What are the basic dependency files for a .NET executable?

[sridharavijay]

Hi,
Can anybody enlighten me what are the basic dependency files for a .NET exe file? If I use the InnoSetup to create the Setup.exe file, Do I have to register the components on the other machine(assuming the other machine has .NET framework). If I dont use REGSVR32, what is the heirarchy of copying the files on to the new machine?(Basically what files and components do I port with my application and copy to which directory)
does it differ between .Net 1.1 and .NEt 2.0?

Thanks
Vijay S

[jmcilhinney]

You basically need to deploy all the executable files (EXE and DLL) that end up in your application's output directory. You also need to include the config file if you're using one. If your app accesses external database, image, text, etc. files then you would need to deploy them as well.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Also, if your app uses external databases, the .NET runtime will not be sufficient on all systems. There is something else that is necessary that will not be included in the list of dependencies. I am not sure that I remember it correctly, but I believe it is the latest MDAC. I think it is already installed on newer XP systems, but I could be wrong about that.

[jmcilhinney]

Excellent point SH. I'd forgotten that. You can create a condition in your setup project that will refuse to install the app if the correct version of MDAC is not present. If you've installed the VS.NET 2003 Bootstraper Plug-in to include the .NET Framework in your setup, you can use it to include MDAC in the same way.

[gigemboy]

And in order to do what JM suggested, it is given step by step on how to add a launch condition to check for MDAC in the Library page titled "Using Visual Studio .NET to Redistribute the .NET Framework" in help...