Development Peek
Added 2020-05-08 12:01:50 +0000 UTCIn the past weeks I have been testing a new development process which I plan to use going forward. The main benefit is the automation of the process of releasing new versions which currently is a manual process for me (and for every user). A change that will come with this is that I will be moving from the current MSI installer to a new MSIX installer package. One of the main reasons for this is that automatic updates for the application itself is a lot easier to realise.
Pros:
- easy to install, reset, and remove
- automatic application updates
- easy to patch small fixes
- signing required (secure, trusted by windows)
- preview version side by side with current release
- users on the same (latest) version, easier to make certain changes
- higher installation success rate compared to old MSI
Cons:
- a desktop shortcut is not made automatically (drag icon from start menu to desktop)
- signing required (expensive for a single developer instead of a business)
- primarily designed for windows 10, support for windows 7 is likely to be dropped as previously stated in v1.0 release notes
In short (and less technical) what I hope the result will be:
- automatic app updates
- quick and easy to fix small issues
- save time, less sleepless nights (high on the list due to a new job)
- always up-to-date and happy users
As noted, this does require a code signing certificate but the automated development process and the pros greatly outweigh the cons. I hope to first try this process with the content creation tool making sure it works as expected before I start testing this process with the character builder.
Thanks for supporting and stay safe!
