Installer creation tool - is this still a thing? - tfs

I'm not asking a technical question, but a request for advice.
Over time, I have always used installshield as the primary tool in installer development, and this tool has always been the king of them.
Lately, everything has gone to the web and Windows Forms have lost their charm. However, these still exist, and there are needs about them.
But you don't see anyone talking about the latest technologies about Windows Forms, installers...
Do you think Installshield is still the main tool for build installers? Why isn't any extension available in the VSTS/TFS vNext market?
Even in Jenkins, the last time the plugin was updated ... was in 2014. And we remember that Microsoft used Installshield Limited edition for one Visual Studio Version, but dropped to bring back Visual Studio Installer.

Related

how to run SmartStore.NET in visual studio 2015?

how start smartstore.net in visual studio localhost without any error
i download github code and open project file from
SmartStoreNET-3.x\src\SmartStoreNET.sln
The download link https://github.com/smartstoreag/SmartStoreNET
I use visual studio 2015 enterprise edition and windows 10.
First, you must be change the "Solution Configuration" to Debug mode, and second change the "Solution Plataform" to Any CPU.
This work for me.
I recently went through this integration/configuration procedure trying to get a local instance of SmartStore.NET up and running with demo data. I was able to get there eventually, but the development environment setup was by far the most tricky.
I would suggest starting with these two links:
http://docs.smartstore.com/display/SMNET30/Installing+SmartStore.NET
http://docs.smartstore.com/display/SMNET30/How+to+build+SmartStore.NET
I have a hunch you're issue may be your development environment configuration is not fully correct. Check out this page for more details about requirements:
Technology and Prerequisites
http://docs.smartstore.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=35555597
*NOTE: they reference ASP.NET 4.5.1 but I had to use 4.61 to take advantage of some newer features in C# 7.0 - Tuples, and several others)
Probably the most significant discovery I found was their were dependency issues when trying to restore the NuGet packages referenced in the solution. I had to go through this process maybe 4 or 5 times to finally get the app running locally.
Once all of this was complete, getting it working in 2015 required little effort.
I would also suggest narrowing your question to more specific problems. (that's just me)

Will VS2012 work with TFS2010?

I'm considering using VS2012 RC to put together coded UI tests (since VS2010 SP2 FP2 does not fully support IE9).
Currently, my test projects are contained within a solution which is connected to our TFS team project. I also set up a build definition to build the project when new code is checked in (the builds are performed on our build machine).
I suppose that if I upgrade my solution to VS2012, then to be able to build the solution on the build machine I will need VS2012 RC installed there too, right? But then is it possible to specify in my build definition for my project to be built by VS2012 instead of VS2010?
Is it possible for me to upgrade my project with VS2012 while still using TFS2010? I should note my solution will be the only one upgraded to VS2012. All the other solutions in the company still need to be built by VS2010. A company-wide upgrade to VS2012 won't be in place for at least a few months, I imagine.
Or do I need a separate build machine or anything?
Any thoughts, ideas or solutions appreciated!
UPDATE: So I gave it a try, and everything worked okay. My only problem is that the Coded UI tests I have didn't work after being re-built on on my build machine, but I suppose that's probably something I'd need to ask about elsewhere. To clarify, the solution built successfully, but the tests still failed.
Visual Studio 2012's project changes allow most types to still be opened by Visual Studio 2010 with SP1, so it depends on what kind of projects are in your solution - see this page for the full compatibility list:
If you created your assets in Visual Studio 2010 with Service Pack 1
(SP1), many of them will load and run in Visual Studio 2012 without
any further action on your part. Many assets will also open again in
Visual Studio 2010 with SP1 without any issues, even after you open
those assets in Visual Studio 2012.
See also "Round-tripping with Visual Studio 11" on the VS blog which has more detail.
Note though that if your build process uses custom build activities then just installing Visual Studio 2012 breaks the build definition on your local machine, and also that MVC1 or MVC2 projects just aren't supported by VS2012. Oh, and Visual Studio 2012 isn't a RC any more, it was RTM'd last week.
(I presume you mean 2012 RTM rather than RC, now that the final release is available)
Theoretically (from what I've read) VS2012 and VS2010 use the same project/solution file format, so you should be able to switch between them without any compatibility issues (aside, presumably from obvious things like creating new file types that VS2010 doesn't understand)
TFS updates have historically been backwards compatible, so you can usually use different client and server versions (but usually you need a compatibility pack installed for old clients on new servers, a new client running against an old server has usualyl been fine). So I'd expect this to work well.
I'd say try it, but diff any files that appear in VCS2012's Pending Changes carefully before you check in to be sure that it hasn't changed anything that will cause problems. The worst that can happen then is that your development machine gets a "corrupt" version of the code and you'll need to revert to 2010.
(This is the approach I've been using with our 130-project C# solution, and so far (1 day) it's working fine, apart from the new UI making my eyes bleed as they try to find the information in all the indistinguishable monochrome clutter)

