The MsiProvideAssembly function returns the full path to a Windows Installer component that contains an assembly. The function prompts for a source and performs any necessary installation. MsiProvideAssembly increments the usage count for the feature.

Syntax

C++UINT MsiProvideAssembly(
  __in     LPCTSTR szAssemblyName,
  __in     LPCTSTR szAppContext,
  __in     DWORD dwInstallMode,
  __in     DWORD dwAssemblyInfo,
  __out    LPTSTR lpPathBuf,
  __inout  DWORD *pcchPathBuf
);

Parameters

szAssemblyName [in]

The assembly name as a string.

szAppContext [in]

Set to null for global assemblies. For private assemblies, set szAppContext to the full path of the application configuration file or to the full path of the executable file of the application to which the assembly has been made private.

dwInstallMode [in]

Defines the installation mode. This parameter can be one of the following values.

Value	Meaning
INSTALLMODE_DEFAULT	Provide the component and perform any installation necessary to provide the component. If the key file of a component in the requested feature, or a feature parent, is missing, reinstall the feature using MsiReinstallFeature with the following flag bits set: REINSTALLMODE_FILEMISSING, REINSTALLMODE_FILEOLDERVERSION, REINSTALLMODE_FILEVERIFY, REINSTALLMODE_MACHINEDATA, REINSTALLMODE_USERDATA and REINSTALLMODE_SHORTCUT.
INSTALLMODE_EXISTING	Provide the component only if the feature exists. Otherwise return ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. This mode verifies that the key file of the component exists.
INSTALLMODE_NODETECTION	Provide the component only if the feature exists. Otherwise return ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. This mode only checks that the component is registered and does not verify that the key file of the component exists.
INSTALLMODE_NOSOURCERESOLUTION	Provide the component only if the feature's installation state is INSTALLSTATE_LOCAL. If the feature installation state is INSTALLSTATE_SOURCE, return ERROR_INSTALL_SOURCE_ABSENT. Otherwise return ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. This mode only checks that the component is registered and does not verify that the key file exists.
INSTALLMODE_NODETECTION_ANY	Provide the component if a feature exists from any installed product. Otherwise return ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. This mode only checks that the component is registered and does not verify that the key file of the component exists. This flag is similar to the INSTALLMODE_NODETECTION flag except that with this flag we check for any product that has installed the assembly as opposed to the last product as is the case with the INSTALLMODE_NODETECTION flag. This flag can only be used with MsiProvideAssembly.
combination of the REINSTALLMODE flags	Call MsiReinstallFeature to reinstall feature using this parameter for the dwReinstallMode parameter, and then provide the component.

 

dwAssemblyInfo [in]

Assembly information and assembly type. Set to one of the following values.

Value	Meaning
MSIASSEMBLYINFO_NETASSEMBLY 0	.NET Assembly
MSIASSEMBLYINFO_WIN32ASSEMBLY 1	Win32 Assembly

 

lpPathBuf [out]

Pointer to a variable that receives the path to the component. This parameter can be null.

pcchPathBuf [in, out]

Pointer to a variable that specifies the size, in characters, of the buffer pointed to by the lpPathBuf parameter. On input, this is the full size of the buffer, including a space for a terminating null character. If the buffer passed in is too small, the count returned does not include the terminating null character.

If lpPathBuf is null, pcchPathBuf can be null.

Return Value

Value	Meaning
ERROR_BAD_CONFIGURATION	The configuration data is corrupt.
ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND	The feature is absent or broken. This error is returned for dwInstallMode = INSTALLMODE_EXISTING.
ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE	The installation failed.
ERROR_INSTALL_NOTUSED	The component being requested is disabled on the computer.
ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER	An invalid parameter was passed to the function.
ERROR_SUCCESS	The function completed successfully.
ERROR_UNKNOWN_FEATURE	The feature ID does not identify a known feature.
ERROR_UNKNOWN_COMPONENT	The component ID does not specify a known component.
ERROR_UNKNOWN_PRODUCT	The product code does not identify a known product.
INSTALLSTATE_UNKNOWN	An unrecognized product or a feature name was passed to the function.
ERROR_MORE_DATA	The buffer overflow is returned.
ERROR_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY	The system does not have enough memory to complete the operation. Available with Windows Server 2003.
ERROR_INSTALL_SOURCE_ABSENT	Unable to detect a source.

 

For more information, see Displayed Error Messages.

Remarks

When the MsiProvideAssembly function succeeds, the pcchPathBuf parameter contains the length of the string in lpPathBuf.

The INSTALLMODE_EXISTING option cannot be used in combination with the REINSTALLMODE flag.

Features with components that contain a corrupted file or the wrong version of a file must be explicitly reinstalled by the user, or by having the application call MsiReinstallFeature.

Requirements

Version	Windows Installer 5.0 on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7. Windows Installer 4.0 or Windows Installer 4.5 on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista. Windows Installer on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. See the Windows Installer Run-Time Requirements for information about the minimum Windows service pack that is required by a Windows Installer version.
Header	Msi.h
Library	Msi.lib
DLL	Msi.dll
Unicode and ANSI names	MsiProvideAssemblyW (Unicode) and MsiProvideAssemblyA (ANSI)

See Also

Component-Specific Functions

Multiple-Package Installations

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Build date: 8/13/2009