I am trying to launch the two finesse suite on different browser using Jenkins but not able to do so. Even I have parameterized my build but same browser is launching each time.
Do your execution scripts have a hard coded reference to which browser to use, or do you leave that to the system default? If system default, then it makes sense that you would have both running in the same browser since each suite is just choosing the system default (which is the same).
If you could script the registry (windows) or path (other OS) change to modify which browser is the system default, then you can override the system default browser at runtime and choose which one you want run for that thread. There may be problems if the two jobs kick off at the same time and both are trying to change the system default browser.
Related
I have a WPF application that is designed for a touchscreen kiosk. Users will not have access to a keyboard or mouse. The application runs fine when started normally from the program icon in windows. However, when it is set up to run automatically at startup (by replacing the Windows shell using a registry key), the application does not function properly.
The application reads an XML file that lists available videos, then displays buttons to show the videos. When run in "kiosk mode," it does not seem to have access to the files in its media directory (the XML file and presumably the videos as well). I suspect that because the application is running in place of the windows explorer, it is missing resources it needs for file access that are normally loaded by windows explorer.
I have not been able to find any info on this - there is plenty of info on how to get an app to run at startup, but not much on how to make sure it will actually function in that environment. The PC is running Windows 7 Professional.
Is my assumption about the problem correct, or is it likely something else (e.g. permissions - we checked the permissions, but maybe they operate differently when you replace the windows shell?) If it is because needed resources are not loaded, does anyone have pointers on how to make sure my app loads them?
Perhaps you have file access occurring via a file dialog? This might explain a bit further. What is the minimum functionality needed to create Shell Replacement for Windows?
because you have stopped windows default running explorer.exe , your program can not get access to default xml directory therefore you should specify the complete path for example like below:
stream = File.Open(#"C:\x86\Debug\xml.xml", FileMode.OpenOrCreate);
I know this is not ideal, but my constraint is that I have a legacy application written in Clipper.
I want to launch a new, WinForms/WPF application from inside the application (to ease transition). This legacy application written in Clipper launches using:
SwpRunCmd("C:\MyApp\MyBat.bat",0)
The batch file contains something like this command:
C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\iexplore "http://QASVR/MyApp/AppWin/MyCompany.MyApp.AppWin.application#MyCompany.MyApp.AppWin.application"
It is launching a WinForms/WPF app that is we deploy via ClickOnce. Everything has been going well until we introduced WPF into the application. We were able to easily launch from the legacy application.
Since we have introduced WPF, however, we have the following behavior. If we launch via the Clipper application first, we get an exception when launching the application. The error text is:
The type initializer for 'System.Windows.FrameworkElement' threw an exception.
at System.Windows.FrameworkElement..ctor()
at System.Windows.Controls.Panel..ctor()
at System.Windows.Controls.DockPanel..ctor()
at System.Windows.Forms.Integration.AvalonAdapter..ctor(ElementHost hostControl)
at System.Windows.Forms.Integration.ElementHost..ctor()
at MyCompany.MyApp.AppWin.Main.InitializeComponent()
at MyCompany.MyApp.AppWin.Main..ctor(String[] args)
at MyCompany.MyApp.AppWin.Program.Main(String[] args)
The type initializer for 'System.Windows.Documents.TextElement' threw an exception.
at System.Windows.FrameworkElement..cctor()
The type initializer for 'System.Windows.Media.FontFamily' threw an exception.
at System.Windows.Media.FontFamily..ctor(String familyName)
at System.Windows.SystemFonts.get_MessageFontFamily()
at System.Windows.Documents.TextElement..cctor()
The type initializer for 'MS.Internal.FontCache.Util' threw an exception.
at MS.Internal.FontCache.Util.get_WindowsFontsUriObject()
at System.Windows.Media.FontFamily.PreCreateDefaultFamilyCollection()
at System.Windows.Media.FontFamily..cctor()
Invalid URI: The format of the URI could not be determined.
at System.Uri.CreateThis(String uri, Boolean dontEscape, UriKind uriKind)
at System.Uri..ctor(String uriString, UriKind uriKind)
at MS.Internal.FontCache.Util..cctor()
If we launch the application via the URL (in IE) or via the icon on the desktop first, we do not get the exception and application launches as expected.
The neat thing is that whatever we launch with first determines whether the app will launch at all. So, if we launch with legacy first, it breaks right away and we can't get the app to run even if we launch with the otherwise successful URL or icon. To get it to work, we have to logout and log back in and start it from the URL or icon.
If we first use the URL or the icon, we have no problem launching from the legacy application from that point forward (until we logout and come back in).
One other piece of information is that we are able to simulate the problem in the following fashion. If we enter a command prompt using "cmd.exe" and execute a statement to launch from a URL, we are successful. If, however, we enter a command prompt using "command.com" and we execute that same statement, we experience the breaking behavior.
