On 12/6/2016 10:31 PM, Thomas Mader wrote:
The update case could be better supported by Inno by default though I don't know how to really do it transactionally/atomic. Once everything is on the drive, how would you be able to switch from the old directory to the new one with one atomic action under Windows?
I'm not sure what you mean by switch the directory. If you mean that the update uses a different directory for the program than the original, then you can probably just use a "major" upgrade. Windows Installer has the idea of minor upgrade and major upgrade. (So, it's independent of whatever tools your using.) A minor upgrade just updates the files that have changed. A major upgrade essentially removes the original product totally and installs the new one. Some people even use a major upgrade for _every_ new version just to avoid problems that might occur with a minor upgrade.
If your install is simple it may not matter whether it's transactional or not. If it fails halfway through just try again or else ask the user to delete files. But for a more complicated install it's possible that it fails halfway through and leaves the system in a bad state where the half-install cannot be easily removed nor can you try again because the installer now thinks the product is already installed. Trying to fix this on a remote user's system can be a headache.
I liked WiX because it was down to the metal and I don't think there's anything you can't do. With other tools (like InstallShield) I spent too much time trying to get the tool to do something I could have done really easy at the low level if I could've just gotten to it. But granted, for simpler install situations the scripting tools can work OK and have a smaller learning curve.
Jim
