What's next for DISMTools (July 2023 Update)

[CodingWonders]

After the massive 4-month development timespan of DISMTools 0.3, we're now ready to begin developing the next version: 0.3.1. These are some features deemed necessary that will make it into this next version:

"Element independence"

Earlier DISMTools versions allow you to specify settings when performing operations, but those settings applied to all elements - something you might not want to happen for a specific element. That's why, in this release, work has begun creating "independence" across the elements you specify. This is being currently implemented in the AppX package addition dialog, but will make its way into features, packages, and more:

The DISMTools.Elements.AppxPackage class can be found in this repository in the Elements\AppxPackage.vb file of the latest preview branch. Or, you can check what each property does in Visual Studio's Object Browser:

This also means that, in the not-too-distant future, these dialogs will receive a major facelift. It will look somewhat similar to this concept:

A much more efficient and easier way to get information from the AppX package manifest

From DISMTools 0.2 to 0.3, the program has relied on an in-house XML deserializer whose code might end in r/programminghorror. It did its job well though, except for some packages that resulted in flipped info values:

Flipped package name and version info values in DISMTools 0.3

This is no longer the case in DISMTools 0.3.1, which has switched from this in-house method to the much more reliable XML deserializer provided by the System.Xml namespace. This results in far more readable and understandable code, and more reliable procedures, leading to no more flipped values!

Much better!

This horrendous method is still used to get the store logo asset but will be changed to use the built-in XML deserializer. That method of getting information is still used when performing the actions, but it will also be changed.

Not every change will focus on AppX packages though. These are the features currently being worked on for the next preview release (v0.3.1_230806). Of course, user feedback still matters to the success of this project, so report any feedback!

[CodingWonders]

This new design is being worked on right now:

Element independence functionality for this task will go next