We assume it is because the legacy application in Clipper uses the equivalent of command.com to create the shell to spawn the other app. We have tried a bunch of hacks like having command.com run cmd.exe or psexec and then executing, but nothing seems to work.
We have some ideas for workarounds (like making the app launch on startup so we force the successful launch from a URL, making all subsequent launches successful), but they all are sub-optimal even though we have a great deal of control over our workstations.
To reduce the chance that this is related to permissions, we have given the launching account administrative rights (as well as non-administrative rights in case that made a difference).
Any ideas would be greatly-appreciate. Like I said, we have some work arounds, but I would love to avoid them.
Thanks!
It sounds like the Presentation Font Cache service has trouble starting when the app is launched in this way.
If you have control over the client environment, you could try setting the Windows Presentation Font Cache startup to automatic instead of manual.
This is a shot in the dark made with incomplete information:
command.com and cmd.exe are quite different. AFAIK, command.com exists for legacy compatibility, so applications you run from it will run differently. I can't test anything to complete my post because I believe that command.com runs in 16-bit mode and 64bit versions of Windows (on which I'm running) don't support that mode anymore so no more command.com for me.
That being said, there should be no difference when trying to run 32-bit applications (including managed applications).
I'm not aware of what are the limitations of your environment, but some things you may try are:
Rename you .bat into .cmd to make sure it starts with cmd.exe rather than command.com
Make your .bat start the program using the start console command
Have a non-WPF program to invoke your WPF one with a more sane environment
The problem is that the windir environmental variable is not set when using command.com.
So, in your case, adding the line set windir=C:\Windows to the beginning of the bat file will solve the problem (assuming that you have your Windows instalation in C:\Windows.
An additional issue might be that the host application is running command.com in compatibility mode. The best is to list all the environmental variables after running cmd.exe (using the set command) and comparing it to the output of the set command that you set in your bat file
I'm not sure if this is technically a Kiosk, but it's basically the same idea. I have a program that runs full screen all the time from boot to shutdown to control a machine that the computer is hooked to.
Right now I just have a shortcut to the exe in the Startup folder so it starts when the system boots up and logs in. Is there any better way to do this? I'd really like the user to never see the Windows environment (just the windows loading progress bar on boot) if at all possible, but I'm guessing that's not possible.
Just thought I'd ask and see if there is a better way to do this than putting it in the startup folder?
The best option is to use Windows Embedded. This gives you much more control over the shell, and what is run and installed with the system.
If you have to do this with a consumer OS, you can try to bypass the login prompts to auto-login your user, and have your program setup in the registry to startup. Disable any other services you don't need. That will minimize the time the shell is displayed (but it's very difficult to remove it).
I've become familiar with the new concept of "out of browser" web applications, supported in the recent Silverlight, JavaFX, Adobe AIR etc.
Listening recently to a podcast on the subject by Scott Hanselman, I've become aware that one of the purposes behind these new architectures is to allow for "desktop-application-feel". Also, I understand some (or all) of these allow for some offline access to a sandbox of resources. This really sounds as if these frameworks could be an alternative to "real" desktop applications, as long as the application does not require messing with the user's machine (i.e. access to peripherals, certain file IO, etc).
I have a very specific question. My application needs to run at start-up. Is it possible to do so using such a framework without requiring the user to download and run a certain executable?
For example, I could always direct the user to download a small EXE that will put a .lnk file in the start-up directory, but I want to avoid such a patch.
To summarize: is it possible to have an out-of-browser web application setup itself to run at start-up without requiring file download?
To further clarify, this question does not come from an "evil" place, but rather from trying to decide whether "out-of-browser" frameworks are indeed a proper alternative to a desktop application, for my specific requirements.
The BkMark example here shows how to start an application on startup using Adobe Air. So, yes it is possible.
So, here's the deal: web apps in general will have a security context around them, and by default won't have access to write to the filesystem (outside of a temp files), access the registry, etc.
One way is, as you said, have the user run something or configure it so the lnk is executed on startup.
Another way, and I think, more in line of what you want, is that the user can run the program himself, click some button in the application, and it's configured.
I know with Java you could do this, but the user has to allow full access to their system, because your app would need to change System configuration. Then you could just configure it (by writing a lnk to your WebStart JNLP in the Startup folder)
For Internet Exploder, Javascript apps do have write access to the disk.
For other (better-secured) browsers you will either need to have a download, or Adobe AIR.
Assuming you are building for Windows, launching an executable at startup can be done several ways.
