Visual Studio 2010 (the product) did ship using (an obviously pre-RC build of) WiX v3.5. WiX v3.5 had all the features they wanted and all the features they wanted worked. The next version is already using WiX v3.6. The Visual Studio team is consistently one of our earliest adopters.
Now, instead of being fearful of change (Halloween has passed <smile/>), let's talk about what is changing in WiX and why Visual Studio (and others) are okay picking up new builds. 1. WiX v3.5 is basically WiX v3.0 + Votive for VS2010 + IIS7. That means if you are only using the core toolset (candle, light, dark, lit, etc.) then those tools are nearly identical to WiX v3.0. In fact, I'd argue the WiX v3.5 core toolset is *better* than v3.0 because we've fixed a few bugs that didn't get found until after v3.0 shipped. 1a. Votive for VS2010 - if you need VS2010 integration then WiX v3.5 is the only option. Eric has fixed tons of bugs... many of them in VS2008 integration as well. At this point, I expect that Votive in WiX v3.5 is a better Votive but if you depend on Votive you'll probably want to spend a bit more time verifying it before accepting the drop. 1b. IIS7 - this turned into a large work item as was pretty unstable. If you use the IIS Custom Actions in WiX then you definitely want to spend time verifying the new IIS behavior before taking a new drop. 2. It is pretty rare for features we are not working on to get broken. Sometimes there are integration issues that slip through but typically if your code still compiles, links and installs/uninstalls then chances are you're good. 3. WiX v3.6 is all about Burn. There are changes in the core toolset to support Burn (have to build those Bundles) but they are pretty isolated code paths and I haven't seen regressions in the core due to the additions. That means, except for Burn itself, WiX v3.6 is basically the same as WiX v3.5. Ultimately, if you don't use Votive or IIS or Burn then WiX v3.0, v3.5 and v3.6 are all at almost the same quality level. Given that WiX v3.5 is so close to production, I feel pretty good about using WiX v3.6 myself. So, basically, Pally got it right. <smile/> Of course, when taking a new WiX drop you'll want to do some sanity verification to ensure the things that are important for you still work. If they don't, file the bug. <smile/> On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 6:35 AM, Christopher Painter < chr...@deploymentengineering.com> wrote: > I find that logic concerning. What build of 3.5 did they use? How > frequently do they switch to a new build? What is the criteria they follow > in > determining a new build is safe? Do they have special access to risk > awareness > by nature of internal relationships that you don't have? Do they have > special > automation / validation in place to confirm the results? > > In other words, just because all your friends are jumping off a bridge > doesn't > mean you should do it. They might have a bungee cord you don't know > about. > > Chris > > 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: "Barneck, Jared" <jared.barn...@landesk.com> > To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. > <wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net> > Sent: Thu, October 28, 2010 7:46:03 AM > Subject: Re: [WiX-users] To beta or not to beta > > No, I meant that the Visual Studio 2010 MSI contains dlls from WIX 3.5 > which > indicates that the Visual Studio 2010 installer was built with WIX 3.5. If > Microsoft uses 3.5 for releasing production code, we can. > > They haven't integrated it into their runtime of Visual Studio 2010. > ________________________________________ > From: Pally Sandher [pally.sand...@iesve.com] > Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2010 4:04 AM > To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. > Subject: Re: [WiX-users] To beta or not to beta > > WiX v3.5 isn't technically more stable than WiX v3.0 (in development > beta code versus released final code) but if you want to use VS2010 you > have to use WiX v3.5 as VS 2010 didn't exist when WiX v3.0 was released. > Having said that unless you're using the new features in WiX v3.5 such > as IIS7 or .NET 4.0 support v3.5 is as stable if not more so than v3.0. > There are certainly enough reasons to upgrade to v3.5 beyond the obvious > extra pair of eyes testing it. > > I wasn't aware of WiX v3.5 shipping with Visual Studio 2010. Last I > heard Microsoft dropped their plans to integrate WiX into the Visual > Studio release to much consternation around these parts (see > http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2009/4/1/Visual-Studio-will-not-ship- > the-WiX-toolset-contributes-only<http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2009/4/1/Visual-Studio-will-not-ship-the-WiX-toolset-contributes-only>). > If it's true that's quite a u-turn. > > Palbinder Sandher > Software Deployment & IT Administrator > T: +44 (0) 141 945 8500 > F: +44 (0) 141 945 8501 > > http://www.iesve.com > **Design, Simulate + Innovate with the <Virtual Environment>** > Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited. Registered in Scotland No. > SC151456 > Registered Office - Helix Building, West Of Scotland Science Park, > Glasgow G20 0SP > Email Disclaimer > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Barneck, Jared [mailto:jared.barn...@landesk.com] > Sent: 27 October 2010 21:45 > To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net > Subject: Re: [WiX-users] To beta or not to beta > > Hey all, > > So if I have a new project to do in WIX, and I can use either Visual > Studio 2008 or 2010. > > I know 3.5 says beta. But would you think there are more bugs fixed in > 3.5 or 3.0? Which do you really think is more stable? > > Is anyone already shipping production code with 3.5? > > Thanks, > > Jared > > Never mind. > > Visual Studio 2010 MSI has the WIX 3.5 dlls in it. So Microsoft is > sending out production code. > > Also, on the main developer's page, he says WIX 3.5 core is more stable > than 3.0. > > So we found our own answer! > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ------ > Nokia and AT&T present the 2010 Calling All Innovators-North America > contest Create new apps & games for the Nokia N8 for consumers in U.S. > and Canada $10 million total in prizes - $4M cash, 500 devices, nearly > $6M in marketing Develop with Nokia Qt SDK, Web Runtime, or Java and > Publish to Ovi Store http://p.sf.net/sfu/nokia-dev2dev > _______________________________________________ > WiX-users mailing list > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Nokia and AT&T present the 2010 Calling All Innovators-North America > contest > Create new apps & games for the Nokia N8 for consumers in U.S. and Canada > $10 million total in prizes - $4M cash, 500 devices, nearly $6M in > marketing > Develop with Nokia Qt SDK, Web Runtime, or Java and Publish to Ovi Store > http://p.sf.net/sfu/nokia-dev2dev > _______________________________________________ > WiX-users mailing list > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Nokia and AT&T present the 2010 Calling All Innovators-North America > contest > Create new apps & games for the Nokia N8 for consumers in U.S. and Canada > $10 million total in prizes - $4M cash, 500 devices, nearly $6M in > marketing > Develop with Nokia Qt SDK, Web Runtime, or Java and Publish to Ovi Store > http://p.sf.net/sfu/nokia-dev2dev > _______________________________________________ > WiX-users mailing list > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Nokia and AT&T present the 2010 Calling All Innovators-North America > contest > Create new apps & games for the Nokia N8 for consumers in U.S. and Canada > $10 million total in prizes - $4M cash, 500 devices, nearly $6M in > marketing > Develop with Nokia Qt SDK, Web Runtime, or Java and Publish to Ovi Store > http://p.sf.net/sfu/nokia-dev2dev > _______________________________________________ > WiX-users mailing list > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > > -- virtually, Rob Mensching - http://RobMensching.com LLC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nokia and AT&T present the 2010 Calling All Innovators-North America contest Create new apps & games for the Nokia N8 for consumers in U.S. and Canada $10 million total in prizes - $4M cash, 500 devices, nearly $6M in marketing Develop with Nokia Qt SDK, Web Runtime, or Java and Publish to Ovi Store http://p.sf.net/sfu/nokia-dev2dev _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
