I've read a lot about why not to use Dynamic File Linking but we have far too many files and directories/subdirectories to not use DFL. I'd be happy to have generated components for each build but we have a structure that doesn't lend itself well to either Dynamic File Linking or Static Linking. What I'd really like to be able to do is simply instruct the installer "discard directory X on every upgrade before applying the upgrade." Then the installer needs to drop a new set of files into directory X.
Our directory structure looks like this:
app files\build_1_0_100_0
Then on upgrade we would have a new directory:
app files\build_1_0_106_0
The "app files" directory is what I'd like to have removed. I've discussed moving the "build_1_0_xxx_0" structure but I've been told by our developers that this is not practical. I've been able to isolate the "app files" into its own component but it simply will not upgrade.
I finally figured out a way to make this work. What I had to do was add a key file that would be guaranteed to change from one build to the next. I also had to rearrange the the source files directory structure to accommodate both a static and dynamic link in the same component. Once I set the key file the upgrade has been working exactly as it should.
