So here's how things look from what I've seen recently: WiX 2.0 - the core tools are basically done - we haven't done anything but bug fixes in there for ~6 months now - the custom actions are still being actively worked on albeit at a slower pace than years ago - the focus recently has been on bug fixes but we've had some bad regressions so it's a bit of a bug tail - Votive continues to get new features, but change is basically at the same pace as usual - WixUI is a bit tricky - I'd characterize activity in there as bug fixes for the most part with a feature added here and there as 2.0 customers bring up legal and loc requirements (like the ability to print the EULA)
WiX 3.0 - the core tools are basically done - they've been under constant development for the past ~6 months but that has significantly subsided in the past month as the focus turns to bugs and fit & finish - WixUI has received some considerable upgrades in comparison to 2.0 in the areas of localization, overriding of license text and bitmaps, etc... - work in WixUI is on a similar track as the core tools - its been slowing down lately because its pretty feature complete - heat - this tool is in its infancy and will remain so for quite a while, but its ok because you're only supposed to use it up-front to generate your authoring the first time, right? :) - custom actions and extensions - the custom action code is identical to 2.0 but the extension model is much easier to use so hopefully using custom functionality became much simplier in 3.0 - Votive - I think Justin has some 3.0-specific plans but I'll defer to him to comment on those In terms of where we go from here, I think the community has a big decision to think about: how much more is expected of WiX 2.0? Obviously the blocking bugs should get fixed but how much more work should go into 2.0 beyond that? In particular, the line for the custom actions seems to be somewhat blurry because there may be siginificant gaps in functionality. The cost of fixing each of those gaps is that there is a chance for regressions (the IIS functionality has been particularly affected by this possibility). It comes down to this: who is shipping with 2.0 and what expectations do you have for fixes & features in that version? Derek -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Frederik Carlier Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 10:47 AM To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [WiX-users] Wix Versions [This message is BCC'd to wix-devs for those who are not subscribed to wix-users, but I think it is worth keeping the discussion on wix-users only] Hi, Text quoted from Derek Cicerone ("Re: [WiX-users] Localized version of License.rtf"): > The other option is to move to WiX 3.0. Work on the core of 3.0 is very > near completion, however, I'm still nervous about groups using 3.0 that > are > shipping anytime in 2006. It's not a matter of us churning the schema so > much anymore as just a general issue of 3.0 needing some bake time to > ensure the major bugs are fleshed out. I'd like to take this comment as a starting point to have a discussion about the versions of WiX. About 10 days ago, I sent out an e-mail asking people about experiences with the latest weekly builds to decide if they can be pushed to SourceForge. Only a single person replied. I take this that many, many people are very happy with the version of WiX 2.0 they have installed and that makes me conclude that WiX 2.0 is pretty stable. The fact that some pretty big software ships with setups made with WiX only confirms that. Exceptions are the "add-ons": the CA's have their know limitations and Votive and WixUI do pop up with enhancements on a regular basis). [It would be interesting to find out which builds of v2.0 people are using - maybe we should do a poll one day :)] And, work on Wix 3.0 seems to have advanced quite a bit and can show off with some compelling and working features. Quite often, the response is "this works better in v3.0, we won't be porting back the change, though". I get the impression that Wix 3.0 is really worth trying out - at an early "beta" stage, let's say. That, thus, leads me to believe that v2.0 is finished and rather stable. So, maybe it is about time to come out with that and start thinking about talking in terms of "release candidates" or "final" versions? All this would result in v2.0's stability being confirmed and the vast improvements in v3.0 being acknowledged, so that the adventurous people can star playing with v3.0 (so that it gets more attention, and that the major bugs can be fleshed out)... Of course, that's just my opinion, but I would love to hear feedback on this. Frederik. _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
