Isolated Application? What is it?

Isolated Application? What is it?

• D-Rain

  Hi,
  
  I have read more than 100 pages. Unfortunately, I am still in the mist about the concept of Isolated Apps.
  
  To my poor knowlege, Activation Context API is provided to manage a new data structure. Windows XP and later systems are designed to take advantage of the structure. So if you are the users of those systems, manifest-based EXEs and DLLs are OS-managed reusable components. This is my interpretation. Plz someone correct me if I am wrong.
  
  Thanks a lot in advance.
  
  
  

• TroyMac

  Yes, this is correct.  The isolated apps are only applicable for XP and higher (including 2003 Server)

  The data structure you are referring to is the activation context itself.  Here is a very good description of how it's used in the Platform SDK header files:

  http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.platformsdk.shell/msg/a1ef35d08af7ccbf hl=en

  As for why these are necessary in typical applications, I'm not 100% sure of that.   For example, I can use common control 6 without any problems at all even if I don't use isolation aware APIs. 

  
  

• ljCharlie

  An isolated application is, by definition, an application that uses the Activation Context API.  If you do a search in the Windows API header files you'll notice a lot of API functions that are wrapped to use activation context APIs.  These will be used if ISOLATION_AWARE_ENABLED is defined when you compile. 

  The purpose of an isolation application is to allow it to be independent of the system registry and not affect other applications.

  You can read more about it here:

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp url=/library/en-us/sbscs/setup/isolated_applications.asp

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp url=/library/en-us/sbscs/setup/activation_contexts.asp

  
  

• Paolo Pialorsi

  Hi, I am back here again, with new information. I thought I have to be here again because many people seem to suffer from the same problem.
  
  See http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx PostID=180752&SiteID=1.
  
  Who isolated our apps from Who This is my original question.
  
  As Ted said in his post, Microsoft introduces another memory structure. This structure is defined to hold Activation Context info. Access to that memory is managed via Activation Context API. In this sense, I would say that the new structure isolates our apps from some components.
  
  What are "some components" One of them is a DLL loader. Note here that this loader is part of Windows XP and later systems, not of older versions. As far as  SxS and Isolated applications are concerned, it's ideal that we should employ new OSes like Windows XP. Older versions are not looking at the new memory structure. They do not know anything about new structure. Only the new versions know its existence and store manifest info into the memory structure. In short, SxS and Isolated Apps are implemented based on the new memory structure.So far this is all I can write about SxS and Isolated Apps. If I am wrong, plz correct me.
   
  Hope this helps.
  
  
  
  

• James McKinnon

  Check this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp url=/library/en-us/sbscs/setup/isolated_applications.asp

  and

  http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms235531.aspx

  
  
  

• unionize

  Thank you for the info, Ted.
  
  I will read it pretty soon.
  
  Best,
  
  
  

• neuling700

  Thank you again, Ted!
  
  I will check those pages, and probably come back later.
  
  
  
  
• Isolated Application? What is it?