Deploying App / Data

[Jigabyte]

Hi Peeps,

Is there anyway to configure VS2005 so that it deploys to a memory card rather than the ram?

Cheers,

Jiggy!

[misled]

How are you deploying now? Do you use a custom installer? You probably already know this, but when you install it asks where you want to install the app. You can choose the SD card. If you want it done automatically, there may be a way to do it with a custom installer. I have never done it though. Here is a URL for the installer: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa446504.aspx Here's another: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms838273.aspx Here's one with a video that is pretty good: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/win.../bb264341.aspx

[Jigabyte]

Thanks mate, I will look into this and let you know how I get on. My main reason for deploying to the SD card is so the application and data does not get lost if the battery goes flat!

[Shaggy Hiker]

I have all my databases on the SD card for that very reason (and that an SD card is so darn durable). I have never tried putting the actual program on there, and I wonder how it would even make sense. Suppose you did a hard re-boot of the system, such that all RAM was scrubbed. The OS would start up....and do what? Would it be expected to scan the SD card looking for programs to install? Would you have to manually install it from the SD card? Would you have to search for it and run it from the card?

Because I didn't have any good answer to those questions, I restricted myself to only putting the database on the SD card, and leaving the program in RAM. The only one of those questions that is a viable solution is the concept of manually installing the program from the SD card, which really isn't much different from manually installing any other way. Therefore, I didn't worry about the program, only the data.

Once I had made that decision, putting the data on the SD card wasn't particularly difficult. Since I created the DB on the fly (or added the functionality to do so), I was able to specify where the database was created:

Try
            If System.IO.Directory.Exists("\SD Card") Then
                pName = "\SD Card\"
            Else
                pName = AppPath() & "\"
            End If
            Do
                st1 = InputBox("Name the DB. No spaces, please.", "DB Name", "EffortData")
                If st1 = "" Then
                    CreateDB = False
                    Exit Function
                Else
                    If st1.IndexOf(" ") > 0 Then
                        MsgBox("No Spaces!", MsgBoxStyle.Exclamation, "Issue")
                        st1 = ""
                    End If
                End If
            Loop While st1 = ""
        Catch ex As Exception
            Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show("Uncertain failure." & Chr(10) & ex.Message)
            CreateDB = False
            Exit Function
        End Try

Wow, that was written so far back I used MsgBox!!!

Anyways, that was a little snippet of code to create the database in either the SD card if it exists, or the program folder if the SD card was not available.

[Jigabyte]

Thank you very much mate, it makes sense what you mentioned about the app. I will still hold that in the same.