Re: linker options for dotnet, especially open source/free

Those are the only two products that I know that let you deploy a .NET application without first installing .NET.

To me, the .NET installation is a non-issue; it's only done once.  It's included in Windows Update, so for many of my clients it's already there.  I would expect my clients to have all the latest service packs and updates as well, so I don't think it's much to expect .NET to be installed too--it can even be made part of the application setup.  Post WinXP, .NET 2.0 is already installed, so these tools become less and less cost effective.  Of the clients I've had that had legitimate concerns about deploying .NET, they had deep pockets and could cover tools like this.

But, I can see the allure of these products.  Xenocode doesn't actually convert .NET apps to native for deployment, it actually deploys a virtual environment that contains the .net framework.  While you don't have to install the framework, you essentially have to deploy it with each and every application.  This might seem useful; but remember that you also have to redploy this virtual environment for every application update--essentially redeploying a .NET framework over and over again, even is .NET is installed on the destination computer.  My clients are often more concerned about size--having to deploy a virtual environment included with the application must be huge.

In any case, Xenocode Postbuild 2008 ("for instant, secure .NET deployments") is only US$1500.  If you're willing to develop some sort of solution to deploy .NET applications without the framework, you'd never be able to beat that ROI.  It's a 5-developer license, maybe you can find 4 other people willing to go in on it and get your effective cost down to $300?  Remotesoft's solution is only $1300, but is a one dev license.

I think Postbuild would be the best option of the two.  I can see there being issues of recompiling .NET code to native code in terms of what you test/debug and what gets deployed.  e.g. if there's a crash on a customer's computer; how can you trace that back to your .NET code if it's been decompiled and recompiled into native?

Personally, I think both of these tools add much more friction to the deployment and development process than the .NET framework deployment does, in the long run.

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