Extensions?

After finishing my last build I was confident that I would be able to add in extensions with little to no problems. Once again, I was wrong. Extensions are stored in the extensions folder of the Firefox directory. Since Wix isn't dynamic and can't simply grab folders and package them, I have to figure out a different way of doing this.

Any way I do this is going to be problematic. I have to decide which extensions my packager will support and then build that support in. I am going to start with Mkaply's CCK extension. In theory this is how I envision the packager to handle extensions.

When a user selects an extension the packager program will actually open up the Wix script and write the code in to the script to copy an extension into the .msi file. It will copy the extension right from the packager install directory and not the Firefox install directory. This is to avoid bugs or problems that might occur if a user hasn't installed the extension properly.

If this doesn't make sense, I have created a diagram to illustrate the process. This week I aim to have my packager be able to package up CCK and create some error reporting. Providing all goes well for build .9 I should be able to add more extensions in for my 1.0 build.

Getting somewhere

Turns out my professor and I have had different ideas of where my project was going, I hope this road ends with some success. After much work over the last few days I finally have something to show for it. I've built a Wix script that works on the latest build of Firefox. This task wasn't too difficult but it was very time consuming. The debugging of my script took a long time as I was forgetting to copy airbag to the extensions folder. Once all that was done I was able to build my own .MSi from scratch.

There is TONS more work here such as integrating a license agreement etc, however I also need to get my packaging tool working. After brushing up my C# skills I created a tool that puts all this Wix stuff together with a nice GUI interface. Right now the script copies over the necessary files, creates some batch files and then compiles it all using the Wix toolset to create an .Msi.

Although I finally have a working product, there is still tons of work I have to do. Ideally I'd like to integrate Mkaply's CCK and other extensions so that network admins can create custom .msi's and push them over a network with extensions installed. I'd also like to do some more editing with the program so that it can copy over the necessary wix tools so that the end user doesn't need to have Wix installed to use my tool. All in all, I'm quite excited for this program and I think its going to be a success.

My build struggle

As of this week I have left my position with a company known as The Tech Zone in order to see this project through. It is in good timing that I find out my project needs to be 2.0 compatible.

Wix scripts are a basic XML files that tell the .msi where to put each and every file for the install. The XML file tells the installer where to put files including setup files, customized files and registry entrys. To bring my current 1.5.0.4 script up to 2.0 might take me days or weeks to do. I have to figure out where every single file that Firefox installs goes and map them in my Wix script.

At the same time I have created a program that automates the build process of Firefox, and can even install add-ons. Since I am working on this project full time I will continue to update my blog and the wiki continually and I am aiming to have something impressive for build 0.8

Wix or Custom App

I've decieded that instead of bringing my 1.5.0.4 msi build to Firefox 2.0 I will instead write some code that will allow an end user to customize the way that Firefox is installed. Though I eventually wish to bring my code up to date with the current vesion of Firefox, it will be very time consuming to do and I'd rather do something more intesting.

Having a brief understanding of Wix I figured I could use the tool to customize the .msi install of Firefox; I was wrong. Though Wix offers the user tools such as install directory, license agreements and installation types, it really doesn't give me the power I am looking for. Ideally I'd like to give the user the power to change the home page and other features inside Firefox. To do that, I'm going to need to write a tool that can change those features then call Wix functions to build the .msi.

This is the direction I am planning on going, where I start and if I can finish are two questions I can't answer.

Dave

First Wix Build

Today I finally completed my first Wix build, and it really wasn't too hard. I searched the net for some wix Firefox scripts and found one for Firefox 1.5.0.4. I downloaded it, and ran it. The script, if placed in the proper directory will create a .msi file that should install Firefox. After trying the .msi file and waiting for a couple of minutes it crashed. I realized there were some build errors so I went back to take a look at them.

Whether the script has some bugs, or I had a bad version of Firefox 1.5.0.4, I'm not sure. There were some file discrepencies and after fixing those the new .msi file was built. This time the script worked and I was able to make a successful firefox install.

This is great news for me. I didn't expect to be able to get it to build at all. Now I have to figure out which direction I'd like to go. Either work on the script so it works with Firefox 2.0 or start writing a program to edit the script.

More soon!

Dave