How do I run nGen at the end of the installation (MSI)?

Question

I would like to execute nGen at the end of my installation simply to improve the perceived performance of the first startup of my application. How could I do that? Is there are some best practices? Can I be sure that nGen is always installed with .NET Framework?

Thanks!

Answer 1

First of all "Yes" you can guarantee that if they have the .Net framework installed that they have Ngen. The only thing you need to know is which version they have installed, buecause it's different between 1.1, and 2.0. What I've done in the past is simply created a script that my installer calls at the very end which runs ngen on all the assemblies.

Answer 2

To improve the perceived performance at startup, take a look at statics in your application. Lots of statics can cause a significant amount of overhead when starting an application.

Additionally, consider having just your main form in the EXE and everything else in a seperate DLL. This not only improves performance but helps in guarenteeing that your seperating the view from the data.

Finally, if your set on NGENing, take a look at the help on running custom actions in your MSI. You should be able to set up a custom action to do what you want.

Answer 3

This blog post should be of use.

Edit: Since you're not using Wix, then this may be of use as well.

Answer 4

You can ngen your assembly using a custom installer action. The following links explain this in further detail:

http://dotnetperls.com/Content/Ngen-Installer-Class.aspx

http://www.bobpowell.net/prejit.htm

I can also remember a good discussion of Paint.NET's installer (which includes .NET Framework bootstrapping, pre-JITting etc.), but I cannot find it at the moment. I'll edit this post if I come across it again.