Upgrade custom WixBA for v4 to support custom Bundle name for multiple applications

[priyata29-dell]

How do I upgrade the custom WixBA code to support custom Bundle Name for multiple applications.
According to the WIX article, refere the para below :-

v4 added the ability to use .NET Core managed BA’s but that is not covered here since v3 only supported .NET Framework BA’s. Note that Microsoft chose a confusing naming convention for newer versions of .NET Core. .NET 5+ is a completely different runtime from .NET Framework. To use a BA written in .NET 6+, use bal:WixDotNetCoreBootstrapperApplicationHost instead of bal:WixManagedBootstrapperApplicationHost. .NET 5 and earlier versions are not supported because they were already at end of life when v4 shipped.

Even though the WixBA is not currently shipping, it is still available at https://github.com/wixtoolset/wix4/tree/HEAD/src/test/burn/WixToolset.WixBA. You can basically see a step-by-step example of upgrading a v3 MBA by looking at the history of that folder and WixToolset.WixBA.csproj. Another folder that might be useful is https://github.com/wixtoolset/wix4/tree/HEAD/src/test/burn/TestData/TestBA.

In v3, MBAs needed to be built against the same version of BootstrapperCore.dll as the bundle. They didn’t need to include it as a payload because the Bal WiX extension automatically added it. However, they did need to provide a BootstrapperCore.config file to inform the MBA host which .NET Framework runtime it supported and which DLL contained the MBA.

In v4, the config file is named WixToolset.Mba.Host.config. The MBA must use the WixToolset.Mba.Core nuget package, a sample config file is included in the package. The Bal WiX extension does not add WixToolset.Mba.Core.dll or mbanative.dll so both must be added along with all the other dependencies of the MBA. The MBA project should be an SDK-style project and built for a specific RID (e.g. win-x86).

The root namespace changed from Microsoft.Tools.WindowsInstallerXml.Bootstrapper to WixToolset.Mba.Core.

I want to have a new wixba code fof v4 which will work in .net framework. If not, how do we support .net core in .net framework?

[bevanweiss]

If not, how do we support .net core in .net framework?

You can't run .NET Core in .NET Framework. They are not the same thing.

You haven't clearly stated if you're trying to target WiX v5 or not.
In v5, you pick either native, .NET Framework or .NET Core for your BA..

• in the .NET Framework you might need to run a pre-req install (although most modern Windows installs already have .NET Framework v4), so you should configure one.
• in the .NET Core you will likely need to run a pre-req install for the .NET Core runtime, so you need to configure one.
• in the native.. you likely don't need to run a pre-req... maybe just for some VCRT stuff...

[priyata29-dell]

Thank you for your response. I am looking for a solution where I can upgrade wixba v3 to v4, in the WIX PAGE it is mentioned that "Even though the WixBA is not currently shipping" ., what does this statement implies. I have already configured .NET Framework for my application, and upgraded to WiX v4, but it seems that Bootsrapper Application is not yet written for v4 for .NET Framework. How do I upgrade the custom WixBA code to support custom Bundle Name for my application (It should take two different bundle name) if installed in two different platforms. Hope this clarifies. Looking for your help and support to understand more and come up with a concrete solution.
Thank You

[bevanweiss]

WixBA is no longer shipped with customer code.
It's simply an example for a customer to reference to generate their own BA.

Custom BAs are now out of process, so you should reference this article.
https://docs.firegiant.com/wix/fivefour/oopbas/

You can use this path as an example of the kind of changes (and behaviours) that you should have in your own custom BA:
https://github.com/wixtoolset/wix/tree/main/src/test/burn/WixToolset.WixBA