MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work : The Official Microsoft IIS Forums

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richard.szal...

MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Nov 04, 2012 09:32 PM|LINK

According to the documentation page Parameterization improvements in Web Deploy V3, XmlFile parameter values can be given a defaultValue that infers the value from an existing xml file. The following example is given:

<parameter name="Replacement Param" defaultValue="\web.config:://connectionStrings" >”<parameterEntry kind="XMLFILE" scope="web\.config$" match="//connectionStrings" /></parameter>

I can't get this feature to work at all. Did the implementation make it into v3 RTW or was it culled (like app_offline templates)?

Here's my first example (of two), which declares a parameter on an XML element and gives it a default value of an element loaded from a different file (to make sure the feature works):

@echo off

REM ******** this stuff is only to read the path to the latest WebDeploy on your machine ***********
for /F "usebackq tokens=1,2,*" %%h in (`reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IIS Extensions\MSDeploy" /s ^| findstr -i "InstallPath"`) do (
if /I "%%h" == "InstallPath" (
if /I "%%i" == "REG_SZ" (
if not "%%j" == "" (
if "%%~dpj" == "%%j" (
set MSDEPLOY="%%j\msdeploy"
)))))

mkdir source & mkdir dest
echo ^<configuration^> ^
    ^<appSettings^> ^
        ^<add key="test" value="original" /^> ^
    ^</appSettings^> ^
^</configuration^> > source\web.config

echo ^<configuration^> ^
    ^<appSettings^> ^
        ^<add key="test" value="default" /^> ^
    ^</appSettings^> ^
^</configuration^> > source\default.config

@echo on

@echo. & @echo Packaging
%MSDEPLOY% -verb:sync -source:contentPath=%cd%\source -dest:package=%cd%\package.zip ^
-declareParam:name="test",kind=XmlFile,scope=Web\.config,match=//add[@key='test'],defaultValue=\default.config:://add[@key='test']

@echo. & @echo Deploying with default value
%MSDEPLOY% -verb:sync -source:package=%cd%\package.zip -dest:contentPath=%cd%\dest
@find "test" dest\web.config
@echo. & @echo "value" attribute expected to be "default"

@PAUSE

@echo. & echo Deploying with updated value
%MSDEPLOY% -verb:sync -source:package=%cd%\package.zip -dest:contentPath=%cd%\dest -setParam:name="test",value="^<add key=^"test^" value=^"updated^" /^>"
@find "test" dest\web.config
@echo. & @echo "value" attribute expected to be "updated"

@PAUSE

The output is summarised as follows:

Dumping parameters
<output>
<parameters>
    <parameter name="test" defaultValue="\default.config:://add[@key='test']">
      <parameterEntry kind="XmlFile" scope="Web\.config" match="//add[@key='test']" />
    </parameter>
</parameters>
</output>

Deploying with default value
<configuration>     <appSettings>         <add key="test" value="original" />     </appSettings> </configuration>
"value" attribute expected to be "default"

Deploying with updated value
<configuration>     <appSettings>         <add key="test" value="original" />     </appSettings> </configuration>
"value" attribute expected to be "updated"

Which appears to be ignoring the parameter entirely.

My next example does the same thing, but defines the parameter (and default value) on an attribute

@echo off

REM ******** this stuff is only to read the path to the latest WebDeploy on your machine ***********
for /F "usebackq tokens=1,2,*" %%h in (`reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IIS Extensions\MSDeploy" /s ^| findstr -i "InstallPath"`) do (
if /I "%%h" == "InstallPath" (
if /I "%%i" == "REG_SZ" (
if not "%%j" == "" (
if "%%~dpj" == "%%j" (
set MSDEPLOY="%%j\msdeploy"
)))))

mkdir source & mkdir dest
echo ^<configuration^> ^
    ^<appSettings^> ^
        ^<add key="test" value="original" /^> ^
    ^</appSettings^> ^
^</configuration^> > source\web.config

echo ^<configuration^> ^
    ^<appSettings^> ^
        ^<add key="test" value="default" /^> ^
    ^</appSettings^> ^
^</configuration^> > source\default.config

