Various ways to deploy C# applications

Lesson 1 - Planning Deployment

• Goal = simple + easy installation of app files (+any others required) to client machine
• Simple apps = copy to destination directory
• Complex apps = use Windows Installer to configure client machine

XCOPY Deployment

• Name derived from DOS XCOPY - copy directory (and subdirectories) from source to target
• Accomplished from command prompt
• All files required by app must be located within its directory (or below)
• .NET framework must be installed on client machine
• App can not require presence of resources (e.g. DB) not known to be already present on client
• Usually only use for Apps with no externally dependencies and where it is known client will have .NET installed

Creating Setup Project

• Visual Studio .NET can create Windows Installer projects

• 2 forms

  • setup - deploying executables
  • merge - deploy controls and components that do not exist as standalone apps. Redistributable package that can be merged into existing setup

• Create via Setup Project wizard

  • Add setup project to existing solution

  • Choose project type (e.g. setup for windows app, or create merge module)

  • Determine what outputs to include in setup

    • Primary output (.exe or .dlls)
    • Resources
    • Debug symbols
    • Content files
    • Source files

  • Select any additional files to include (browse across hard drive)

Build Properties for Setup

• Configure output of project via properties window
• Produces at least one file (with .msi extension) containing all info required to install app
• Can create additional files to install app on machines without Windows Installer already present

Output File Name

• Location and name Windows Installer file will reside once built
• Default => <configuration>\<projectname>.<extension> where
  • <configuration> = subdirectory for selected configuration (e.g. release) in project directory
  • <projectname> = name of project
  • <extension> = .msi for Windows Installer application project or .msm for Windows Installer merge project

Package Files

• Determines how output files will be packaged

• Default = package into setup file itself

  • High compression
  • Low level of complexity

• Place into Cabinet (CAB) files

  • Can determine size of CAB files (useful if size limitation on output, e.g. destination = floppy)

• Package into loose, uncompressed files in same directory as MSI file

Bootstrapper

• Determine if bootstrapping app to be generated
• Bootstrapping app installs Windows Installer 1.5 onto target machine
• Not required if targeting Windows XP

Compression

• Unavailable if packaging as loose, uncompressed files
• Otherwise 3 settings
  • None - fastest to install, but very large image
  • For Speed - fast to install, larger image
  • For Size - slower to install, smaller image

Authenticode Signature

• Permits signing of project
• Specify folder containing Certificate File used for signing
• Specify folder containing Private Key for encrypting signed files
• Optionally specify URL for timestamp server to use when signing files

Build

• To Build, select project in solution explorer and choose Build
• Many distribution options available, including

Distribute

Removable Media

• Traditional mechanism
• If setup app bigger than size of chosen medium must package output as appropriately sized CAB files and copy to required number of disks

Network Share

• Used when destined for group of users on common network
• Simplest method of distribution
• Network administrator can set privileges to restrict access to specified groups or individuals

World Wide Web

• For projects with wide distribution audience
• Fundamentally same as via network share
• Copy installation files to virtual Web directory

Deployment

• If no bootstrapper, double click .MSI file
• If bootstrapper included double click setup.exe

Lesson 2 - Configuring Setup Project

• Windows Installer projects highly configurable
  • Target file locations
  • Create file associations
  • Check for pre-existing conditions
  • Execute custom actions

Setup Project Properties

• Configure via project properties window

• AddRemoveProgramIcon - icon for Add/Remove programs dialog

• Author - Programs author

• Description - Description of app

• Keywords - Keywords associated with app

• Localization - Locale for app

• Manufacturer - Info about apps manufacturer

• ManufacturerURL - URL for manufacturer

• ProductName - Name of product

• Subject - Subject of application

• SupportPhone - Phone number for support

• SupportURL - URL for support

• Title - Title of app

• DetectNewerInstall - When true looks for more recent version of app on computer and aborts install if one found

• RemovePreviousVersion - When true looks for earlier versions of app on computer and removes them if found

