Windows Installer -

: Developers can author packages that allow features to be "advertised" but not fully installed until the user attempts to use them for the first time. Common Use Cases for Developers

: Letting users skip unnecessary tools to save disk space. Windows Installer

: Features can have a parent-child relationship. If a child feature is selected for installation, its parent feature is automatically included. : Developers can author packages that allow features

: While users see features, the installer actually manages components . One feature can consist of multiple components, which are the smallest coherent units (files, registry keys, etc.) that the installer installs or removes together. If a child feature is selected for installation,

For managing built-in (like Hyper-V or WSL) rather than application features, administrators typically use tools like DISM or PowerShell cmdlets like Install-WindowsFeature . Windows Installer Features - Win32 apps - Microsoft Learn

When authoring an installation package , developers define features in the Feature Table of the MSI database. This allows for:

: Reinstalling or repairing specific features rather than the entire application if files become corrupt.