@echo on

@echo. & @echo Packaging
%MSDEPLOY% -verb:sync -source:contentPath=%cd%\source -dest:package=%cd%\package.zip ^
-declareParam:name="test",kind=XmlFile,scope=web\.config,match=//add[@key='test']/@value,defaultValue=\default.config:://add[@key='test']/@value

@echo. & @echo Dumping parameters
%MSDEPLOY% -verb:getParameters -source:package=%cd%\package.zip

@echo. & @echo Deploying with default value
%MSDEPLOY% -verb:sync -source:package=%cd%\package.zip -dest:contentPath=%cd%\dest
@find "test" dest\web.config
@echo. & @echo "value" attribute expected to be "default"

@PAUSE

@echo. & echo Deploying with updated value
%MSDEPLOY% -verb:sync -source:package=%cd%\package.zip -dest:contentPath=%cd%\dest -setParam:name="test",value="updated"
@find "test" dest\web.config
@echo. & @echo "value" attribute expected to be "updated"

@PAUSE

The output is summarised as follows:

Dumping parameters
<output>
<parameters>
    <parameter name="test" defaultValue="\default.config:://add[@key='test']/@value">
      <parameterEntry kind="XmlFile" scope="web\.config" match="//add[@key='test']/@value" />
    </parameter>
</parameters>
</output>

Deploying with default value
<configuration>     <appSettings>         <add key="test" value="\default.config:://add[@key='test']/@value" />     </appSettings> </configuration>
"value" attribute expected to be "default"

Deploying with updated value
<configuration>     <appSettings>         <add key="test" value="updated" />     </appSettings> </configuration>
"value" attribute expected to be "updated"

Which only works correctly when an explicit value is set.

Edited by richard.szalay on Nov 26, 2012 08:48 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Nov 26, 2012 08:48 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Nov 29, 2012 07:02 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 13, 2012 03:41 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 13, 2012 03:41 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 03:20 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 03:20 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

richard.szal...

83 Posts

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Nov 26, 2012 08:47 AM|LINK

Any chance I could get some acknowledgement on my original post? Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy writing detailed bug descriptions and repro scripts, as it gives me something to pass the long hours. Still, it'd be nice to get some feedback from the team.

Edited by richard.szalay on Nov 26, 2012 08:48 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Nov 26, 2012 08:48 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Nov 29, 2012 07:02 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 13, 2012 03:41 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 03:20 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

TuesdaysGree...

12 Posts

Microsoft

Moderator

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Dec 12, 2012 03:16 PM|LINK

Hi Richard. There was a lot of information in your post, but what I believe you're trying to do in the first part was to add a key to your configuration file. If so, then you want to craft your parameters file like below:

<parameters>
     <parameter name="test" defaultValue="&lt;add key='test' /&gt;">
       <parameterEntry kind="XmlFile" scope="Web\.config" match="//appsettings" />
     </parameter>
   </parameters>

If you want to add a child element, then you want to match on the parent element and set the value/defaultvalue to what's being insertted. When calling "-setParam" on this parameter, you should be able to use it the same way you're already doing (by not escaping the '<' and '>' signs.)

Also if you're not sure whether Web Deploy is matching a parameter or not, add the "-verbose" tag and it will tell you.

Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 13, 2012 03:41 AM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 03:20 AM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

richard.szal...

83 Posts

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Dec 13, 2012 03:41 AM|LINK

Hi Tuesdays,

Actually, I'm trying to load the default value for a parameter from an external file as described at this page: http://www.iis.net/learn/publish/using-web-deploy/parameterization-improvements-in-web-deploy-v3

Below are some examples which demonstrate how to get the values from other placesGet values from remote server:

<parameter name="Replacement Param" defaultValue="\\myshare\share\web.config:://connectionStrings" >”<parameterEntry kind="XMLFILE" scope="web\.config$" match="//connectionStrings" /></parameter>
Get values from a file in the package that is being synced:

Having said that, your question actually answers this other poster's question, so I'd recommend letting him know.

Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 13, 2012 03:41 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 13, 2012 03:41 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 03:20 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

TuesdaysGree...

12 Posts

Microsoft

Moderator

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Dec 14, 2012 03:12 PM|LINK

Hi Richard. Could you add the "-verbose" argument and post the output of that please? Also if you could send a snippet of your source config file that you're trying to read from, that would also be helpful.

Thanks,
Elliott

Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 03:20 AM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

richard.szal...

