Visual C++ 2005 IDE Enhancements, Part 4: Beta 2 Changes, Page 3

The final step before placing all the files up on a Web server or file share is to sign the deployment manifest. Assuming the X509 certificate file is in the current directory, the following command-line statement can be used:

mage -Sign CoTest.application
     -CertFile cert.pfx
     -Password #4Ldd@otP
     -ti http://timestamp.verisign.com/scripts/timstamp.dll

The -ti command-line parameter specified the URI of the time-stamping service to use. This example used VeriSign's service.

Once the signing is complete, the files are deployed to a file share or Web server (any Web server is fine—ClickOnce uses standard HTTP protocols and is not reliant on IIS or ASP.NET), and a link to the deployment manifest is sent out to users. Assuming they have the application prerequisites, such as the .NET Framework, the dialog that Figure 3 shows will be displayed when the user clicks on the link to the deployment manifest.

Figure 3: Validating the Application Requirements

If these checks pass, the user may be presented with a number of dialogs, such as when the application needs to be installed or that the Code Access Security permissions required by the application exceed those that would normally be granted to an application that originates from the Internet or an intranet. If the end-user agrees to these prompts, the application will be downloaded and begin executing.

The Wrap-Up

Next month, the journey continues with a look at some of the other new features in the Visual C++ IDE.

About the Author

Nick Wienholt is an independent Windows and .NET consultant based in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Maximizing .NET Performance from Apress, and specializes in system-level software architecture and development with a particular focus on performance, security, interoperability, and debugging. Nick can be reached at NickW@dotnetperformance.com.