VB.NET Setup and deployment interview questions and answers
1.Describe XCOPY deployment. Under
what conditions is it useful? When can it not be used?
XCOPY deployment is a simple
method of deployment where the DOS command XCOPY is used to copy the
application directory and any subdirectories to the target machine. You can use
XCOPY deployment if your application has no dependency on shared files and
requires no special actions to be taken upon deployment. If an application
requires a more complex deployment or references shared assemblies, you cannot
use XCOPY.
2.You have created an application
for a client who wants to distribute your application to his workforce via a
network share. He wants to ensure that everyone who downloads the application
will download it to the same folder. Describe a plan that would accomplish this
goal.
Create a setup project for the
application. Using the User Interface Editor, provide a dialog box that allows
the file directory to be set during administrative installation, but removes
this box from regular installation. Use administrative installation to install
the application to the network share.
3.You have written documentation for
your application and have provided it in the form of several HTML files.
Describe two ways you could include this content in your setup project.
You can include loose HTML files
along with your application by either including them when you create the setup
project with the Setup wizard or by adding them to the project after creation
with the File System Editor.
4.What is a native image? How do you
create one?
A native image is a precompiled
version of a .NET assembly. You can create a native image of your application
by using the Ngen.exe utility.
5.What is the purpose of a
bootstrapper application? When do you not need to create one?
A bootstrapper application
automatically detects if Windows Installer is installed on the target machine.
If Windows Installer is not present, it installs Windows Installer before
proceeding with the rest of the installation. You should create a bootstrapper
application unless all of your target machines are running Windows XP (which
has Microsoft Windows Installer 1.5 already installed) or have had Microsoft
Installer 1.5 installed previously.
6.Describe a general strategy for
creating a setup project that terminates installation if a specific file is not
already installed on the target machine.
First, create a file search to
search the file system for the specific file. Then create a launch condition to
evaluate the results of the search. You can connect the launch condition to the
results of the search by evaluating the value returned by the property
specified in the search’s Property property in the expression specified by the
launch condition’s Condition property.
7.How would you ensure that all
relevant registry entries were removed in the event that installation of your
application failed?
You can ensure that registry
entries are removed, as well as perform any other “clean-up” tasks, by creating
an Installer class and writing the appropriate code in the Rollback event
handler. Then create a new Custom Action and set the InstallerClass, and
EntryPoint properties to appropriate values.
