JWColby
jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com
Fri Apr 27 08:34:32 CDT 2007
Incredibly, application distribution is a subject that is not much in the news. I googled around trying to find out "the how" and there is not a lot out there. My books do not even have the word "deployment" in the index. Simply incredible. I work on a computer at my office. I want to install the application on a server at my client. What do I do? Apparently there is a "project" that wraps the project that is to be installed that builds an installer (MSA?). That is fine, except that the installation onto the server may or may not be the end of the subject. Some things may be a server based application, the server actually runs the application. This would be things like an application that watches an FTP directory, when files appear they are downloaded to the local hard disk, unzipped / unencrypted and then the files are imported to the database. Likewise an application (in fact very likely the SAME application) pulls data out of the database, encrypts / zips it and uploads it to an FTP directory somewhere. With other things, the movement to the server is just the first step. From there, the user needs to execute the application, i.e. needs to download the application to their desktop and run it. If there are changes then somehow the changes need to be automatically pulled down as well. It could be something as simple as copying the whole darned directory and all of its subdirectories but I certainly hope not. Of course if that is not huge then why not? So far these are little applications, as opposed to the main call center app which is an Access FE with hundreds of tables, queries, reports, modules and reports. These are applications such as the report generators that create data feeds to the mainframes. They take a certain amount of setup - selecting product types and date ranges before clicking the button. All of these applications may change on a daily / weekly basis. I am a one man show for the client so they have a huge list of "things to do" which include but are not limited to these applets, and of course there are bug fixes. Each of these things may get a new report this week, a fix to some specific field today and so forth. Updates are relatively easy with Access since it is at most a library mda and the fe. How do I do all this in vb.net? I need to be able to make changes and push it out whenever it is ready, quickly and conveniently. And of course I often times remote in and work local to the machine because it saves the hassle of the FTP up / down to get things back and forth. John W. Colby Colby Consulting www.ColbyConsulting.com -----Original Message----- From: dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Jim DeMarco Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 8:55 AM To: dba-vb at databaseadvisors.com Subject: Re: [dba-VB] Deploying .net solutions There were certainly security issues in VS 2003 but I'm under the impression they've been dealt with in 2005 but this is M$ we're talking about. Jim -----Original Message----- From: dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of JWColby Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 8:40 AM To: dba-vb at databaseadvisors.com Subject: Re: [dba-VB] Deploying .net solutions I read about that on the internet last night, and it looks like it might be a viable method. I also read that it has some issues, particularly in the presence of different versions of the .Net framework on the desktop, and also IIRC something about security issues and what the app is allowed to do. John W. Colby Colby Consulting www.ColbyConsulting.com -----Original Message----- From: dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Jim DeMarco Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 8:31 AM To: dba-vb at databaseadvisors.com Subject: Re: [dba-VB] Deploying .net solutions ClickOnce is the technology I was referring to. Jim -----Original Message----- From: dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Jim DeMarco Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 8:00 AM To: dba-vb at databaseadvisors.com Subject: Re: [dba-VB] Deploying .net solutions John, If you mean how are you going to get updates to users you should look at "smart client" applications where the client is aware of changes and downloads them from a central location before the app starts. I don't have much experience with it but I expect I will soon as we're moving a major client/server app to .NET this year. Jim DeMarco -----Original Message----- From: dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-vb-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of JWColby Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 10:51 PM To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'; dba-vb at databaseadvisors.com Subject: [dba-VB] Deploying .net solutions I have a bunch of processes that are not particularly suited to Access for one reason or another. These include things like * doing what I call "directory watching" and performing some action when a file appears. * FTP transfers between local drives and FTP sites * Building complex data feeds between a database and a remote mainframe To take an example, I regularly build data feeds which look like: Header Rec Detail Rec Detail Rec Detail Rec . . Trailer Rec The header rec has some specific set of data in it such as who it is coming from, the date of the file etc. The detail recs have repetitive data such as payments to clients, payment dates, from/to dates that the payment is for, the amount, the check number etc. The footer rec has some specific data in it such as the number of checks, the bank account number that the checks are drawn against etc. I have built a report generator in VBA, inside of access, and it works, but it is really rather patchwork by nature. I have to reference specific libs, go outside of VBA to handle things like the file system and text streams (in an object oriented manner) and so forth. There are no threads so a single error can hang the system, and things that should happen in parallel have to happen sequentially. So, I would like to take one of these systems and move it to .Net. What I am trying to discover is how .Net systems are (reliably) deployed to the desktop. Often times these applets are used by more than one person, often at the same time. At the moment, because they are Access / vba based, I just do a copy down to the desktop (a single file) and open the mdb. A form opens and the user goes to work. These applets are under constant development, literally daily as I finish one report another is started. Bug fixes are done. I assume (but am not sure) that a VB.Net applet would be distributed as well, downloaded to the desktop and run from there. What is the vehicle for this distribution? John W. 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