For user session startup, you can achieve this either by putting a lnk file in the appropriate folder, or with a registry entry. For operating system startup, you can achieve this with a registry entry. There are several permutations:
run application once on boot (UI not allowed)
run application every boot (UI not allowed)
start service every boot according to policy set in registry
run application once on user session start
run application every user session
Since an out of browser application has UI I expect you mean run application every user session and in this case you may as well put an LNK file in the user's startup folder.
I just created a shortcut for an SL4 OOB application, and this was the Target of the shortcut:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Silverlight\sllauncher.exe" 2635882436.localhost
A search of my disk revealed that location 2635882436.localhost is a folder.
C:\Users\<mylogin>\AppData\LocalLow\Microsoft\Silverlight\OutOfBrowser\2635882436.localhost
I rather doubt an OOB app of any type could place a shortcut in the Startup folder unless you somehow obtained Full Trust.
I noticed that WPF application startup is sometimes pretty slow. Does anybody know if the the cause is the elements initialization or DLLs loading or something else?
The text below was extracted from this MSDN article on Improving WPF applications startup time (Edit: now merged into WPF Application Startup Time)
Application Startup Time
The amount of time that is required for a WPF application to start can vary greatly. This topic describes various techniques for reducing the perceived and actual startup time for a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application.
Understanding Cold Startup and WarmStartup
Cold startup occurs when your application starts for the first time after a system reboot, or when you start your application, close it, and then start it again after a long period of time. When an application starts, if the required pages (code, static data, registry, etc) are not present in the Windows memory manager's standby list, page faults occur. Disk access is required to bring the pages into memory.
Warm startup occurs when most of the pages for the main common language runtime (CLR) components are already loaded in memory, which saves expensive disk access time. That is why a managed application starts faster when it runs a second time.
Implement a Splash Screen
In cases where there is a significant, unavoidable delay between starting an application and displaying the first UI, optimize the perceived startup time by using a splash screen. This approach displays an image almost immediately after the user starts the application. When the application is ready to display its first UI, the splash screen fades. Starting in the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, you can use the SplashScreen class to implement a splash screen. For more information, see How to: Add a Splash Screen to a WPF Application.
You can also implement your own splash screen by using native Win32 graphics. Display your implementation before the Run method is called.
Analyze the Startup Code
Determine the reason for a slow cold startup. Disk I/O may be responsible, but this is not always the case. In general, you should minimize the use of external resources, such as network, Web services, or disk.
Before you test, verify that no other running applications or services use managed code or WPF code.
Start your WPF application immediately after a reboot, and determine how long it takes to display. If all subsequent launches of your application (warm startup) are much faster, your cold startup issue is most likely caused by I/O.
If your application's cold startup issue is not related to I/O, it is likely that your application performs some lengthy initialization or computation, waits for some event to complete, or requires a lot of JIT compilation at startup. The following sections describe some of these situations in more detail.
Optimize Module Loading
Use tools such as Process Explorer (Procexp.exe) and Tlist.exe to determine which modules your application loads. The command Tlist <pid> shows all the modules that are loaded by a process.
For example, if you are not connecting to the Web and you see that System.Web.dll is loaded, then there is a module in your application that references this assembly. Check to make sure that the reference is necessary.
If your application has multiple modules, merge them into a single module. This approach requires less CLR assembly-loading overhead. Fewer assemblies also mean that the CLR maintains less state.
Defer Initialization Operations
Consider postponing initialization code until after the main application window is rendered.
Be aware that initialization may be performed inside a class constructor, and if the initialization code references other classes, it can cause a cascading effect in which many class constructors are executed.
Avoid Application Configuration
Consider avoiding application configuration. For example, if an application has simple configuration requirements and has strict startup time goals, registry entries or a simple INI file may be a faster startup alternative.
Utilize the GAC
If an assembly is not installed in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC), there are delays caused by hash verification of strong-named assemblies and by Ngen image validation if a native image for that assembly is available on the computer. Strong-name verification is skipped for all assemblies installed in the GAC. For more information, see Gacutil.exe (Global Assembly Cache Tool).
Use Ngen.exe
Consider using the Native Image Generator (Ngen.exe) on your application. Using Ngen.exe means trading CPU consumption for more disk access because the native image generated by Ngen.exe is likely to be larger than the MSIL image.
To improve the warm startup time, you should always use Ngen.exe on your application, because this avoids the CPU cost of JIT compilation of the application code.
In some cold startup scenarios, using Ngen.exe can also be helpful. This is because the JIT compiler (mscorjit.dll) does not have to be loaded.
Having both Ngen and JIT modules can have the worst effect. This is because mscorjit.dll must be loaded, and when the JIT compiler works on your code, many pages in the Ngen images must be accessed when the JIT compiler reads the assemblies' metadata.
