vb .net tutorial - 16

Deploying .NET Applications

©NIIT Deploying .NET Applications/Lesson 16/Slide 1 of 28

Objectives

In this lesson, you will learn to:

Identify different types of deployment projects

Create a deployment project

Use editors in a deployment project

Deploy an application

Deploy a component

Deploy a Web service



Visual Studio .NET Deployment

Is a process of distributing the files that make up an application to install it on target computers.

Involves the task of packaging all files and components and creating a setup program that

Copies all the necessary files to the target computer.

Stores files in appropriate folders.

Creates the necessary registry entries.

Creates a Start menu item and an icon on the desktop of a user computer to provide easy access to the application.



Setup and Deployment Projects

Provide a number of templates for deploying different types of applications depending on the type of application that

needs to be deployed and the mode of deployment. They are:

Setup Project

Merge Module Project

Web Setup Project

Cab Project

Setup Wizard



Setup Project Template

Is used to package all application files and create a Windows Installer (.msi) file.

Web Setup Project Template

Is used to install a Web-based application.

Is similar to a setup project.

Merge Module Project Template

Is used to create a single package that contains all files, resources, registry entries, and the setup logic necessary for deploying a component.



Is similar to a dynamic link library (DLL), which allows applications to share code with a difference that it allows various Windows Installers to share the installation code.

Resolves any version-related problems by identifying all the dependencies for a component and ensuring that the

correct versions of the components are installed.

Cab Project Template

Is used to package components that can be downloaded from a Web server to a Web browser.

Is typically used when you want a component to execute on a client computer instead of a Web server.



Deployment Project Editors

Can be used to specify the files that needs to be included in the project and the registry entries to be made for the

application that has to be deployed.

Can also be used to customize the user interface.

Are of the following types:

File System

Registry

File Types

User Interface

Custom Actions

Launch Conditions



The File System Editor

Is displayed by default.

Displays a standard set of folders that represent the folder structure on the target computer.

Contains the navigation pane and the details pane. The navigation pane displays a list of folders. When you select a

folder, the files and shortcuts in the folder are displayed in the details pane.

Can be used to add subfolders, special folders, or custom folders to a deployment project. Special folders represent some predefined Windows folders.



The File System Editor (Contd.)

Allows adding project outputs (such as .exe and .dll files) and additional files (such as readme.txt) to a

deployment project.

Allows specifying the folders on the target computers to which the application files are to be copied.



The Registry EditorProvides a hierarchical representation of the registry on the

target computer.

Has a layout similar to that of the Windows Registry editor.

Is used to add registry keys and values to the registry on the target computer.

Contains two panes, the navigation pane and the detail pane. The navigation pane displays a standard set of registry keys that correspond to the registry keys on the target computer. They are:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_USERS

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE



The File Types Editor

Allows you to specify file types and file associations on a target computer.



The User Interface Editor

Displays the dialog boxes that are automatically added by Visual Studio.NET when you create a deployment project.

Is used to provide customized dialog boxes.

Contains a list of dialog boxes, which are divided into two sections:

Install

Administrative Install

Categorizes dialog boxes as follows:

Start dialog boxes

Progress dialog boxes

End dialog boxes



The Custom Actions Editor

Is used to add custom actions to a deployment project. These actions must be compiled into a .dll or an .exe file and added to the deployment project by using the File System editor.



The Launch Conditions Editor

Is used to ensure that the version of the operating system on the target computer is appropriate for running your application or search the target computer for a

particular file or a key in the registry.

Can be used to add a number of launch conditions. These conditions are:

File launch condition

Registry launch condition

Windows Installer launch condition

.NET Framework launch condition

Internet Information Services launch condition



Just a Minute…

Which of the following deployment editors can be used to specify Control Panel settings on the target computer?

a) File Systems editor

b) Launch Conditions editor

c) Registry editor

d) User Interface editor



Problem Statement 16.D.1

The development of the Call Center module for Diaz Telecommunications is complete. The application now needs to be shipped to the client so that it can be installed on user computers. The installation process should perform the following tasks:

Copy all application files to a user computer.

Create a shortcut on the desktop of a computer for starting the application.

