[wix-users] Experience of build with WiX 4 Toolset

[Timofey Evsyutkin]

I wrote before I watched the last meetings and dojo videos.
So now I don't worry too much about it.

>> I don't think it's throwing more exceptions than v3.
>> Do you have any examples?
For example when I retrieve the value of a string variable.
null is returning in v3, but I get an exception in v4 that
is not documented in the interface description.
I see, it is a work in progress, so it is all right.

>> It is generated code instead of using reflection so that
>> it can be possible to use trimming.
>> What's the problem with using that package?
I understand that it is a good solution. I will try to describe a problem.
It will require a lot of work on projects in order to move build
from the command line to msbuild on CI/CD, and
it's not even planned to be done. In nowtime,
I can download nuget packages, then I unpack them and
I use the binaries as they are, and
the similar way as they were in version 3.
Except the WixToolset.Dnc.HostGenerator package, which
has to be connected in a different way.
I could store the package locally and restore it from there, but
I'd rather wait for the release of preview.1 now to do it naturally.

You said that it makes it possible to use the trimming.
I think it does not work "out of the box".
Could you share any recommendations?
I want to try to get a published single-file self-contained
custom MBA that depends on the platform (native code)
from my C# code and run it. But I do not know if I can get it?
I think the wix compiler definitely will say something like that
You need at least a one prereq package when adding a custom MBA.

Recently, I have finished migrating our projects
to WiX Toolset v4 and .NET 6 and I got some prototypes, which
as are expected they would cover the common cases.
There are still a number of questions left and
I am working on them.
The following things does not work completely and
I do not understand how to do it correctly:

1. A Updating MSI by another MSI with the same version, but
with a different product language, while
AllowSameVersionUpgrades attribute is active.

The updating has not applied,
only unregistering of the bundle occurs, which
is corrected by restoring to the previous version.

2. Is it possible to cancel or interrupt the process in any place
where it is required?
For example,
by pressing the "Cancel" button or closing the MBA window.

I close the UI of the MBA and call the Engine.Quit method, but
Engine does not respond and all processes hang.
Sometimes when it has closed, the return code is -1073741819.
But there were no details in the logs.

I did not try to do it softly by sending cancel in the event args and
waiting for a response. Cause I think it does not matter in this case.
Perhaps I am doing something wrong.

ср, 19 окт. 2022 г. в 21:24, Sean Hall via wix-users <
wix-users at lists.wixtoolset.org>:

> I don't think it's throwing more exceptions than v3. Do you have any
> examples?
>
> Managed code BA's have a DLL provided by WiX that starts up the .NET
> runtime (dnchost.dll for .NET Core BA's). After starting the runtime, it
> calls into an entry point in the managed code. That entry point is the code
> that is generated by WixToolset.Dnc.HostGenerator. It is generated code
> instead of using reflection so that it can be possible to use trimming.
> What's the problem with using that package?
>
> On Wed, Oct 19, 2022 at 1:48 AM Timofey Evsyutkin via wix-users <
> wix-users at lists.wixtoolset.org> wrote:
>
> > The implementation WixToolset.Mba.Core.Engine throws more exceptions
> > than expected from the interface WixToolset.Mba.Core.IEngine.
> > I think there are not enough comments.
> >
> > A question.
> > Is there any way to build a workable DotNETCore MBA
> > without adding a PackageReference of the WixToolset.Dnc.HostGenerator
> > explicitly?
> >
>
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