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Simplify Application Deployments
by David Mack
Posted November 20, 2003
InstallShield DevStudio is designed to make your application deployment much easier and faster. It is integrated with Visual Studio .NET and supports C#, Visual Basic .NET, and ASP.NET. You can create InstallScript and MSI installations with it. DevStudio also supports install skins, globalization of your application, and assembly dependency checking. Even though it only runs on Windows 98 through 2003 platforms, it supports systems from Windows 95 through Windows 2003 Server.
The first thing I noticed was the amount of installation options that you have available. The installation produces a dialog box that has a button to install the entire DevStudio package. At the bottom of the dialog are hyperlinks to InstallShield Internet locations and documentation. There is also a link at the bottom that allows you to install only the standalone version of DevStudio.
If you haven't used any InstallShield products in the past, I would recommend taking the time to look through its documentation to see which options serve you best. I wanted to compare the Project Assistant wizard to the Installation Designer. When you are done walking through that particular wizard, you can have an installation, including registry settings and shortcuts. One of the things I would like to see added to the Project Assistant wizard is a dialog that lets you know you have completed the last step. I hit the "Next" button several times when I was already finished. I was able to get the same functionality using the designer, but it does take some time to get used to where all your information is located.
One of the features I wanted to try out when I got this project was the C# support. When I ran the wizard, it automatically created a new project and included my C# application as part of the solution. At this point I simply clicked through the wizard, answering appropriately at each point. When I was done with the wizard and built the project, it compiled my application automatically and included the resulting executable. It did an excellent job of determining what files from the application to include in the installation.
.NET applications can have assembly dependencies, so DevStudio scans for them and lets you select which dependents you want to include in your installation. The application I was deploying had a lot of assemblies, and DevStudio gave me the option to scan dependencies one at a time or all at once.
Another nice touch with DevStudio is the ability to use skins for your dialogs that pop up during installation. I was able to include company logos on various dialog boxes using the skins functionality.
DevStudio does an impressive job of integrating into the Visual Studio environment and gives you enough flexibility for most application deployment. If your deployment requires simple registry settings and shortcuts, I would recommend using the wizards and letting them create your installation. On the other hand, if your application requires conditional setups and modification of dialogs, then definitely use the installation designer.
InstallShield DevStudio
Web: www.installshield.com
Phone: 800-374-4353
Price: $1,199
Quick Facts: Provides support for multiple operating systems and deployment technologies; also supports assembly dependency scanning.
Pros: Wizards hide implementation details; includes support for skins.
Cons: Lots of installation options might overwhelm someone with little deployment experience.
About the Author
David Mack is a technical lead for the National Intelligence Division of Titan Systems and a software consultant. He has more than 10 years of experience in object-oriented programming. Reach him at . Back to top
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