how to upgrade compact framework applications?

Question

i'm looking for a way to manage application upgrades for my compact framework app.

let's say i have v1 of the app installed on my device, and v1.1 has been released. I want the app to make a call to my server to see if there is a new version. since a new version is found, i want to send down the new version of the app to the device and have it installed, replacing the old version.

my first thought was just to have the app download the .cab file and kick off the cab file just before exiting the app. this would mostly get the job done but it would prompt the user to pick the installation location if they have a storage card or other partitions on their device. i would like to prevent any user input and just have the new version of the app installed, replacing the old app.

i'm certain that there are others doing this already and i don't want to reinvent the wheel, here. what application management tools and systems exist for this type of process? how can I facilitate this type of process?

...

EDIT:

in spite of my previous searches before posting this, i just now found this question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/753851/how-to-auto-update-windows-mobile-application

Answer 1

When I wrote one I relied on launching the .cab file. It was definitely the path of least resistance.

Otherwise, I'd write a simple "upgrade.exe" executable that gets distributed with your app. When upgrading, you'd download the new package, launch your upgrade.exe just before exiting your app, then have that program copy over the new files to your app.