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c#.netsoftware-distribution

How to Implement add/remove module/add-ins features in Software Package

We are planning to develop a WPF application which has two following requirements:

  1. Application will allow user to install/uninstall different modules without changing default software installation.
  2. Implement add-ins functionality like Microsoft Office has.

Please guide us the good way to implement above features and easily maintainable.

Regards, Aman

Solution

  • You can you MEF (managed extensible framework) to easy install / uninstall modules. The Managed Extensibility Framework or MEF is a library for creating extensible applications. http://msdn.microsoft.com/cs-cz/library/dd460648.aspx

    MEF is included in .NET framework 4.0 and higher.

    For more complex modules with UI interactions is better use some framework, for example PRISM