.Net features for web deployment of applications?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Greg Linwood
  • Start date Start date
G

Greg Linwood

We're building applications which we intend on delivering via our website -
basically apps that our clients can download, install etc.

We'd like to control download via a registration process, so that clients
cannot simply email the .exe's url around & side-step the registration
process.

Our website's running ASP.Net under .Net 1.1 framework. Before developing a
home-grown solution, I'm wondering whether .Net provides any features for
controlling web-deployment of solutions? Not just installation features, but
registration etc..

Regards,
Greg Linwood
SQL Server MVP
 
Hi Greg,

What do you mean by registration exactly? You mean software registration?

I don't think there's anything built in for either direct
installation/configuration etc.

You can build a Setup project whcih can create the Web Virtual directory and
copy files but not much beyond that.

What I've done (and many others) is to build a custom installer for the
apps. So you give a few options on where files are located what permissions
you need, click a button and off it goes. This would be a WinApp. They
install the app using a standard installer and then fire off this WinApp to
do the configuration.

You can use DirectoryServices for the IIS configuration features, Cacls.exe
for setting permissions (if necessary) and of course anything else like
building a database and pre-configuring and application settings.

+++ Rick ---

--

Rick Strahl
West Wind Technologies
http://www.west-wind.com/
http://www.west-wind.com/webblog/
 
Hi Rick - thanks for the response.

Essentially, what I'm trying to achieve is avoid people from downloading our
software by typing in the precise url to the .msi on our website (eg they
get the url from a friend).

I was hoping that if someone typed in
http://www.ourdomain.com/oursoftware.exe, that our ASP.Net code could check
something like a session variable (which indicates that the user has
completed the registration form fully) before commencing the http transfer.
If the session variable (or whatever other mechanism) inndicated that the
user HASNT commpleted the form, I want to divert the http transfer &
redirect the user to the form. I know this could be done in isapi, but I was
hoping to use the .Net framework if possible.

Regards,
Greg Linwood
SQL Server MVP
 
Hi Greg,

You can do that with a custom HTTP Handler. just route requests to that
particular extension to a custom HTTPHandler. Within that handler you can
redirect (or Server.Transfer probably) to some sort of registration page.

I usually have a generic 'redirector' handler in my apps that make this easy
by just plugging in special cases like this...



+++ Rick ---

--

Rick Strahl
West Wind Technologies
http://www.west-wind.com/
http://www.west-wind.com/webblog/
 
a ha! Thanks Rick.

I'll investigate the HTTPHandler then.

appreciated..

Regards,
Greg Linwood
SQL Server MVP
 
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