Software deployment
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Hi, In the last twelve months, together with a team of 6 people, I developed a software that will assist it a base of customers that our company. They are approximately 400 customers with characteristics very different from operation and activity branch. My problem now is to try to organize an outline of distribution of this software. I admit that I personally don't have any practical experience in this subject and I am with some fear of turning the very bureaucratic or inefficient process. Some characteristics that can help to understand the problem: Windows Forms Application 32 binary (among executables and dlls) Database objects (triggers, constraints, udfs, procedures...) The one that I already have in mind is that I will probably have two versions. A stable one (that will just receive corrections) and an unstable one (where they will happen the corrections and new implementations). Now, how to do this? Will it be that I will have to maintain two trees of code source? Obs: I use StarTeam to control the versions of the files. Does anybody have some experience, some book or site that I can aid myself to plan this outline? Thank´s in advance, Marcelo Palladino
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Hi, In the last twelve months, together with a team of 6 people, I developed a software that will assist it a base of customers that our company. They are approximately 400 customers with characteristics very different from operation and activity branch. My problem now is to try to organize an outline of distribution of this software. I admit that I personally don't have any practical experience in this subject and I am with some fear of turning the very bureaucratic or inefficient process. Some characteristics that can help to understand the problem: Windows Forms Application 32 binary (among executables and dlls) Database objects (triggers, constraints, udfs, procedures...) The one that I already have in mind is that I will probably have two versions. A stable one (that will just receive corrections) and an unstable one (where they will happen the corrections and new implementations). Now, how to do this? Will it be that I will have to maintain two trees of code source? Obs: I use StarTeam to control the versions of the files. Does anybody have some experience, some book or site that I can aid myself to plan this outline? Thank´s in advance, Marcelo Palladino
I have no idea what StarTeam is, but really what you want to do is branch your code base every time you do a release. Then you keep working on the branched copy, but you have a freeze of the version that's in the field. As for distribution. I use 'Advanced Installer' and it rocks, well worth the price of admission ( only $100 or so ). www.advancedinstaller.com[^] The bit that I always find a hassle is the database scripts. I don't know what other people do, but I long ago wrote an app that has a database connection string in the config file, and that scours a subdirectory for .sql files and executes them. When I distribute an app with a database, I install a named instance of MSDE, which makes it easier to set up the installer app to find it to run scripts against it ( that is, I know what I am looking for ). Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++