Re: [WiX-users] MergeModules vs. WixLib

[Rob M. <ro...@us...>]

0.  It is less about "preferable" and more about ".wixlibs actually are
designed to solve the problems it appears you are working on.  Merge Modules
are not intended to be used the way you are trying to use them."

 

1.  Not much.  But in WiX v2, there really isn't much to .wixlibs.  They are
purely a collection of .wixobj files.  Basically a more convenient way of
moving around collections of compiled source code.  In WiX v2, use .wixlibs
just like you would .wixobjs.  In WiX v3, .wixlibs get a set of features
that help them compete directly with Merge Modules (such that I really don't
think you'll need Merge Modules unless you are distributing setup to someone
that doesn't use the WiX toolset).

 

2.  No.  Is there a tool for inspecting .lib files?  Why do you need such a
tool?

 

  _____  

From: wix...@li...
[mailto:wix...@li...] On Behalf Of Shmarya
Rubenstein
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2006 01:04
To: wix...@li...
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] MergeModules vs. WixLib

 

Derek just pretty much answered in one of the other threads on this issue:

"Merge modules are processed by mergemod.dll (a special dll from the Windows
SDK), so WiX has very little interaction with the contents of merge modules
being put in your MSI file.  This is one of the reasons we advise against
using merge modules - they are a black box that you either take or leave in
their entirety.  Even if you build merge modules for an external customer,
you can also create wixlibs (or just straight wixobjs) from the authoring in
the merge module for internal usage.  Basically, you should only use merge
modules from external groups and only ship merge modules to external
customers.  Merge modules are good for sharing across different
organizations because you might not both be using WiX (or the same version
of WiX), but within an organization, the wixlib files are the way to go. "

Ok, so I understand that wixlibs are preferrable.... 

That leaves 2 major questions:

1. Where is the documentation for libs?
2. Is there a tool for inspecting wixlibs similar to ORCA? If not, is this
something planned for the future?