Book Image

WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML

Book Image

WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML

Overview of this book

The cryptic science of Windows Installer can seem far off from the practical task of simply getting something installed. Luckily, we have WiX to simplify the matter. WiX is an XML markup, distributed with an open-source compiler and linker, used to produce a Windows Installer package. It is used by Microsoft and by countless other companies around the world to simplify deployments. "WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML" promises a friendly welcome into the world of Windows Installer. Starting off with a simple, practical example and continuing on with increasingly advanced scenarios, the reader will have a well-rounded education by book's end. With the help of this book, you'll understand your installer better, create it in less time, and save money in the process. No one really wants to devote a lifetime to understanding how to create a hassle-free installer. Learn to build a sophisticated deployment solution targeting the Windows platform in no time with this hands-on practical guide. Here we speed you through the basics and zoom right into the advanced. You'll get comfortable with components, features, conditions and actions. By the end, you'll be boasting your latest deployment victories at the local pub. Once you've finished "WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML", you'll realize just how powerful and awesome an installer can really be.
Table of Contents (23 chapters)
WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

The minor upgrade


Although a minor upgrade, like a major upgrade, can be distributed as a full MSI, in this chapter we'll focus on the more efficient methods of distributing it as a patch file (.msp). In this case, a minor upgrade doesn't uninstall the previous version. It only replaces some of the existing files or adds new ones. I'll show you two ways to make a patch, the first using .wixpdb files and the second using .wixout files.

Before we get to that, let's discuss the WiX source file that defines your patch. A .wixmsp defines the characteristics of your patch, setting fields such as Description and Comments that will appear in the patch file's properties. This file also sets up the sequencing of all of the patches for a particular product so that, say, patch 1.0.2.0 will be applied after 1.0.1.0. In this way, even if a user installs a patch out of order, it won't overwrite a newer patch that's already been applied. This file also defines the CAB files to embed in the patch and which...