I think the .NET Framework is a good choice for blind programmers --
though not the only good choice. It has a comprehensive, consistent,
and generally well-documented class library that is free to use in any
project. Depending on personal preferences for syntax, one can write
in C#, Visual Basic, or other languages. Programs may be built with
either integrated development environments or text editors and
command-line compilers.
One potential obstacle is that clients may not have the version of the
.NET Framework already installed that an application needs. I found a
good solution for this problem with Version 2.0 of the .NET Framework,
using the Microsoft Component Installer. However, I could not find a
satisfactory, sufficiently automated solution for later versions of
the Framework.
GotNET is a program I have developed in attempt to address this need.
I hope folks on this list can give me feedback on the latest beta,
which is available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/netsetup.exe
or for a manual install,
http://EmpowermentZone.com/netsetup.zip
Below is the current documentation to help you decide whether to try
GotNET.
Jamal
GotNET
Beta 0.8
May 26, 2010
Copyright 2010 by Jamal Mazrui
GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software platform for applications
written in various languages. Numerous developer tools assist
programmers in building applications that run on this platform.
GotNET.exe is a free, open source utility that can check whether the
most common versions of the .NET Framework are installed, and install
one or more of them if not found. The latest version of GotNET is
available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/netsetup.exe
Its source code is in the file GotNET.bas, written in the PowerBASIC
programming language from
http://PowerBASIC.com
Other executables in the distribution are Microsoft installers for
particular .NET Framework versions, which retrieve necessary files
from the Microsoft.com web site: PSetup.exe for version 2.0,
dotNetFx35setup.exe for version 3.5, and dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe for
version 4.
The command-line syntax of GotNET is
GotNET.exe FrameworkVersion InstallerExecutable AdditionalParameter
The batch files GotV2.0.bat, GotV3.5.bat, and Gotv4.Bat illustrate use
of these parameters. Each batch file checks whether a particular
Framework version is installed. If that version is found, a
confirmation message is printed to the console. Otherwise, the
appropriate installer executable is launched. If no parameters are
passed to GotNET.exe, a message box shows what .NET Framework versions
are currently installed according to the Windows registry. To save
this information, you can press Control+C to copy it to the Windows
clipboard, and then paste it elsewhere.
The file netsetup.iss is a script file that was used to build the
GotNET installation program, netsetup.exe, using the free Inno Setup
software, available at
http://InnoSetup.org
Installation programs may be build for .NET-based applications that
borrow syntax from that script file, thereby ensuring that .NET
prerequisites for an application are installed.
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