Anyone would like to share their experience using TFS for Application life cycle management

we are developing white label web and mobile healthcare application for our clients. our product is evolving rapidly and we are supporting existing clients and going to support new clients.
current development workflow involves SVN for source code, requirement documents tracking and mantis for defect tracking.
We are considering VS TFS 2010 based Application life cycle management for our organization. we are hoping that VS TFS 2010 will help us streamline the following
1) Requirements Management
2) Source code Version control
3) Build automation
4) Test management
just wondering is anybody have experience using VS TFS 2010 and would like to share their experiences? is there any worthwhile alternatives to VS TeamSystem?
Preface: This is a personal opinion and I have no ties to Microsoft other than that I develop with their tools for their platform, even though I come across as a Microsoft lover in this answer. (which I am - I love .NET development)
I haven't used TFS 2010, but I HAVE used the 2005 Team Suite including TFS and the Visual Studio versions supported. We didn't move forward to 2008 or 1020 because of how extraordinarily difficult the 2005 version was to install. However, once we got it installed... Loved it. The project management tools were intuitive, and worked well. Setting up builds was a breeze, and it did everything I wanted it to do simply and efficiently.
Since then, however, we've adopted open source tools to do the same type of stuff. As I said, the install of 2005 was a NIGHTMARE and even though the 2010 version of Team Foundation Server installs VERY easily (I tested it myself and demonstrated it to the poor team who helped with the 2005 version just to show them how much better it is), I was unable to convince my team to give it a second chance. They chose to stick with tools that didn't need to be upgraded as often, and that were easier to upgrade when it did need to be done.
If it were just me, I'd be using it. This is one of those things where things just work right, and work together seamlessly. And the available documentation (MSDN, videos, etc) is exhaustive. I doubt any other set of tools is as well-documented.
It's just too bad that the experience with the older version was so bad that nobody else here will give the newer version a fair shake.
As for alternatives - it's not open source, but Atlassian has a nice set of tools. They work well for Java and we're using some of them in our .NET shop. We're using SVN for source control. That's about the only thing I like better about our new environment than I did the Team System.
I started at a new company 2 months back that uses TFS 2010 exclusively (for source control and issue/task tracking), and I haven't been able to get comfortable with it. Previously, I've mainly used SVN for source control and either OnTime (by Axosoft) or Fogbugz (Joel Spolsky) and have loved them both.
I don't know if it's the way they're using TFS (branching is nothing as nice as it was in SVN... and they have Product Backlog Items, Sprint Backlog Items, Bugs, Impediments, and god knows what else to keep track of) but I find it way too convoluted.
I think the tools a developer uses should assist the dev, not get in the way of. If I have to stop and think about how to branch code or assign an issue, then something's wrong with my tools (or I just need to spend more time learning them... which doesn't make sense to me either).

TFS support (plugin, external tool, etc) from within MonoDevelop?

Is there an easy way to integrate TFS for version control into MonoDevelop? I have a new MacBook Pro and an trying to determine which things I can do with Mac native apps and which I will need to run using Parallels.
I downloaded the Microsoft Visual Studio Team Explorer Everywhere 2010 command-line client, and was able to create a workspace, map a working folder and get the latest code. However, it would be nice to perform a get latest from inside MonoDevelop. In the Options there are External Tools I can try and setup, but I thought someone might have already done this. Has anybody done this?
Also, I see the the opentf project lists an alpha-quality MonoDevelop addin in the Feb 4, 2008 Release Notes, but that is two years ago. Has anybody used this?
You can always use Svn Bridge. In order to use it you will need to install it on the TFS server itself. It will then allow your TFS server to communicate via SVN protocol.
I retry to post an answer (sorry for my english i'm french). I has the same problem than you, i make some software for WP7 from visual studio and i use TFS in my compagny and want to make iphone applications with monotouch.
I Try openTF but i need direct integration in monodevelop, i find nothing in the internet and i decide to make my addin.
I release a test version (free of course) than you can try, it's integrate directly in monodevelop with TFS, and work for me on my mac.
You can see my blog at teamaddins.com i think it's can help.
Bruno
The least-bad solution I've come up with for Xamarin + TFS is to set up TFS through a Windows machine as normal, mount the TFS workspace as a SMB fileshare on the Mac, and manage checkouts manually in Visual Studio.
It's klugey, but there doesn't seem to be any reliable TFS tooling available for Mac.

Group project via Team Foundation 2010

We will be doing a database driven logistics system for our Software Analysis and Design course. What we want to do is to work on the project simultaneously so that we can finish the project earlier. Is TFS the right tool for this? If yes, how do we start? What are the steps to set up the TFS? We use VS 2010.
Thanks.
This is a very broad question. TFS is an excellent code repository that does allow for multiple developers to have a centralised code base (which sounds like what you are after).
The first thing you will need of course is the TFS 2010 installation disk and ideally a separate box to install it on. Although the installation and set up can differ slightly on differing OS, i would recommend following the installation guide here and posting any specific and more detailed questions as you come across issues.
Is TFS the right tool for this: Maybe. It may be a bit much overhead to use for a course.
How do you start: If you have Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate, TFS should be included. Everything is installation wizard based, and the install (can) give you everything you need. For what you want, a stand-alone installation using SQL Server Express should be fine.
If you're looking for something lightweight that you all could use for source control, you might want to consider some of the git/svn hosting services (e.g. http://unfuddle.com). There's no direct integration with Visual Studio without a third-party tool, but it will give you the basics of being able to share source code among your team.

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