Add/Remove Programs uses the IAppPublisher shell interface, a COM interface not available in .NET, though you can declare it in managed code. COM servers containing implementations of IAppPublisher are in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppManagement\Publishers registry key. Unfortunately, COM interop with .NET requires that you import the typelibs - if available - from each of these before you can create an instance of them. So, I recommend reading about the IAppPublisher interface in the MSDN Online Library[^] and creating a mixed-mode Managed C++ assembly. This way, you can work with native COM and expose the functionality you need to managed code. Writing an MC++ assembly this way allows you to reference it in your other managed projects, like a C# project.
Microsoft MVP, Visual C# My Articles
