FAQ: ADO.NET No-Touch Deployment
Traditional methods of deploying applications for a large user groups require significant effort to ensure that all users have the correct version, and problems are resolved uniformly across the installation.
The Microsoft .NET Framework 1.x introduced No-Touch Deployment, a feature that lets you package Windows Forms applications for easy distribution. No-Touch Deployment of .NET Windows Forms applications offers enormous savings of money and time, and improves the end user experience.
Despite its simplified installation, a review of technical articles, ADO.NET user forum comments and questions posed by developers at DataDirect Technologies customer meetings; it is apparent that many developers have difficulty implementing No-Touch Deployment.
DataDirect Technologies assembled this FAQ to help you understand what No-Touch Deployment is and what it can and cannot do. It explains how you can use No-Touch Deployment to distribute a 100% managed code DataDirect Connect for .NET data providers with your Windows Forms application.
No-Touch Deployment FAQs
- What Is No-Touch Deployment?
- Are No-Touch Deployment Applications Safe?
- How to Implement No-Touch Deployment?
- When is it Appropriate to Use URL-launched Executables?
- When Should the Assembly.LoadFrom Method Be Used?
- When Should the .NET Application Updater Application Block be Used?
- Can No-Touch Deployment Be Used If the Application Has Shared Assemblies?
- How Are Assemblies Deployed into the GAC (Global Assembly Cache)?
- Is the Download Cache Part of the Global Assembly Cache?
- Is the Download Cache the Same as Isolated Storage?
- Can No-Touch Deployment Applications Write to the User's Disk?
- Can No-Touch Deployment Applications be Launched with Command-Line Arguments?
- Can No-Touch Deployment Be Used When Distributing a Windows Forms Application with a .NET Data Provider?
- Does the Version of the .NET Framework Matter?
- When to Avoid Using No-Touch Deployment?
- Can XCOPY Be Used Instead of No-Touch Deployment or a Windows Installer?
- What Are the Issues with Web-based Deployment?
- Where Can You Get Information about DataDirect Connect for .NET Data Providers?
- Where Can I Obtain More Information About No-Touch Deployment?
