Native Windows app to check system requirements and run .NET app?
I need a Windows executable that checks for basic system requirements (for example if .NET is installed) and launches a .NET application or gives instructions to the user what is missing.
I know I could use an installer to check for prerequisites, but the client would like to avoid that.
Do you know about a tool that could help me?
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Delphi is a good tool for making your own executable like this. This application can read the registry to determine if .Net (and the required version) is installed and optionally launch the installer, then launch its .Net application after the installation is complete.
However, after going through this a few times, I can assure you that it just isn't worth the effort, especially if your application is still .Net 2.0. Most PCs in the world already have at least that many installed and it is much easier to just include the redistributable .Net on the application's installation disk (or provide a link to it on your website) along with instructions on what to do if the user launches your application and you get a window saying "This application requires .Net 2.0. Please install .Net 2.0" or whatever it says.
In my experience, customers tend to worry too much about this scenario. If the user cannot handle the .NET installation, you will have other problems with them. If your application requires .Net 3.5, you may have serious problems as the installer sometimes fails with the helpful "SETUP error" message (and nothing else [!]), But that will be a problem for you no matter what.
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Unfortunately, using the installer is the most reliable way to check prerequisites. The problem is that every program has prerequisites: it is the correct version of the C runtime, the latest .NET runtime, etc. So if you write a C program to test .NET, a C program won't work without matching C runtime, etc.
I like WIX: http://wix.sourceforge.net/
Unfortunately, you still have a dependency on having the correct Windows Installer bits, but this is a rare problem.
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