Microsoft delivers Version 1.0 of its Web Platform Installer (Web PI), a free download manager that enables developers to install the Microsoft Web Platform or at least part of it. Web PI simplifies the installation of Microsofts developer technologies, from .NET Framework 3.5 to ASP.NET to Silverlight and more, for building Web applications.Microsoft has delivered Version 1.0 of its Web Platform Installer, a free
download manager that enables developers to install the Microsoft Web Platform
or at least part of it.
Following up on the delivery of a release candidate version in November,
Microsoft made Web PI 1.0 available on Jan. 20. The Web PI is a single
installer to obtain and keep up-to-date the software needed to build and run a
complete Web solution on the Microsoft Web platform.
The installer enables users to obtain Microsoft Web platform components
quickly and easily, choose components to install for complete or custom Web
platform deployments, and install the latest versions of Microsoft Web Platform
products, components, extensions and tools.
Indeed, Microsoft officials said Web PI simplifies the installation of
Microsofts developer technologies, from .NET
Framework 3.5 to ASP.NET to Silverlight and
more, for building Web applications.
Web PI also includes an X M L-based product manifest that is updated
automatically to keep users abreast of what products and technologies are
available.
In a blog post from November regarding the Web PI release candidate, Scott
Hanselman, a principal program manager at Microsoft, said:
Web PI's got a number of cool things, but one subtle one you might take note
of is the Web Deployment Tool Beta (MSDeploy) that I mentioned before. This
tool makes it very easy to package up all the configuration schmutz of your
application and (re)deploy it elsewhere. As such, it supports synchronizing
your sites and applications across server farms, which was a huge problem for
me when I was in banking. It integrates nicely with IIS [Internet Information
Services] Manager too.
Also of note is the inclusion of ASP.NET MVC
Beta as an option, as well as URL Scan 3.1 and IIS 7.0 manager, which lets you
manage IIS7 from non-IIS7 machines like, ahem, XP machines. Basically all the
things that were hard to find, now, less so.
Microsoft Web PI runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and
Windows Server 2008, and supports IIS 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0; SQL Server 2008
Express; .NET Framework 3.5 SP1; and Visual
Web Developer 2008 Express SP1. It also features ASP.NET,
complete and custom installation options.