Simplest Technology for Distributing Web Servces

Question

Is there a way to meet the following criteria in distributing a web service to Windows machines?

1) Automatic installation and configuration of web server

2) No configuration (or even awareness) of a web server required by the customer

3) No prompts to download and install JAVA or .NET - especially anything after .NET 2.0; those installs / restarts can take forever!

In short, is there a way to deliver a single install process that installs the web server along with a simple web app without requiring lengthy installations of pre-requisites? Something for even the most non-technical of users?

.NET's WCF almost meets the requirements but getting .NET updated up to 3.0 / 3.5 is a lengthy process and can be a turn-off for customers, even if the install holds their hand through the whole thing.

Rubyscript2exe was also very close, but it is extremely touchy and out-dated.

I am open to any technology / programming language - just looking for the slickest distribution process for my customers that meets the above three criteria.

Answer 1

I've been doing quite a bit of research on this as it is extremely important to me that my users have a simple installation experience. Here are a few things that I've found:

• UltiDev Cassini: Cassini is that convenient mini-server that runs when you debug your web apps from Visual Studio or Visual Web Developer. UltiDev Cassini builds on that and looks pretty promising. It offers support for all non-beta flavors of .Net and integrates right into Visual Studio. Most interesting to me is the ability to include as part of your installer. The only down side is that pesky .Net pre-requisite. I can handle helping users get installed up to 2.0, but the install process to move to 3.0 and 3.5 is way too heavy for the typical user.

• RubyScript2Exe: I like the premise of an executable Rails app. However, I attempted to use this on a Mac and it is simply too outdated and requires too many workarounds for my tastes. It's too bad, because I love Ruby on Rails development.

• Server2Go: This is my favorite of the three options. It is easily distributable (just send off a zip file) and has a lot of nice options. For example, you can configure it to leave the included Apache server running even after the browser closes - that is PERFECT for a nicely packaged web service. It can also provide a customizable icon in the task bar for shutting down the service if necessary. I think this best meets my needs for the time being.

Please, if you know of any other options, let me know.

Also, you may be wondering, "Why not just write a desktop app?". The simple answer is that I don't need much of a GUI, if any. I need a simple to install web service that can be consumed by various other applications (web, mobile, and desktop included).

Answer 2

Thanks for answering your own question -- this is helpful.