[cmake-developers] [Patch 5/5] Improved WIX support

[Stuermer, Michael SP/HZA-ZSEP]

I'll provide a patch where I change it to patching the actual feature XML tags.

Michael

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nils Gladitz [mailto:nilsgladitz at gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, August 12, 2016 1:50 PM
> To: Stuermer, Michael SP/HZA-ZSEP; CMake Developers
> Subject: Re: [cmake-developers] [Patch 5/5] Improved WIX support
> 
> On 08/12/2016 11:50 AM, Stuermer, Michael SP/HZA-ZSEP wrote:
> 
> >
> >> Patch 5 seems to implement patching of FeatureRef rather than the
> >> original Feature elements.
> >> I am not sure if this is what you intended but this could be error
> >> prone given that there could in theory be any number (0-n) FeatureRef
> >> elements for any corresponding Feature element.
> >>
> >> Nils
> > The intention was to be able to add custom components that are added as
> extra .wxs source files to certain features. If there are more convenient ways
> to do this I will be happy to change the implementation or adapt my WIX
> project. But so far this seemed to be a very easy and intuitive solution: the
> additional component references are added in the same place where all
> other component references are added as well.
> 
> I understand the general intention but not why you elected to patch
> FeatureRef elements instead of the Feature elements themselves.
> 
> This would not be any more convenient but would certainly match
> expectations and be less ill defined.
> e.g. when I specify a patch for a Feature I expect that the Feature with the
> given ID gets patched.
> 
> Arguments against patching a FeatureRef instead are:
> - There can be n FeatureRef elements for any Feature element in which case
> it would not be obvious if the patch should be applied to one
> (which?) or all of these
> - While similar FeatureRef and Feature don't take the same Child elements
> - You can already define your own FeatureRef elements (referencing any of
> the pre-existing Feature elements if wanted) without having to use the
> patch mechanism
> 
> Nils
> .