ARM64 Windows Installer

[eklipse2k8]

Is there any reason that you only provide full installers for x86 and x64 on windows?

You now provide .zip files for ARM64, why not include the full installation package as well?

[dagood]

This is a progression based on what we could reasonably accomplish at the time. After building Windows ARM64 binaries, it is simple to create zips--it's just an archive. Installers are vastly more complex, and the installer tooling we depend on lacked support for Windows ARM64. Recently, the tooling has gotten support, so we're looking into that: dotnet/core#3765.

@NikolaMilosavljevic, is there somewhere tracking the progress on this with any updates? Can't seem to find it.

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

@tommcdon do you know if Windows arm64 Installer work is tracked somewhere?

We have recently completed the infrastructure work to enable arm64 installers for .NET Runtime and .NET WindowsDesktop Runtime: dotnet/arcade#5688

[voronoipotato]

@dagood What can we do to help?

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

@tommcdon , @wli3 , do you know if Windows arm64 installers for SDK are being tracked? We have enabled arm64 MSIs and bundles for .NET Runtime and WindowsDesktop. We had to pick new Wix toolset, as well as make 2 fixes in the toolset.

[wli3]

I don't think there is one. @joeloff could you help driving this thread? I don't know the impact of taking a new WIX. And I believe WIX 4 has been in preview for years?

[dagood]

WiX 4 is not involved here--you can see 3.10.4 -> 3.14.0.4118 if you take a look at dotnet/arcade#5688.

[tommcdon]

@NikolaMilosavljevic work for the SDK installer is in the beginning stages

[joeloff]

@voronoipotato adding you because of dotnet/sdk#12672

For the SDK, one thing to consider is that we need all the installers onboard (runtime, desktop, aspnet). I'll bring this up in stand-up

[dagood]

voronoipotato adding you because of dotnet/sdk#12672

Already on the thread and asked if there's anything the community (with win-arm64 devices) can do to help here. 😄 Any ideas? (Or is there just an infra slog to get through or something?)

[joeloff]

@wli3 there's no concern about using 3.14.

[joeloff]

@eklipse2k8 please see Windows dotnet/runtime#36699 about overall ARM64 plans

[danmoseley]

@dleeapho can you help clarify here what work is required to create MSI installers for Windows ARM64 ? (assuming that is part of 5.0 plan). This seems like a cross team question to resolve.

[joeloff]

I agree. It's one thing to build the runtimes, are we considering targeting the whole SDK, CLI, NUGet, msbuild to run on arm64 natively?

[danmoseley]

cc @richlander

[dleeapho]

@dleeapho can you help clarify here what work is required to create MSI installers for Windows ARM64 ? (assuming that is part of 5.0 plan). This seems like a cross team question to resolve.

@NikolaMilosavljevic did the work to create the runtime MSI Windows installer for ARM64 and in doing so unblocked the ARM64 WiX toolset for the SDK ARM64 installer work. @marcpopMSFT can correct me but I don't think any of the ARM64 installers were part of the 5.0 plan.

@joeloff the question here isn't about targeting the whole SDK for ARM64, I believe that is already the case since SDK binaries for ARM64 are being shipped, it is about the SDK installer.

[tommcdon]

We are building a windows ARM64 MSI that does not include the windows desktop component and are targeting RC2.

[eklipse2k8]

@tommcdon any reason why you wouldn't want to include windows desktop component? people can download the binaries, but not the msi? seems to me like it would enable a full dev environment. VS Code and then .NET 5 for ARM.

[tommcdon]

@tommcdon any reason why you wouldn't want to include windows desktop component? people can download the binaries, but not the msi? seems to me like it would enable a full dev environment. VS Code and then .NET 5 for ARM.

@eklipse2k8 there are some native components that need to be built for Windows ARM64.

[Alovchin91]

@tommcdon Does that mean that the original plan to ship Windows Desktop for Arm64 in .NET 5 has been cancelled? What about Windows Forms?

[tommcdon]

@tommcdon Does that mean that the original plan to ship Windows Desktop for Arm64 in .NET 5 has been cancelled? What about Windows Forms?

The engineering effort to support Windows Desktop ARM64 is ongoing. Our goal has always been to ship a complete solution for the Windows ARM64 Desktop installer. Since we have more work left to complete this, we do not wish to include an incomplete experience with the installer.

[Alovchin91]

@tommcdon I probably put the question in the wrong way: not cancelled, but rather delayed?

What's the plan for Windows Desktop on Arm64? I know that WPF is not going to make it by .NET 5 GA.

Do you plan to ship Windows Forms only in .NET 5 GA and include it in the installer by then? Or do you plan to ship an update to .NET 5 with Windows Desktop (WinForms only maybe) on Arm64 support? Or is it going to be delayed until .NET 6?

dotnet/runtime#36699 has not been updated in a while, hence the need for clarification 😊

[tommcdon]

Do you plan to ship Windows Forms only in .NET 5 GA and include it in the installer by then? Or do you plan to ship an update to .NET 5 with Windows Desktop (WinForms only maybe) on Arm64 support? Or is it going to be delayed until .NET 6?

Great questions. We are working through the engineering side of the work now. Given that we are close to the .NET 5 release date, I think it is fairly clear the desktop installer msi will not be completed by GA. Taking into account of the outstanding engineering work, I could foresee the installer being ready to ship in the .NET 6 release cycle. Thanks for the reminder, we will update #36699.

[JensNordenbro]

Please do NOT remove stuff that worked in previous previews, i. e the ability to build self contained apps for winforms for arm64 on an x64 development machine just because installers for runtime/sdk might not be available for arm64.

[marcpopMSFT]

Installer is available now.

[voronoipotato]

Just installed it today, so excited!!!