[wix-users] Cleaning up "worst practices" in shared files

[Walter Dexter]

I'm using WiX.

They're using some no-longer-sold-or-supported thing from Wyse (which was
bought by Symantec and then discontinued.) It is (was) so expensive that
they have it installed on a single PC and all these different teams use
remote desktop to get to it.

Even after three days of training on it I didn't know how to use it, so I
said "no way" and started using WiX, with my manager's blessing of course.
I found the initial WiX learning curve steep but then it flattened out
really quickly.

So anyhow, definitely not a wixlib.

Maybe a merge module, but I kind of doubt they'd know what to do with it or
how to create it. I'm picking their MSI apart with Orca to see how some
other stuff works and it seems that Component and Directory are the same
thing to them. Ugh.

I'm leaning to an independent MSI so we can both deploy new files, and if
we can get the deployment team to not ram it in with REINSTALLMODE=amus
(they do that with every single package they send out) then versioning will
keep an old one from overlaying a new one.



On Thu, Sep 1, 2016 at 2:40 PM, Phill Hogland <phill.hogland at rimage.com>
wrote:

> Also consider a wixlib (if both using same version of wix tools), else a
> merge module.
>
> ________________________________
> From: wix-users <wix-users-bounces at lists.wixtoolset.org> on behalf of
> Walter Dexter <wfdexter at gmail.com>
> Sent: Thursday, September 1, 2016 2:27:59 PM
> To: WiX Toolset Users Mailing List
> Subject: [wix-users] Cleaning up "worst practices" in shared files
>
> This is due to lack of communication between teams, not willful stupidity.
>
> Both I and another team have MSIs that install the same two files. Call
> them "r1.ini" and "r15.ini".
>
> In my MSI, I have each one in a separate component with unique GUIDs.
>
> In their MSI, both are in a single component with yet another GUID, along
> with three more files that I don't deploy.
>
> It's my feeling that we need to get to a point where we both install with
> the same GUID so reference counting works, or move the files to their own
> MSI that one team "owns" and both teams can then deploy that new MSI.
>
> Questions:
>
> 1. What's the best route to cleaning this mess up?
> 2. Which going-forward path (separate MSI vs. agreed to GUID) is
> preferable? We deploy only via Microsoft system management tools, so
> bundles aren't involved.
>
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