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

Conditional statements and iterations


In this section, we'll take a look at the conditional and looping statements that are available at compile time.

if...elseif...else

The if statement checks whether a preprocessor variable is set to a certain value. If it is, the markup between the opening if statement and the closing endif will be compiled. Optionally, it can be followed by an elseif or else statement, allowing you to compile other code if the initial condition is false. The entire block must end with endif. The following snippet is an example that only compiles a Property element if the preprocessor variable myVar is equal to 10:

<?if $(var.myVar) = 10 ?>
<Property Id="newProperty" Value="5" />
<?endif?>

Here's a more complex example that utilizes the elseif and else statements:

<?if $(var.myVar) = 10 ?>
<Property Id="newProperty" Value="5" />
<?elseif $(var.myVar) > 10?>
<Property Id="newProperty" Value="6" />
<?else?>
<Property Id=...