Arnette, Bill wrote: > A merge module should never deliver a component containing system files > to the main feature of an application, because this may cause the > Installer to validate and repair the application each time the system > file is used. A .msi file that is intended to accept components from a > merge module should be authored so that any components that contain > system files only belong to features that are separate from the main > feature of the application. > > If your package uses a merge module containing system files that link > all the components from the merge module to the main feature of the > application, an attempt to use the system file may trigger the Installer > to try and repair the main feature of the application. If the main > feature cannot be repaired, the installation may fail. > > --- > > I presume "system files" are main application files in this context. >
I don't think that's the case. The original intent for merge modules wasn't to do composition; it was focused on redistributable components, so "system files" probably means files that get installed into shared directories. An advertised shortcut does a resiliency check on the feature the shortcut points to, so as a general rule, the fewer components in that feature, the better/faster -- regardless of whether they come from merge modules. That said, merge modules are on the decline, as you can't patch all consumers of a merge module. (Remember Slammer? It was so bad because MSDE distributed via merge modules couldn't get the patch.) Microsoft publishes very few merge modules these days. Avoid them if you can. -- sig://boB http://bobs.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
