7 ms·

Unrelated, but I keep wondering if there is a viable market for an install system that is generally less fubarred than WiX Toolset, but still compiles down to M

Unrelated, but I keep wondering if there is a viable market for an install system that is generally less fubarred than WiX Toolset, but still compiles down to MSI.

janpieterz 10y ago
I quite often think the same. I'd love something similar to Cake [0] but then for installers. Copy file to xyz. Shortcut here. Run this method (CustomActions) only if (conditions) etc. I think the problem might lie in the MSI troubles, where WiX sort off treads in the middle (a bit abstracted, but at the same time you often have to peek into the MSI's and a lot of similar lingo), a C#/other version would abstract maybe a bit too much of something that is quite difficult. [0]: http://cakebuild.net/ http://cakebuild.net/
taspeotis 10y ago
There's a free one from Microsoft, or InstallShield LE. https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/f1cc3f3e-c300-40a7-8797-c509fb8933b9 https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/f1cc3f3e-c300... http://geekswithblogs.net/TarunArora/archive/2014/04/24/visual-studio-2013-installer-projects-ndash-hello-world-installer.aspx http://geekswithblogs.net/TarunArora/archive/2014/04/24/visu... That said: I use WiX and I find it works adequately.
- nathanaldensr 10y ago
  WiX gets the job done, but man, does it leak Windows Installer abstractions! You have to understand Windows Installer technology to be effective with WiX. It's definitely not "point-and-click!" http://wixtoolset.org/ http://wixtoolset.org/
  - jasonjei 10y ago
    Even though WiX isnt point and click I'm still impressed how easy it is to add uninstalling of old versions with a few lines of XML
  - taspeotis 10y ago
    > Windows Installer XML Toolset (WiX, pronounced "wicks") > leaks Windows Installer abstractions Okay
jasonjei 10y ago
WiX's biggest issue is the lack of documentation. I actually quite like WiX because of some pretty good tooling (like heat to create WiX definitions for files to install, or dark to reverse engineer MSIs). Custom Action DLLs in C++ are pretty straightforward once you learn how to do them. However, I found the documentation to be completely terrible. Changing a default dialog required copying some templates from the source branch. I had to search all over Google (and mailing lists) to add a Custom Action DLL to augment the installer functionality in a WXS file. Overall, I like the text-based format and UNIX-y command tools. However, the lack of good support and documentation is what drives the sharp learning curve. I suspect that the need to produce MSI and desktop software is somewhat becoming a niche.
nickpp 10y ago
Advanced Installer has been pretty good at making MSIs for over 10 years now. Easy to use, updated often, lately with AppV and AppX support. Not open source though and the free version is not full-featured.
flukus 10y ago
https://chocolatey.org/ https://chocolatey.org/

Unrelated, but I keep wondering if there is a viable market for an install system that is generally less fubarred than WiX Toolset, but still compiles down to MSI.

janpieterz 10y ago

I quite often think the same. I'd love something similar to Cake [0] but then for installers. Copy file to xyz. Shortcut here. Run this method (CustomActions) only if (conditions) etc. I think the problem might lie in the MSI troubles, where WiX sort off treads in the middle (a bit abstracted, but at the same time you often have to peek into the MSI's and a lot of similar lingo), a C#/other version would abstract maybe a bit too much of something that is quite difficult. [0]: http://cakebuild.net/ http://cakebuild.net/

taspeotis 10y ago

There's a free one from Microsoft, or InstallShield LE. https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/f1cc3f3e-c300-40a7-8797-c509fb8933b9 https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/f1cc3f3e-c300... http://geekswithblogs.net/TarunArora/archive/2014/04/24/visual-studio-2013-installer-projects-ndash-hello-world-installer.aspx http://geekswithblogs.net/TarunArora/archive/2014/04/24/visu... That said: I use WiX and I find it works adequately.

nathanaldensr 10y ago
WiX gets the job done, but man, does it leak Windows Installer abstractions! You have to understand Windows Installer technology to be effective with WiX. It's definitely not "point-and-click!" http://wixtoolset.org/ http://wixtoolset.org/
- jasonjei 10y ago
  Even though WiX isnt point and click I'm still impressed how easy it is to add uninstalling of old versions with a few lines of XML
- taspeotis 10y ago
  > Windows Installer XML Toolset (WiX, pronounced "wicks") > leaks Windows Installer abstractions Okay

jasonjei 10y ago

WiX's biggest issue is the lack of documentation. I actually quite like WiX because of some pretty good tooling (like heat to create WiX definitions for files to install, or dark to reverse engineer MSIs). Custom Action DLLs in C++ are pretty straightforward once you learn how to do them. However, I found the documentation to be completely terrible. Changing a default dialog required copying some templates from the source branch. I had to search all over Google (and mailing lists) to add a Custom Action DLL to augment the installer functionality in a WXS file. Overall, I like the text-based format and UNIX-y command tools. However, the lack of good support and documentation is what drives the sharp learning curve. I suspect that the need to produce MSI and desktop software is somewhat becoming a niche.

nickpp 10y ago

Advanced Installer has been pretty good at making MSIs for over 10 years now. Easy to use, updated often, lately with AppV and AppX support. Not open source though and the free version is not full-featured.

flukus 10y ago

https://chocolatey.org/ https://chocolatey.org/