Bootstrapper SDK

  • Article

So now that the Visual Studio 2005 Generic Bootstrapper is 'out in the wild', I am spending a lot of time helping internal and external customers in creating custom Bootstrapper packages which is great!

In order to help people develop packages, I am going to create a Custom Bootstrapper Package SDK.  It will contain tools, examples, and resources for creating custom packages.

Here is the current lineup for the SDK.  If you think something is missing please let me know.  The tenative release date is sometime in mid to late February.

Documentation

  • All the Bootstrapper docs as a .CHM file
  • Custom package creation MSDN white paper
  • Test plan for custom packages

Examples

  • Examples of localized packages
  • Examples of ‘simple’ deployments (single MSI, single EXE)
  • Examples of Managed C++ Bootstrappers (MSBuild target)
  • Post-build step for Setup Projects to Authenticode sign Bootstrappers

Tools

  • Bootstrapper Manifest Generator (GUI for creating packages)
  • Bootstrapper Manifest Verifier (CMD line for asserting package correctness)