Wise Package Studio Source Management
Updated: 21 May 2010 | 8 comments
This issue has been solved. See solution.
Hi,
I've got a little project which i've compiled into a MSI with WISE. The project very small -just a few MB of files for a Windows service. I've compiled it into an MSI with WISE, and am pretty unsure as to how I should be managing the source.
The problem is when the MSI moves for example from version 0.1 to 0.2, is the best way to copy the 0.1 tree to a new folder structure for the 0.2 branch and then change all the file locations in the MSI to root from the 0.2 branch?
I ask as the interface allows you to simply change the MSI version and create new GUIDs, so I'm just checking that i'm not overcomplicating things on the source tree side.
Kind Regards,
Ian./
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Upgrade or Remove and Re-Install
Will the latest release need to upgrade any previous release, or will the previous release be removed first and the current release installed?
I think it's good practice...
...to keep everything separate in discrete folders, yes. Then you know EXACTLY which files relate to which package.
If think you may be looking at many projects in the future, you may want to consider a version control system, where you check files in and out. You can pay a lot of money for systems (e.g. PVCS) or go for free. I used to use an excellent freeware system that I got from SourceForge but the name escapes me for the moment. Anyway, most paid-for systems have trial periods so try stuff out and plump for what works best for you.
Don't know why 'x' happened? Want to know why 'y' happened? Use ProcMon and it will tell you.
Think about using http://www.google.com before posting.
Do you plan to offer upgrades?
Are you planning to offer each new version as an upgrade to the previous version(s)?
Generating upgrades is best achieved by starting with a previous release of the MSI and then editing it to make the necessary changes, before running UpgradeSync to ensure any unresolved issues are flagged up and corrected.
This appears to be what you are doing already, so I see no overcomplication here.
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First -thanks for all the
First -thanks for all the replies.
OK, so yes I always intend for each version to be offered as an upgrade to the previous versions. At the moment I am pretty much just editing the wise package in place as I upgrade.
However this feels a bit clunky to me, and dangerous. So I am replicating what I do with my code and having a 'current' folder and specific version folders. Within each folder is the package source tree, the wise file and the compiled MSI. When I'm happy with the latest compiled version, I copy current to the specific version number so i've got the whole lot frozen at that point.
Or is this really overwhack?
Ian Atkin, Senior Developer for the ICT Support Team, Oxford University, UK
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It's a great methodology
You have no idea how many users end up in the situation where they have inadvertently edited the master copy of their project, messed it up, and have no backups.
I totally endorse your process as it ensures that each new version can be edited and updated without affecting any previous version, and in the event of a problem, you can always dump your failed project, reload a copy of the previous version and start again.
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Hi Ed, OK -it looks like
Hi Ed,
OK -it looks like this is the way to go then.
Thankyou all for your comments. I'm finding Wise a bit of a struggle...
Kind Regards,
Ian./
Ian Atkin, Senior Developer for the ICT Support Team, Oxford University, UK
Connect Etiquette: "Mark as Solution" those posts which resolve your problem, and give a thumbs up to useful comments, articles and downloads&
>I'm finding Wise a bit of a
>I'm finding Wise a bit of a struggle...
In what way? Is it Wise per se or Windows Installer/MSI in general?
The latter is quite a steep learning curve and for simple projects, Wise makes a good stab at shielding the newcomer from its vaguaries. Once you progress beyond the simple stuff, neither tool (there are really only two players, Wise and InstallShield) will help you much. I much prefer Wise's UI (particularly for Custom Actions) but as ever, it's horses for courses.
Don't know why 'x' happened? Want to know why 'y' happened? Use ProcMon and it will tell you.
Think about using http://www.google.com before posting.
Hi VBScab, I think its my
Hi VBScab,
I think its my understanding of MSI's which is letting me down. The different execution paths for upgrades and fresh install caught me out, and once I started trying to sort out ICE errors I gave up for the night and resorted to beer.
It will come with time and patience, but sometimes I lack both!
Kind Regards,
Ian./
Ian Atkin, Senior Developer for the ICT Support Team, Oxford University, UK
Connect Etiquette: "Mark as Solution" those posts which resolve your problem, and give a thumbs up to useful comments, articles and downloads&
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