When a user begins installation, a license agreement should be displayed to the user. The process of installation should proceed only when a user accepts the license agreement.



Task List

Identify the type of deployment project to be used for creating the installer.

Identify the editors to be used in the deployment project.

Create a deployment project.

Add the application files to the deployment project.

Create a shortcut for the application.

Add a dialog box to the deployment project.

Build the solution.

Execute the installer.



Task 1: Identify the type of deployment project to be used for creating the installer.

Result:

In the given scenario, a Windows-based application is to be installed. For this, you can use the Setup and Deployment Projects project type and the Setup Project template.



Task 2: Identify the editors to be used in the deployment project.

Result:

The following table lists the tasks to be performed by the installation package and the editor that can be used to perform the task:

Task Editor

Copy all files to the target computer File System editor

Create a shortcut for the application on the desktop of a computer

File System editor

Create a shortcut for the application on the Programs menu

File System editor

Display a license agreement to a user User Interface editor



Task 3: Create a deployment project.

Task 4: Add the application files to the deployment project.

Task 5: Create a shortcut for the application.

Task 6: Add a dialog box to the deployment project.

Task 7: Build the solution.

Task 8: Execute the installer.



Deploying Components

COM components suffer from various problems relating to deployment such as:

Registration

Versioning

The .NET platform solves the issues relating to the deployment of components by using assemblies. An assembly has the following features:

Is self-describing.

Records version information and enforces it at run time.

Provides the ability to work with side-by-side components.



Deploying Components

The process of deploying components involves the following steps:

Creating an assembly

Single-file Assembly

Multi-file Assembly

Deploying an assembly



Just a Minute…

Consider the following files:

CalcDisc.VB

ProductDet.VB

List the steps that you will follow to create a single deployable unit containing these two files.



Deploying Web Services

Is done simply by copying the .asmx file corresponding to the Web service and the assemblies used by the Web

service to the destination computer that has Internet Information Services (IIS) 4.0 or later installed on it.

Can also be done by using a Web Setup deployment project.



Summary

In this lesson, you learned that:

Deployment is the process of distributing the files that constitute an application.

To help you create a setup program for your application, Visual Studio .NET provides a special project type called Setup and Deployment Projects. This project type provides

a number of templates for deploying different types of applications.

Visual Studio .NET provides four templates for deployment projects. These are:

Setup Project: Allows you to package all application files and create a Windows Installer (.msi) file.



Summary (Contd.)

Merge Module Project: Allows you to create a single package that contains all files, resources, registry entries, and the setup logic necessary for deploying a component.

Web Setup Project: Allows you to package all files of a Web application or a Web service.

Cab Project: Allows you to package components that can be downloaded from a Web Server to a Web browser.

Visual Studio .NET provides the following six editors in deployment projects:

File System: Allows you to add special folders, custom folders, subfolders, and files to a deployment project.



Summary (Contd.)

Registry: Allows you to add registry keys and values to a deployment project.

File Types: Allows you to specify file associations in a deployment project.

User Interface: Allows you to add and remove dialog boxes from a deployment project.

Custom Actions: Allows you to add custom actions to the deployment project.

Launch Conditions: Allows you to specify launch conditions in a deployment project.

To solve the problems of registration and version pertaining to the deployment of COM components, Microsoft has introduced assemblies in its .NET platform.



Summary (Contd.)

An assembly has the following features:

It is self-describing.

It records version information and enforces it at run time.

It provides the ability to work with side-by-side components.

An assembly may be embedded within a single DLL file. Such an assembly is called a single-file assembly.

You can create a single-file assembly by using Visual Studio .NET or the vbc compiler.



Summary (Contd.)

An assembly made up of multiple files is called a multi-file assembly. In case of a multi-file assembly, at least one

of the files in the assembly must contain the assembly manifest.

You can create a multi-file assembly by using the Al.exe utility.

After creating an assembly for a component, you can create a deployment project to deploy the component.

You can deploy a Web service simply by copying the .asmx file corresponding to the Web service and the

assemblies used by the Web service to the destination computer.

You can also use a Web Setup deployment project to deploy a Web service.

vb .net tutorial - 16

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