83 Posts

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Dec 15, 2012 10:20 PM|LINK

Hi Elliot,

The web.configs were actually created by the repro script (which is completely stand alone in reproducing the bug) in my original post, but I'll include them here:

<!-- web.config -->
<configuration>
  <appSettings>
    <add key="test" value="original" />
  </appSettings>
</configuration>

<!-- default.config -->
<configuration>
  <appSettings>
    <add key="test" value="default" />
  </appSettings>
</configuration>

I've added the verbose call and here is the relevant output from packaging:

Info: Adding declared parameter 'test'.

Deploying with the default value (with personal paths replaced with _REPRO_DIR_):

Verbose: Parameter entry 'test/1' is applicable to '_REPRO_DIR_\source\web.config' because of its scope.
Verbose: Parameter entry 'test/1' could not be applied to '_REPRO_DIR_\source\web.config'. Deployment will continue with the original data. Details:
Could not add value '\default.config:://add[@key='test']' within element 'add' because value is not valid XML.

The custom value is not relevant as it does not utilise the feature in question (and my original script had a typo causing it to fail).

Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 03:19 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 03:20 AM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by richard.szalay on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

TuesdaysGree...

12 Posts

Microsoft

Moderator

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Dec 17, 2012 04:05 PM|LINK

Edit - It seems like a lot of people are confused by this feature, so I added a blog entry which goes through some of these scenario's we've been discussing. Web Deploy XML Parameterization

Hi Richard,

In that last sentence you said "the custom value is not relevant as it does not utilise the feature in question (and my original script had a typo causing it to fail)." Did you mean that this is working now? I just tried this on my machine and it appears to work as I would expect:

Source file: c:\a\web.config

<configuration>
  <appSettings>
    <add key="test" value="original" />
  </appSettings>
</configuration>

Default Config: c:\default.config

<configuration>
  <appSettings>
    <add key="test" value="default" />
  </appSettings>
</configuration>

Parameters File: params.xml

<parameters>
  <parameter name="MyTestParam" description="Test Param" defaultValue="\default.config:://add[@key='test']">
    <parameterEntry kind="XmlFile" scope="web\.config" match="//add[@key='test']" />
  </parameter>
</parameters>

Command line:
msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:filepath=c:\a\web.config -dest:filepath=c:\b\web.config -setparamfile=params.xml -verbose

Produces the following file where it replaces the <add> element in the web.config file: c:\b\web.config

<configuration>
  <appSettings>
    <add key="test" value="default" />
  </appSettings>
</configuration>

Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:17 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:18 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:19 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Dec 17, 2012 06:21 PM
Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

richard.szal...

83 Posts

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Dec 18, 2012 03:07 AM|LINK

Thanks for your help so far and for the article on the parameterization options.

My only remaining confusion is what the relative file path in "/default.xml::/xpath/query" in relative in relation to? Is it the MSDeploy startup directory? The sync source?

In addition, if I were to sync to a package would the default value be extracted and stored in the package or would the xml file + xpath be stored in the package and thus potentially point to an unavailable file?

Edited by richard.szalay on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

Reply

TuesdaysGree...

12 Posts

Microsoft

Moderator

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Dec 18, 2012 03:22 PM|LINK

Hi Richard. The root "\" path is relative to wherever Web Deploy is running on the DESTINATION. In my case, I was doing a local sync from "c:\program files\iis\microsoft web deploy v3", so my root would be "c:\". However, if i was doing a remote sync (using the Web Deployment Agent), the root would be relative to where the Agent Service is installed on the destination computer (which is by default %systemdrive%). Because of this, I would be careful when thinking whether you want to actually use relative paths or not.

As for the sync-to-package question, the default value would be stored as the XPath query and not the "discovered" value.

Edited by TuesdaysGreen on Jan 02, 2013 09:55 PM

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richard.szal...

83 Posts

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

Jan 02, 2013 10:01 PM|LINK

Although I can't seem to mark it as the answer, your last response is the information I was lacking.

Thanks for your help Elliot.

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MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

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Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

richard.szal...

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

TuesdaysGree...

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

richard.szal...

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

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Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

richard.szal...

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

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Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work

richard.szal...

Re: MSDeploy v3 - xpath-based default parameter values doesn't appear to work