Showing tag results for MSIX

As previously discussed, we can divide processes into the two broad categories of packaged vs unpackaged, based on if the process HAS or LACKS package identity. Packaged processes can be divided into three broad categories: All three have package identity, but they make different tradeoffs between compatibility and modern packaged behavior....

What's a PFN? MSIX introduced Package identity in Windows 8. While the familiar package identity "5-tuple" was functional, it wasn't especially convenient to pass through APIs or embed in resources such as files, registry keys, URLs, or XML documents. To address this, Windows defined an opaque string representation known as a Package Moniker. Win...

MSIX uses a Garbage Collection (GC) design for staged package lifetime and destaging. Throughout this article: Package Core Principles A staged package can't be destaged while any references to it exist. This is a direct consequence of MSIX's core architectural principles: Consequently, removing a package's payload from disk is not ...

Just as There is no Install – it’s ‘Stage’ and ‘Register’ explained that Install is not truly an installation operation in MSIX, Remove is similarly not an uninstall operation. This can be surprising - sometimes even alarming - to developers coming from traditional installer technologies such as MSI, where uninstalling software typically implies: ...

A recent conversation started (as many interesting conversations do) with a simple question: "Why is MSIX secure?" MSIX includes multiple layers of protection designed to defend against both accidental damage and malicious tampering. But as with all good security solutions, it's not the individual elements so much as their interlocking design tha...

Package identity exists for one primary purpose: This is a considerable improvement over the historical tendency to assign UUIDs and GUIDs to nearly everything - including things that humans were expected to discuss in meetings. Identity Is for Systems A package's Name, Package Full Name, and other identity-derived values are intended for deve...

Every package has a set of status flags describing its current health and availability. These can be queried via the Package.Status property. A package may report more than one status value at a time if multiple conditions apply. Package Status Groups The various states fall into three groups: NeedsRemediation Status values in th...

Applications are not packages. Let me repeat. Applications are not packages. This is a common misconception due to the (too) often blurring of concepts and terminology. Packages and applications are different and distinct things, so it's important to understand what those words mean (to MSIX). Packages and Applications Are Different Things An ...

MSIX supports making a package available to all users; the formal term is provisioning. Provisioning a package family makes it available to all users, whereas registration makes a package available to a single user. Per-User vs All Users Traditional installers often provide a "per-machine" installation mode to make software available to all users...

As previously mentioned to 'install' a package, as people think of the term, Windows actually performs two separate operations: staging and registration. To oversimplify: One way to 'install' a package for a user is to explicitly stage it, then register the package: But this scenario is common enough that deployment handles it more effici...