InstallAware

I am writing an install that requires .NET 2.0 for the PC but also requires the .NET Compact Framework 2.0 for the Mobile component. I have gotten things down where I can install and run thru activesync to install the mobile app but I can't seem to deploy .NET CF. Is there a plugin available for creating a CF prerequisite just like .NET Framework has or could I get a sample plugin that I could modify to check and install CF. I'm primarily a vb guy so trying to make sense of a bare C++ skeleton isn't much help.

Thanx

Hello!

We don't have a built-in plug-in for that at this time...but what you can do is run the native CF installer. You should be able to download this installer from the Microsoft web site, and then you may run it from your setup script using the Run Program command. Be sure to wait for the CF installer to return by specifying the "Wait for Program to Finish" option in the Run Program command.

that was going to be the plan B way of doing it. Is it possible to write plugins in other languages such as VB6?

Yes, sure - as long as VB (or the other language) can build Win32 DLLs, this is possible. I imagine you can build Win32 DLLs in VB. If you want you may also hire our consulting services to build the plug-in for you - our rates are very affordable at $99/hr. Just let me know (send me an email) and I will have a consultant get back to you with a quote for the project.

Thanx.. Right now everything is in a research phase.. but thank you for the offer.. we will certainly keep it mind.. I'm lobbying a convert from InstallShield and price vs the features and ability to expand is going to be key.

You can expand various ways - for instance, the Call DLL Function plug-in allows you to call any arbitrary Win32 DLL, without having to write an InstallAware specific plug-in DLL with pre-defined exports, and so on. On the other hand, of course, if you write a plug-in, it natively appears in your setup script as a command, and has full access to the state of the installation variables. So there are definitely a lot of possibilities to expand, and in a "gradiated" fashion that suits your timeline and budget.

kpounds wrote:that was going to be the plan B way of doing it. Is it possible to write plugins in other languages such as VB6?

It is not possible to write plugins in VB6 because you can't create C-compatible DLL's with Visual Basic (you can "only" create ActiveX-DLL's). If you are not an expert in C++ or Delphi there is an other possibility: PureBasic. With this language you can create very compact and C-compatible DLL's (a single DLL has about 8KB) and there are NO runtime libraries neccessary. It's like a C-Compiler but with the language Basic and it's very cheap ($69,-)

I will provide an InstallAWARE SDK for PureBasic the next time with a complete template (IDE- and Runtime-DLL) so you can build your own plugins in minutes

Hope this helps you,

cu

Markus

I am intrigued by the PureBasic use.. We were looking at PureBasic for use with projects that may get ported to Mac OSX so I can probably get my hands on that. Thanx