Compile - get XAP file without Visual Studio

Question

I'm a Visual Studio / C# developer for some, not quite long actually, time (among several other IDEs / languages). I created a Windows Phone app which can be easily modified to one's needs. Modifications come through a separate file (which actually acts as a content for this app).

The solution for this app is the following: changing content-file brings totally something new for a user. Apps acts thus as something like a "framework", without content. Functionality of the app won't change, but content will.

Now, I want to have a way to separately add content-files created by any user and compile them - without use of Visual Studio. This is because user don't have to be a developer in order to create content - but he or she might want to have a full app with the content he or she added (built upon this "framework-app").

In brief then: 1. User gets my app. 2. He or she adds content-file to it. 3. Runs some script (or anything), and gets XAP file.

My question: is there a way I could do this (to get "normal" XAP C# file, without compiling it through Visual Studio, that can be added - for instance - as a fully qualified, independent / separate application to Microsoft Marketplace).

Answer 1

To the final question: it should not be possible. But if it were possible, your devices would have to be developer unlocked, since store signature on these XAPs is missing. Moreover I think it's not legal such a thing.

UPDATE: As far es I know, .XAP extension is just like a .RAR or .ZIP archive, you can open one with 7zip, for example. So you can create your xap, then extract all the files that are contained in it and finally you use a tool (code it yourself) which compresses those files into an archive and chage the extension to .XAP.