Since you are talking about multiple MSI's, then the answer would be using WiX and Burn to generate your UI. I would start by looking at WiX's own installer for a basic example of writing a custom UX if you want it in .Net, or looking at the existing C++ StdBA if you don't want to have the dependency on the .Net framework.
I'm confused by your API question as I don't know what it is that you are trying to do that you can't accomplish with "off the shelf" components. I'm fairly certain everything can be done without an IDE, but I question why you wouldn't want to at least install the Express versions of the IDE. WPF is an option for a UI, as is WinForms or even MFC; pick based on the experience and the features you need. Windows Installer documentation won't be a huge help with burn as burn is a layer around multiple installation packages, however the documentation will help you create the MSI's that you intend on installing as part of your bundle. Extensions and custom actions are two entirely different things. Extensions are used at link time for putting in the proper information to allow the MSI to accomplish tasks that are either difficult to do manually, or require a custom action to do something that windows installer itself doesn't support. Custom actions should be the last resort, as all the standard functionality is something MS test and ensures works across versions of Windows installer and Windows in general. Jacob -----Original Message----- From: Josh Suereth [mailto:joshua.suer...@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 1:45 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: [WiX-users] Custom bundle-loader UI tl;dr; What environment do I need to create my own UI? First - Please don't laugh if I'm asking silly questions. I'm a Scala developer working on the JVM. I've been using WiX for a few months and it's a great tool! I was very happy to be able to use pure XML, and I drive my builds through our Scala build tool. It's been over 10 years since I looked at anything .NET, although I did a bunch of C++ a few years back. Now, the background: For our installer, we're aggregating a few open-source MSIs into a "stack" exe installer. The open-source MSIs should be able to co-exist with the stack, in the sense that if someone installs the OSS version, the "stack" should not replace it. I'm using WiX 3.6 for this, and while setting it up was amazingly simple, the uninstall behavior is confusing for users. SO - what do I need to research/learn to make my own API? Consider me a total n00b when it comes to Windows technology. I just need to find the right person in the company to help me with this, or spend some money on books. Can I use freely available windows tools to compile? Can I build things completely on the command-line? Should I be looking into WPF? I've started reading the WIndows Installer documentation. Do I need to know this to write my own UI? I have also read through the entire help included in WiX 3.6. It's pretty helpful, but for writing extensions it just shows how to set up a C++ extern function for the DLL. I'm not really sure what that function is supposed to *do*. Thanks! - Josh Suereth ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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
