To simplify deploying customizations, SharePoint 2007 introduced a concept called Solutions. Solutions allow you to package your customizations along with a manifest file that outlines how your customizations should be deployed. They allow you to deploy assemblies to the GAC, create safe control entries, copy files to specific SharePoint directories on the server, and more!
To create a solution you must first define a manifest.xml file. For our custom STSADM command, we're telling SharePoint to put our custom .xml file into the CONFIG folder and to copy our .dll to the GAC:
The second step is to package the manifest, .dll, and other supporting files into a .cab file (with a .wsp extension). To do this, we create a .ddf file which we can use with makecab.exe:
Once the .wsp is created, it must be copied to the server and installed with STSADM –o AddSolution. Once installed, it can then be deployed. After it has been deployed, your new STSADM commands will be available!
You can download the SharePoint solution file here.
You can download the Visual Studio 2005 solution here.
References: