Selling a .NET set of libraries. Do I need an installer?

Question

I have outsourced and built a set of .net libraries and will be selling them soon. I have looked around and am trying to figure out if I need an installer to install them. Do I just let the users download a zip file with the DLL's and the help file, or do I need an installer that will place them in a directory, and then the user can add the references to the DLL's that way?

Any suggestions would be great.

Update: I really appreciate the feedback. The approach I am going to take is offer both an installer and just the actual DLL's in a zip file, batch file, Help file and code snippets. That solution should mitigate the issues some people have voiced over an installer. The installer will do all of the above automatically. Thanks again!

Answer 1

I 100% completely agree with @Michael Shimmins on this. I do NOT like installers. Just give me a zip file.

We have build servers, various web servers, and lots of devs. I do NOT want to have to place your (or anyone elses for that matter) assemblies into the GAC. Beyond CORE MS functionality, I really hate the GAC; in some ways it's worse than companies throwing everything into windows\system32

I do NOT need another option in my programs listing for a link to your website, I do NOT need to have to run an uninstall utility just to get rid of it.

And I certainly do NOT need to have it update every single instance of itself it finds on my machine when you publish a patch. We have numerous projects going here and it is a rare day when ALL of them get updated to the latest version of a 3rd party assembly at the same time. Which goes back to my issue with GAC'ing them. BTW, this is the #1 reason we do NOT use DevExpress components.

Our projects are always structured where 3rd party libraries are placed in folders under the solution node.

So, 1 zip file please. It should have your assemblies and a text file describing anything of note, like what changed in this release. Have the help info on your own website (listed clearly in that text file of course), nicely sorted by version with LOTS of examples.

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One last thing. For the love of all that's programmy, do NOT RAR them. Just plain old zip is fine. Really, it is. Pretty much every windows machine can open those up just fine without installing additional crap. (Did I mention I don't like installers? ... )

;)

Answer 2

I would say it depends on your users. I have bought licenses and used FOSS .NET libraries. Some have had installers, and some have simply been files zipped up.

It's a tough balance but you need to weigh the ability of your users. Will they appreciate ease of use with an installer or the flexibility of files.

Personally I prefer skipping the installer, simplifies the process of support and management. No need to worry about uninstallers or how future versions of various OS's will impact things.

Answer 3

I would recommend that you use an installer. It has several benefits...

1, You can install strong signed versions into the GAC.

2, Your installer can be publisher signed so the end user knows they are getting the genuine software and not just any old zip that anyone could put together impersonating your software.

3, You can perform additional actions like putting a shortcut on the desktop to your read me file. Increasing the chances it actually gets read!

4, They can easily remove it by using the uninstall to cleanup.