.Net packaging/wrapper application?

[jim]

I am looking for an application that will wrap my .Net application (and any
needed .Net parts) into a single exe.

I know of Thinstall ($4,000 for application and per copy fees for your exes)
and of Xenocode (~$1,500 plus ~ $12 per copy of your exe). But, I'd like
something that is actually affordable for a hobbyist programmer.

This capability (Thinstall's being able to wrap a .Net app and ship it as a
single exe) would be a FANTASTIC addition to the .Net application suite. It
would simplify the shipping & installation and not even require the end user
to have .Net installed or to install the application. It also avoids DLL
and .Net Version Hell.

If Microsoft was going to buy something, one of these technologies should be
it.

If you know of anything like Thinstall or Xenocode that does not require per
copy fees, I'd really appreciate a pointer to it.

Thanks!

jim

[dviljoen]

jim wrote:

*"Family Tree Mike" <Fa************@discussions.microsoft.comwrote
in
message news:5D**********************************@microsof t.com...

"jim" wrote:
I may be missing your goal with this, but, it looks like these

tools are

designed to create something similar to what VMWare does, a

distributable

preconfigured machine. Have you looked at VMWare? If so, does it

lack

some
capability you need?

VMWare is great. However (if I understand the creation of virtual
appliances correctly), it carries with it a HUGE overhead because it
wraps
up the entire OS with your virtual appliance. Virtual appliances
created
for/from VMWare also require a license for every copy if you
distribute any
proprietary operating system (like Windows XP, Vista, 2003 Server,
etc.) in
your virtual appliance - that's why virtually every virtual appliance
you
see is done with Linux.

jim *

Here's a backwards way of doing it, but it might work. (disclaimer: I
haven't done this, its only a suggestion for research) I know that gcc
can be used as a cross compiler. See if it can compile IL into a win32
binary. If so, you want to have it build a statically linked win32 exe.
That is essentially what you're looking for. (You may need Mono to do
this... don't really know)

--
dviljoen
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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------------------------------------------------------------------------

[jim]

Thanks for the idea!

If I give it a try, I'll post back to the group.

jim
"dviljoen" <dv*************@mail.codecomments.comwrote in message
news:dv*************@mail.codecomments.com...

>
jim wrote:

>*"Family Tree Mike" <Fa************@discussions.microsoft.comwrote
in
message news:5D**********************************@microsof t.com...

>

"jim" wrote:
I may be missing your goal with this, but, it looks like these

tools are

designed to create something similar to what VMWare does, a

distributable

preconfigured machine. Have you looked at VMWare? If so, does it

lack

some
capability you need?

VMWare is great. However (if I understand the creation of virtual
appliances correctly), it carries with it a HUGE overhead because it
wraps
up the entire OS with your virtual appliance. Virtual appliances
created
for/from VMWare also require a license for every copy if you
distribute any
proprietary operating system (like Windows XP, Vista, 2003 Server,
etc.) in
your virtual appliance - that's why virtually every virtual appliance
you
see is done with Linux.

jim *

Here's a backwards way of doing it, but it might work. (disclaimer: I
haven't done this, its only a suggestion for research) I know that gcc
can be used as a cross compiler. See if it can compile IL into a win32
binary. If so, you want to have it build a statically linked win32 exe.
That is essentially what you're looking for. (You may need Mono to do
this... don't really know)

--
dviljoen
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted via http://www.codecomments.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------