app deployment

[hch_nguyen]

I have a VB.NET application I wrote that I now want to redistribute. The
Deployment tool that comes with .NET seems a bit limited. I basically want
to create an install program that will conditionally install the following.

1).NET Framework
2) MDAC (latest version)
3) SQL Server MSDE 2000 with service pack 3, including the custom database
that my program needs to function properly
4) My program itself

Should I be able to do all of the above with the Visual STudio deployment
tools?? It seems that even with Install Shield I can't accomplish the 4
tasks above.

Thanks,
Christine

 

[Phil Wilson]

It's best to install those things separately. VS setup projects don't have
as much functionality as InstallShield, and even with that it would be
difficult. The .NET Framework might install the Windows Installer engine,
and if you add SP2, it would reboot, MDAC might require a reboot, and MSDE
setups are tricky enough without embedding them in something else. If you
care about international clients you need to worry about localized versions
of the redistributables. Use a LaunchCondition in your program's setup to
require those items, and if you're shipping on a CD, you could put the
(English?) redistributables there. I doubt you'll find an install package
that actually contains all those redistributables, most people use a jacket
program to check for each and launch the individual setups.