VS2005 Bootstrapper SDK Released

Chris Smith’s completely unique view - Bootstrapper SDK Released!

"... The big news however, is that I have finally uploaded the first edition of the Visual Studio 2005 Generic Bootstrapper SDK! In it you will find some tools, files, and documentation to help you in creating custom packages.

Unfortunately with the team change I haven’t been able to make it is as grand as I once envisioned, but it should definitely be a good resource to anyone new to creating custom Bootstrapper packages. If you have any feedback or requests for additions to the next Bootstrapper SDK release please use that contact link and let me know!

The SDK is distributed under a Shared Source license ..."



If you’re doing ClickOnce deployment, then you may need to create your own bootstrapper one day. This SDK provides few tools and information to help you with this.



The included whitepaper is well worth the price of admission (which while a free download, the time spent downloading and reading it isn’t...)



"Authoring a Custom Bootstrapper Package

Brief Introduction to the Bootstrapper

The Visual Studio 2005 Bootstrapper is a technology which allows you to create an integrated setup experience for application prerequisites and ClickOnce or Windows Installer installations.With the Bootstrapper you do not have to worry whether or not end users have components like MDAC or the .Net Framework 2.0 installed on their machines -- simply indicate which prerequisites your application depends on and the Bootstrapper will take care of installing them along with the application itself.

Visual Studio 2005 includes out-of-the-box the capability to install several common prerequisites using the Bootstrapper, including .NET Framework 2.0, SQL Server Express 1.0, and others. The Bootstrapper is completely extensible, so it can be configured to install just about any redistributable. As a redistributable owner, providing a means for the developers to seamlessly install your package with their application using the Bootstrapper promotes penetration of your redistributable, and simplifies servicing by providing an alternative to privately deploying assemblies in the redistributable.

This whitepaper will show how to integrate a custom application prerequisite with the Bootstrapper. This will allow other developers to deploy the prerequisite along with their applications.

..."



BTW, I was having a brain cramp and for the life of me I couldn’t find the download link for the SDK. Incase you have the same problem, instead of being an inline/context link, it’s at the end of the post. (On an "Attachment" line... funny that :)



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