I have plenty of experience with declarative configuration/installation as I've > spent years working with application servers not to mention .NET with its > bevvy of config files for everything. >
But do you have any experience with Windows Installer? The posts you have made to the wix-users mailing list suggests you do not. In my experience, all _scripted_ deployment approaches developed for .NET that do not use Windows Installer are, in fact, procedural and not declarative. This is just not how Windows Installer works. > > The Windows Installer (as Edwin noted) provides UI design you are critical > of, not the WiX toolset. > > I'm sorry, but that's just passing the buck. You're essentially blaming user > difficulties with WiX on what lies underneath. If WiX can't make these > problems go away or at least make them reasonably manageable then what > is the point? What is the motivation for me or anybody else to use it if the > difficulties that need to be dealt with are as bad or worse than the > alternatives that don't involve WiX?? You do understand that many of us that > are taking a first time look at WiX are not hobbyists with a lot of time on > our > hands, but professionals facing real world job pressures like deadlines? > This is very much not passing the buck! Your lack of understanding of Windows Installer is severely impacting your point of view. I would urge you to read through the Windows Installer SDK documentation and attempt to author an MSI package using the tools available in the Windows Installer SDK. Perhaps you should take the time to fully understand the tool you are using for authoring MSI packages (WiX) before you start making comments about how useful it is or is not. Finally, you are perfectly welcome to not use WiX to author your MSI package. If you do decide to use a different tool and that tool produces a MSI package, then I would be interested in finding out how that tool gets Windows Installer to do what you want to do. A Windows Installer solution will be implemented similarly (generally speaking) regardless the tool used to produce the MSI package. You really have a problem with how Windows Installer works (not WiX). Honestly, you should consider switching to something that does not produce Windows Installer packages (.msi). NSIS is but one option. If you have a requirement that says you *must* produce a Windows Installer package (.msi) then I'm afraid you are going to need to learn Windows Installer whether you like it or not. Edwin G. Castro Software Developer - Staff Digital Channels Fiserv Office: 503-746-0643 Fax: 503-617-0291 www.fiserv.com Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Got Input? Slashdot Needs You. Take our quick survey online. Come on, we don't ask for help often. Plus, you'll get a chance to win $100 to spend on ThinkGeek. http://p.sf.net/sfu/slashdot-survey _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
