I fundamentally agree with you. However, building the code for a particular platform is the easiest part of the problem. Keeping the code working (since the platforms differ in subtle ways) is the real challenge.
Personally, supporting unsupported platforms is very low on my priority list. I have enough trouble keeping WinXP support working (aka: tested). That platform is still supported and *very* popular. If you want to sign up to contribute the fixes and maintain WiX toolset working on Win2k then I'd love to see the changesets. However, to be completely transparent I'm not really excited about delaying the release of WiX v3.6 for an unsupported platform. There are too many people already looking forward to WiX v3.6 being done now. Thus if Win2k requries radical redesign that's something we'd need to look at for next release. On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 10:54 AM, Alexander Lamaison <sw...@lammy.co.uk>wrote: > Is that not the wrong question? Rather than getting caught up in the > ins and outs of which version to support, why not adopt methods that > remove the decision entirely? > > Have you considered using CMake, for example, which generates build > files for a vast range of build platforms (including VS 6 - 11)? > Basically, you outsource the burden of supporting the long tail to > CMake. > > If a *project* limits itself to a certain platform, then so be it. > But its build tools certainly shouldn't. WiX has the double problem > of being, itself, a build tool so should neither be limited to a > certain platform by its own build tools nor limit projects that use > it. > > Alex > > On 29 April 2012 18:24, Rob Mensching <r...@robmensching.com> wrote: > > No, we don't forget that. However, at some point you have to trim your > tail > > or you end up with an enormous support burden that prevents you from > moving > > forward. > > > > One of the big questions for us in WiX v3.7 is how many versions of VS > > should we support? It is expensive to keep VS2005 and VS2008 working > > because they use the inferior MSBuild 2.0 and MSBuild 3.5. Cutting VS2005 > > and VS2008 cuts a big chunk of our tail and would allow us to do more > stuff. > > > > In WiX v4.0 I'm pretty sure we support only VS2010 and VS11 (whatever > they > > end up calling that). In WiX v4.0 the big question is do we support > > Windows XP? VC just dropped support for in in VS11. I hesitate to cut > > Windows XP support because it is still very popular... but it too is > going > > out of support very soon. > > > > These are never easy decisions. > > > > On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 3:42 AM, Alexander Lamaison <sw...@lammy.co.uk > >wrote: > > > >> 'Out of support' is just a marketing term. It doesn't mean it > >> magically stops working. People forget that often. > >> > >> Alex > >> > >> On 29 April 2012 08:06, Rob Mensching <r...@robmensching.com> wrote: > >> > NOTE: Win2k was out of support before WiX v3.6 even started > development. > >> We > >> > obviously don't test the code there so I really have no idea how much > >> work > >> > it will be to make any of the native code built by WiX (Burn, and > >> > CustomActions mainly) working on Win2k. > >> > > >> > On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 12:04 AM, Rob Mensching <r...@robmensching.com > >> >wrote: > >> > > >> >> If you vowed never to build WiX again, then it probably is not > feasible. > >> >> Burn is in wix\src\burn (burn.build) and as Bob noted if you want > >> wixstdba > >> >> then you'll need to build wix\src\ext\BalExtension\wixsdtba. > >> >> > >> >> Both are in WiX so that will require breaking your vow. <smile/> > >> >> On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 2:01 PM, Alexander Lamaison < > sw...@lammy.co.uk > >> >wrote: > >> >> > >> >>> On 28 April 2012 21:18, Bob Arnson <b...@joyofsetup.com> wrote: > >> >>> > On 28-Apr-12 08:08, Alexander Lamaison wrote: > >> >>> >> Is there a way round this? Can I easily compile the bootstrapper > >> >>> >> application myself with VS 2005? > >> >>> > You'd have to do the same thing to all of Burn too. > >> >>> > >> >>> Is this feasible? I once tried to build WiX and vowed never ever > ever > >> >>> again. Can Burn be built independently of the rest of WiX? > >> >>> > >> >>> -- > >> >>> Swish - Easy SFTP for Windows Explorer (http://www.swish-sftp.org) > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >> >>> Live Security Virtual Conference > >> >>> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and > >> >>> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. > >> Discussions > >> >>> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in > >> malware > >> >>> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ > >> >>> _______________________________________________ > >> >>> WiX-users mailing list > >> >>> WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > >> >>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > >> >>> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> -- > >> >> virtually, Rob Mensching - http://RobMensching.com LLC > >> >> > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > -- > >> > virtually, Rob Mensching - http://RobMensching.com LLC > >> > > >> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >> > Live Security Virtual Conference > >> > Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and > >> > threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. > Discussions > >> > will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in > malware > >> > threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ > >> > _______________________________________________ > >> > WiX-users mailing list > >> > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > >> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Swish - Easy SFTP for Windows Explorer (http://www.swish-sftp.org) > >> > >> > >> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >> Live Security Virtual Conference > >> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and > >> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. > Discussions > >> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in > malware > >> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ > >> _______________________________________________ > >> WiX-users mailing list > >> WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > virtually, Rob Mensching - http://RobMensching.com LLC > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Live Security Virtual Conference > > Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and > > threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions > > will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware > > threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ > > _______________________________________________ > > WiX-users mailing list > > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > > > > -- > Swish - Easy SFTP for Windows Explorer (http://www.swish-sftp.org) > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Live Security Virtual Conference > Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and > threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions > will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware > threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ > _______________________________________________ > WiX-users mailing list > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > -- virtually, Rob Mensching - http://RobMensching.com LLC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
