How do I integrate InstallShield/Wix/IsWix with TFS? I wish to auto generate setup files during successful TFS checkin/release?
I am comparing InstallShield with Wix and IsWix! to choose the right candidate for upcoming product development.
Tools Used
v.Next Builds
Team Foundation Version Control
Update from InstallShield support team
To integrate InstallShield with Team Foundation Server, install InstallShield on each machine that u want to be able to create, update, or build InstallShield projects.It should also be installed on a machine that is designated as a build agent for InstallShield projects that are stored in Team Foundation Server.
NOTE: The Standalone Build is a build engine that enables you to build InstallShield projects without installing the full version of InstallShield on a build machine.If you have the Standalone Build, you can install it on a machine that is designated as a build agent for Team Foundation Server."
I have very limited experience with InstallShield, but I can advocate for WiX. Recently they added a no-install option that allows you to build WiX project by just adding a few files along to your sources.
WiX code is an XML dialect and it is simple to generate, but the simplest pattern is to write a Product and a Project file and let Heat generating the remaining code you need for a simple install.
At a high level you need to create an .ISPROJ (MSbuild ) and .SLN for your .ISM. In the ISPROJ you'll want to write some code to regex parse the build number and generate a random ProductCode for major upgrades.
You'll add a build vs sln step to your build and tell it to use 32bit MSBuild (InstallShield doesn't support 64bit).
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsts/build-release/concepts/definitions/build/variables?tabs=batch
http://helpnet.installshield.com/installshield22helplib/helplibrary/MSBuild.htm
You'll need an on-prem build server and install the InstallShield Stand Alone Build engine one it. I'd go ahead and install the Automation Interface also as you don't know when you'll need it some day.
Related
I'm new to using jenkins.I am working on C# project and using jenkins for continuous build and release. I completed creating builds for my project and got the .exe and dll files. But i need to repackage it(create a msi) before deploying to servers. So can anyone give a stepwise information for rePackaging and tool to be used with jenkins for packaging. I want to automate this process in jenkins CI AND CD.
Repackaging implies you have a third party installer that you want to reverse engineer into a new/better MSI. You are just packaging not repackaging.
This is a two part question:
Author an MSI. I recommend using WiX and IsWiX starting with this tutorial.
Build it using Jenkins. WiX supports MSBuild and Jenkins has a MSBuild PlugIn. Standard stuff except not that the .WIXPROJ created by IsWiX templates expects you to pass the MSBuild Property MSIProductVersion. The correct format for this property is 0-255.0-255.0-65535. You can tack on a fourth field if you would like but it will be ignored. The IsWiX project templates are set up for Major Upgrades by default so make sure one of these 3 fields is incremeented with each release. ( 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.1.0, 1.1.1, 2.0.0 )
This is more of a packaging issue than a Jenkins issue.
Take a look at WIX Toolset. I used it successfully in the past with various projects. Integration with Jenkins should be easy. There are 2 options I'm aware of:
After installing the WIX toolset, add a new WIX project to your Visual Studio solution. Once configured, commit the new project to your source code repository. Then developers can build .MSI packages on their own development workstation. Assuming you use MSBuild in Jenkins to build your C# project, the new project will "just build" and create .MSI package (remember to install WIX on your Jenkins build server). This is the recommended option.
Use WIX's command line utilities to generate MSI in a Jenkins batch step. This is more cumbersome and difficult to debug.
Currently, we are using TFS 2012 and we have a heavily customized build process as described below.
1. Build the source
2. Run an EXE as console to host WCF services
3. Restore databases on local sql server
4. Run functional test
5. delete databases
6. close the exe started in step 2.
7. Create an Installable exe using WiX ( Wix with custom bootstratpper)
8. Update version number file to TFS
Now we want to move to Visual Studio online from onpremise. Trying to setup a build process with Private Build agent. I have created an VM , installed and registerd agent. I do see agent name back in website.
When I go back to Visual studio and try to create new xaml build definition I am getting below error.
TFS22501: Creating a build definition requires a build controller be defined for this team project collection. There may not be any controllers configured or you may not have permissions to view them. contact your team foundation server administrator.
can somebody please help ?
If you're using XAML build, you have to use the old-style XAML build controller/agent. The VSTS agent is for the new build system.
I would strongly recommend migrating your builds to the new build system as part of your migration to VS Team Services, as the XAML build system is effectively dead.
I am very new to Jenkins and sort of new to build .net application, but the guy left team so I have been assigned to do this. I have read tons of articles online about setting up Jenkins master, but little about slave configuration. The guy created a new slave and connect with Jenkins master successfully before he left. And he told me that slave is responsible for 1) downloading source code from TFS server and 2) building them.
now my issue is what do I need to install in the slave machine( windows system) to be able to perform that two tasks?
1) for downloading source code, do I need to install TFS client on slave ?
2) for building source code, do I need to install MSbuild or entire Visual studio ?
Thank you very much !
Assuming you installed a recent version of the Team Foundation Server Plugin, then no TFS Client is required (see https://github.com/jenkinsci/tfs-plugin#400-and-later-new).
Depending on what you are building, installing Visual Studio maybe required or not. In my experience, only a limited set of project types build with just MSBuild and without Visual Studio. There are hacks or supported tips but they work only in specific cases: YMMV.
The new Build Tools for Visual Studio 2017 RC are making this requirement a thing of the past: if you can migrate your code to Visual Studio 2017 you will be able to use them.
I just downloaded the Automatic Versions add-in for VS here (https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/dd8c5682-58a4-4c13-a0b4-9eadaba919fe/view/Discussions) and it works great locally, but how do I get it to work with Team Builds? Is there something I should install on the build server?
Firstly, the Automatic Version addin is not called in TFS build even if it is installed on TFS build server machine. In other words, you can't use it to generate incremental assembly version during TFS build process.
Instead, you need to create one custom build process activity to update assembly version, then customize the TFS build process template to add the activity. Please check the following links for the details of the sample build activity and how to customize build process template to use it.
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/705482/Updating-Assembly-Versions-During-TFS-Builds
http://tfssimpleversioning.codeplex.com/
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jjameson/archive/2010/11/29/incrementing-the-assembly-version-for-each-build-in-tfs-2010.aspx
I want to create MSI build package as part of a TFS build.
What options there are?
i know about:
install VS on TFS server (http://geekswithblogs.net/jakob/archive/2010/05/14/building-visual-studio-setup-projects-with-tfs-2010-team-build.aspx)
Use 3rd party software on tfs
I do not wish to rely on 3rd party software or install vs 2010 on server as i have no licence to spare
Wix: http://wix.sourceforge.net/
It can be invoked using MsBuild.
I am using it quite successfully in one of my projects
This page gives some info on what is needed http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/authoring_first_msbuild_project.htm
You should create the MSI Build package on TFS Build the same way you do it locally.
If you don't have anything yet, I strongly encourage you to look at Wix and use it. However Wix is mainly lowlevel package generation for MSI.
If you have complex needs for installation wizard you may rely on InstallShield to get the job done.
By using InstallShield (IS) you have two options:
Create a deployment project that will be 100% compatible with Windows Installer (the technology that builds .msi), no more no less. By doing that you can build your IS project pretty easily with Team Build.
Create a deployment project with the IS flavor (with a installation bootstrap) and you'll have to deploy the needed runtimes of IS in order to successfully build.
However I strongly encourage you to not choose the way you'll create your deployment package based on the Continous Integration constraints, if you have to install 3rd parties on your build agent, so be it, it won't be the toughest thing to do. (especially if those are VM you can clone)