Project depancies

[stu]

Hi

Little confession to start with, not a fan of ISLE but though I'd give it another whirl while I'm between projects.

Can someone please tell me why my setup deployment randomly decides to not include 3rd part dll dependencies?
Build the project one day, everything is there and goes smoothly, rebuild the project and dependencies disappear another day. rebuild the project again and some of them are back, others missing.
One thing to not detect my dll's, it's a whole other steaming pile of **** to be completely random, unpredictable and completely unreliable

[chiranjeevi]

Hello,

If I am not wrong, you are trying to add dependencies of project outputs which are added using Add project Output in the project assistant.

Please refer below post which discusses the same issue:

http://community.flexerasoftware.com/showthread.php?207062-Installshield-LE-dependencies-issue&highlight=dependencies+issue

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Chiranjeevi

[stu]

Nope. All I'm doing is modifying source then rebuilding the solution.
I haven't added any dependency directly. Like I said though 1 day everything is there an fine, next time dependencies aren't in the setup, then some of them come back on their own while others are no longer present.

This can be 3rd party DLLs or project outputs.

To get around it, I have NOW manually added everything, but find the lack of constancy still baffling

[chiranjeevi]

Hello,

Does this behavior reproducible in any other sample project or specific to this project? please kindly provide us the build log to investigate further.

Regards,
Chiranjeevi

[stu]

This type of behavior happened on at least 6 different projects to me so far. This was in part why I originally stopped using ISLE.
How would I create and find the build logs?

[chiranjeevi]

Hello,

Thank you for the response.

Please refer below msdn article on how to Obtain Build Logs with MSBuild:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms171470.aspx

Regards,
Chiranjeevi

[stu]

Guessing this is what you are after

[Christopher_Pai]

Setup and Deployment projects were horrible. Automated dependency scanning is horrible. Just turn it off and do it yourself. Windows Installer goes to great lengths to be deterministic and declarative.... why ruin such a good thing?

[stu]

Christopher Painter wrote:
Setup and Deployment projects were horrible. Automated dependency scanning is horrible. Just turn it off and do it yourself. Windows Installer goes to great lengths to be deterministic and declarative.... why ruin such a good thing?

Huh? is this anything to do with the problem I've been experiencing or is this just useless advertising spam?

[Christopher_Pai]

stu wrote:

Can someone please tell me why my setup deployment randomly decides to not include 3rd part dll dependencies?

It has everything to do with your problem. ^^^^^ I've been doing installers for 17 years and have 4,000 posts around here. I'm not just some random spammer.... I actually know what I'm talking about and was attempting to reframe the problem for you. In all my years any kind of automated harvesting / scanning / authoring has never ended well more then 80% of the time which is way too low for me.

[bruce_scheffler]

Chris,
I agree with you in adding the files by hand. However it seems that the primary output (web app, dll file) is no longer being added to the bin directory but in the root directory of the application. Prior to version 2013 it worked fine, now it have cut and paste after installing the program on the server.
Any thoughts on how to get it go into the bin folder like the others.
Do I have add that file by hand like the other files?

Yes, its me Bruce...

[Christopher_Pai]

I never use project references and output scanning and so on. I always put my .NET projects and installer projects in two different solutions. Build .NET and the projects either have a postbuild copy command or an MSDeploy Publish profile that sends all the files to a staging area that models the deployed structure. I then add all the file references by hand because I want to be in 100% control of how things get authored. Build .NET and then build install.

[stu]

Sorry Chris, didn't mean to offend. was just a bit confused by the mention of iswix in your sig. Also been a bit tidied up of late so haven't had the time to even think about this for a while

Just want to clarify what you are saying I'm not an install developer so a little of this terminology is a bit lost on me

Basically, the dependency scanning is un-reliable, therefore don't use it. Add dependencies to the deployment manually instead.

If this is what you meant, Thanks but that exactly what I said I had found, and exactly what I said I've done so really you haven't answered any question.


My question is WHY does this happen, I had always assumed it was something I did wrong, but it looks now looks more like the dependency scanner doesn't work

[Christopher_Pai]

I was trying to save you months of countless frustration by passing on a tidbit of wisdom based on my 17 years of setup development. If one thinks about such things as the component rules, upgrade servicing, and what it means to reflect C++, VB, .NET with early and late binding references and all the complexity involved it quickly becomes obvious that the only trust worthy dependency scanner is the one sitting at the keyboard researching, designing, constructing and testing the changes. Leaving it to build time magic rarely ends well.

Tools vendors add these features because some developers demand them. Attempt to use these features at your own risk.

[stu]

Christopher Painter wrote:
I was trying to save you months of countless frustration by passing on a tidbit of wisdom based on my 17 years of setup development. If one thinks about such things as the component rules, upgrade servicing, and what it means to reflect C++, VB, .NET with early and late binding references and all the complexity involved it quickly becomes obvious that the only trust worthy dependency scanner is the one sitting at the keyboard researching, designing, constructing and testing the changes. Leaving it to build time magic rarely ends well.

Tools vendors add these features because some developers demand them. Attempt to use these features at your own risk.

if this is the case, really you have to ask what exactly is the point of ISLE. As far as I saw it dependency scanner was the only advantage it had. Might as well just use something like WIX if I'm going to have to do all the work anyway which doesn't have any of the limitations put on us by ISLE