
To: Christopher Painter; Bob Arnson; John Vottero
Cc: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] msi to exe
I think half the subscribers to this mailing list are waiting
for that. :)
Joel Peterson
Quality Engineer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Quality Assurance Engineer
_____
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
Christopher Painter
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 8:09 AM
To: Bob Arnson; John Vottero
Cc: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] msi to exe
I didn't want to beat this thread to death, but that's exactly
right. From my perspective I'm trying to investigate how WiX can make
my life easier then InstallShield and I have to admit, while I know how
to program a bootstrapper from scratch, I'm completly spoiled in that
I'm used to simple clicking a few release settings and have
InstallShield take care of it for me. The thought of rolling my own
bootstrapper and then hiding it inside IExpress just makes me shiver.
Now if a program like WiXAware was to have a similar story that
authored wxs files that told candle/light/whatever to do a similar
thing, I'd be one step closer to saying goodbye to InstallShield.
Bob Arnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
John Vottero wrote:
We use iexpress to bundle everything into a self
extracting executable. We then add a manifest to that executable and
sign it. When the self extracting executable unpacks, it runs our
bootstrapper which does all the detecting etc. and then invokes msiexec
with the correct parameters.
That's an important distinction: IExpress is a
self-extractor, not a bootstrapper. Mostly because IExpress is dumb and
doesn't give you any control like a bootstrapper.
-- sig://boB http://joyofsetup.com/
_____
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