Ngen and ClickOnce
The way you plan to deploy your application can also make a difference in load time. ClickOnce application deployment does not support Ngen. If you decide to use Ngen.exe for your application, you will have to use another deployment mechanism, such as Windows Installer.
For more information, see Ngen.exe (Native Image Generator).
Rebasing and DLL Address Collisions
If you use Ngen.exe, be aware that rebasing can occur when the native images are loaded in memory. If a DLL is not loaded at its preferred base address because that address range is already allocated, the Windows loader will load it at another address, which can be a time-consuming operation.
You can use the Virtual Address Dump (Vadump.exe) tool to check if there are modules in which all the pages are private. If this is the case, the module may have been rebased to a different address. Therefore, its pages cannot be shared.
For more information about how to set the base address, see Ngen.exe (Native Image Generator).
Optimize Authenticode
Authenticode verification adds to the startup time. Authenticode-signed assemblies have to be verified with the certification authority (CA). This verification can be time consuming, because it can require connecting to the network several times to download current certificate revocation lists. It also makes sure that there is a full chain of valid certificates on the path to a trusted root. This can translate to several seconds of delay while the assembly is being loaded.
Consider installing the CA certificate on the client computer, or avoid using Authenticode when it is possible. If you know that your application does not need the publisher evidence, you do not have to pay the cost of signature verification.
Starting in .NET Framework 3.5, there is a configuration option that allows the Authenticode verification to be bypassed. To do this, add the following setting to the app.exe.config file:
<configuration>
<runtime>
<generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false"/>
</runtime>
</configuration>
Compare Performance on Windows Vista
The memory manager in Windows Vista has a technology called SuperFetch. SuperFetch analyzes memory usage patterns over time to determine the optimal memory content for a specific user. It works continuously to maintain that content at all times.
This approach differs from the pre-fetch technique used in Windows XP, which preloads data into memory without analyzing usage patterns. Over time, if the user uses your WPF application frequently on Windows Vista, the cold startup time of your application may improve.
Use AppDomains Efficiently
If possible, load assemblies into a domain-neutral code area to make sure that the native image, if one exists, is used in all AppDomains created in the application.
For the best performance, enforce efficient cross-domain communication by reducing cross-domain calls. When possible, use calls without arguments or with primitive type arguments.
Use the NeutralResourcesLanguage Attribute
Use the NeutralResourcesLanguageAttribute to specify the neutral culture for the ResourceManager. This approach avoids unsuccessful assembly lookups.
Use the BinaryFormatter Class for Serialization
If you must use serialization, use the BinaryFormatter class instead of the XmlSerializer class. The BinaryFormatter class is implemented in the Base Class Library (BCL) in the mscorlib.dll assembly. The XmlSerializer is implemented in the System.Xml.dll assembly, which might be an additional DLL to load.
If you must use the XmlSerializer class, you can achieve better performance if you pre-generate the serialization assembly.
Configure ClickOnce to Check for Updates After Startup
If your application uses ClickOnce, avoid network access on startup by configuring ClickOnce to check the deployment site for updates after the application starts.
If you use the XAML browser application (XBAP) model, keep in mind that ClickOnce checks the deployment site for updates even if the XBAP is already in the ClickOnce cache. For more information, see ClickOnce Security and Deployment.
Configure the PresentationFontCache Service to Start Automatically
The first WPF application to run after a reboot is the PresentationFontCache service. The service caches the system fonts, improves font access, and improves overall performance. There is an overhead in starting the service, and in some controlled environments, consider configuring the service to start automatically when the system reboots.
Set Data Binding Programmatically
Instead of using XAML to set the DataContext declaratively for the main window, consider setting it programmatically in the OnActivated method.
The most useful advice on fixing WPF startup performance I've ever seen was given in this other question: run "ngen update" in every framework folder.
It seems that Microsoft can't keep their ngen cache up-to-date, which results in your application pretty much recompiling half the .NET framework every single startup.
Hard to believe, but seems to be true.
The startup time of a WPF Application can be much faster if you use Framework 3.51 and not 3.5 or 3.0. The 3.51 is really an improvement.
This is an old thread, but I've ended up here several times while trying to fix a startup performance issue with WPF apps on my Win10 system, so I thought I'd state an answer which may help others - an answer that takes a horrible 5 second startup time for all WPF apps on this system down to just a few milliseconds. Remove the nVidia "3d Vision" driver. I have a GeForce GTX 650 card, and the "3d Vision" driver doesn't seem to offer anything useful, so removing it is no problem for me. The VisualStudio2015 performance analysis tool finally helped show that almost all the 5 second startup time was spent IDLE after a call through nvapi64.dll - the nVidia driver. Wow.
What helped me the most from the excellent article that Stuart links to was the XmlSerializer trick. That really shaved up quite a few seconds. Furthermore don't underestimate defragmenting your HD :-)