• Version - Version of the app

• vsdrpDoNoRegister - Object requires no registration

• csdrpCOM - Object registered as COM object

• vsdrpCOMRelativePath - Object will be registered as isolated COM object

• vsdrpCOMSelfReg - Object will be self-registered as COM object when installed

• vsdrpFont - Object will be registered as Font upon installation

• To register component upon install, select component and ser Register property to true

Installation Editors

• 6 installation editors provided by IDE

File System Editor

• Manipulate file system on target machine

• 2 panes

• Right = project output files

• Left = directory structure of target computer

  • Application folder
  • User desktop
  • User program menu
  • Add additional folder by choosing Add Special Folder

• Install to GAC

• Assembly must be incorporated in project as loose file

• Assembly must not be compressed with other project output

• Sign assembly with strong name

• Add GAC folder to File System Editor

• Add assembly to GAC folder

Registry Editor

• Create new registry entries
• Write new values to existing entries
• Left pane = registry structure on target
• Right pane = registry key values

File Types Editor

• Create association between file extension and application

• Right click File Type Editor and choose Add File Type

• Provide extension(s) separated by ; (do not prefix with .)

• Default& Open action already present

• Add additional actions by right clicking and choosing Add Action

• For each additional action

  • Command = application to launch when action taken
  • Name = text appearing in context menu
  • Verb = verb used to invoke action
  • Arguments = values passed to application

• When invoked app receives fully qualified file name as argument 1 followed by any additional arguments (as defined by action)

User Interface Editor

• Alter visual interface user sees during installation

• Consists of 2 trees

  • Install
  • Administrative Install

• Trees represent dialog boxes user sees during install

• Divided into 3 sections

  • Start

    • installer gathers info from user and machine
    • dialog boxes requiring choices placed here
    • at end installer checks for disk space, if not enough deployment aborted

  • Progress

    • Single dialog indicating installation in progress

  • End

    • Present information about installation to user

• Administrative Install typically has more options in Start phase, e.g. may not have Installation Folder dialog present in User Install

• Can add customisable dialogues to installation

  • Choose from variety of dialogs accepting input through check boxes, radio buttons or text boxes
  • Customise appearance via properties, e.g. BannerText, BodyText, Button1Label, DefaultValue, etc.

Custom Actions Editor

• Code to be executed during installation events

  • Install
  • Commit
  • Rollback
  • Uninstall

• Add custom action(s) under appropriate event

• Set properties for custom action(s)

  • Arguments - pass args to custom actions represented as .exe
  • Condition - Boolean statement to be evaluated before custom action executed (e.g. evaluate properties chosen in custom dialog boxes)
  • CustomActionData - pass additional required data to custom action
  • EntryPoint - name of method to execute for custom action (if blank same as source event, e.g. Install). Only applicable if custom action implemented as DLL
  • InstallerClass - true if custom action implemented as Installer class
  • SourcePath - path to file implementing custom action

Launch Conditions Editor

• Specify conditions to be met on target machine before installation executes, e.g. determine version of Windows running
• Editor divided into 2 parts - search and launch conditions

  • Create search by right clicking Search Target Machine and choose from

    • File - find specific file (including version, size and date)
    • Registry - find specific key
    • Windows Installer - find specified Windows Installer component
    • Specify property name for search - used by launch conditions to determine status of search

  • Create launch condition by clicking Launch Conditions

    • Specify name
    • Condition is string containing Boolean expression which if True permits installation to proceed. Can contain more than one expression joined by AND, OR, etc.
    • Message to display if condition fails

Installing Native Assembly

• Apps generally deployed as MSIL
• Where performance is critical may want to deploy as native code
• Use ngen.exe to create native image for application

Verify Installed Assembly Security Policies

• User PermView.exe to view permissions app requests
• By default displays assembly level permissions
• Use /DECL flag to examine all declared permissions (including those at class and method level)

Downloads

• applicationdeployment.rtf