Currently I am working on a project which is deployed by using an MSI package. To patch the program, we just deploy another MSI installer package opposed to an MSP. Is this an effective/efficient way to go about this, or should we be deploying an MSP patch package instead? I have had experience with MSI but not MSP. How would I also go about creating an MSP patch? I trawled through the internet and cant seem to find anything.
Thanks in advance!
The choice is really up to you, though MSP provides smaller file sizes which can be advantageous for large projects. In particular, this MSDN article says:
Servicing applications by delivering a Windows Installer patch, rather than a complete installation package for the updated product can have advantages. A patch can contain an entire file or only the file bits necessary to update part of the file. This can enable the user to download an upgrade patch that is much smaller than the installation package for the entire product. An update using a patch can preserve a user customization of the application through the upgrade.
This page provides advice on using the MSIMSP utility to generate an MSP patch file given the old and new MSI packages.