MySQL Bugs: #90811: MySQLInstallerConsole -showsettings throws unhandled exception

Bug #90811	MySQLInstallerConsole -showsettings throws unhandled exception
Submitted:	9 May 2018 19:03	Modified:	25 Feb 2022 16:43
Reporter:	Tim Taylor	Email Updates:
Status:	Closed	Impact on me:	None
Category:	MySQL for Windows: Installer	Severity:	S3 (Non-critical)
Version:	1.4.25.0	OS:	Windows (10 Professional)
Assigned to:		CPU Architecture:	x86
Tags:	MySQLInstallerConsole

Description:
Trying to step through the MySQLInstallerConsole options to create a silent install, and an unhandled exception is thrown after the product is selected.

How to repeat:
C:\Program Files (x86)\MySQL\MySQL Installer for Windows>MySQLInstallerConsole install -showsettings server
=================== Start Initialization ===================
MySQL Installer is running in Community mode

Attempting to update manifest.
Initializing product requirements
Loading product catalog
Checking for product catalog snippets
Checking for product packages in the bundle
Categorizing product catalog
Finding all installed packages.
Your product catalog was last updated at 5/9/2018 12:49:10 PM
=================== End Initialization ===================

Install MySQL Server 8.0.11-X64? [Y/N]n
Install MySQL Server 8.0.4-X64? [Y/N]n
Install MySQL Server 8.0.3-X64? [Y/N]n
Install MySQL Server 8.0.2-X64? [Y/N]n
Install MySQL Server 8.0.1-X64? [Y/N]n
Install MySQL Server 8.0.0-X64? [Y/N]n
Install MySQL Server 5.7.22-X86? [Y/N]n
Install MySQL Server 5.7.22-X64? [Y/N]y
Here are the available settings for your selected products.

MySQL Server 5.7.22

Unhandled Exception: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at WexInstaller.Core.Controllers.ControllerSettings.GetDefaultValue(PropertyInfo pi, Boolean useValue)
   at WexInstaller.Core.Controllers.ControllerSettings.GenerateHelpString()
   at WexInstallerConsole.Actions.InstallAction.ShowProductSettings()
   at WexInstallerConsole.Actions.InstallAction.PostPackageSelection()
   at WexInstallerConsole.Actions.PackageBasedAction.DoAction()
   at WexInstallerConsole.Program.Main(String[] args)

Suggested fix:
Better documentation would be appreciated.  Documentation at https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/MySQLInstallerConsole.html is incomplete and does not show all options and values.

Another option would be the ability to walk through the GUI and export a console installer command for an install on another machine or for use in an installer package.

Thank you for the bug report.

This continues to be an issue as of 2020-08-07 with MySQL Installer 1.4.34.0 (8.0.21)

C:\Program Files (x86)\MySQL\MySQL Installer for Windows>MySQLInstallerConsole community configure -showsettings server
=================== Start Initialization ===================
MySQL Installer is running in Community mode

Attempting to update manifest.
Initializing product requirements
Loading product catalog
Checking for product catalog snippets
Checking for product packages in the bundle
Categorizing product catalog
Finding all installed packages.
Your product catalog was last updated at 8/7/2020 11:31:43 AM
=================== End Initialization ===================

Here are the available settings for your selected products.

MySQL Server 8.0.21

Unhandled Exception: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at MySql.Installer.Core.Controllers.ControllerSettings.GetDefaultValue(PropertyInfo pi, Boolean useValue)
   at MySql.Installer.Core.Controllers.ControllerSettings.GenerateHelpString()
   at MySql.Installer.Console.Actions.ConfigureAction.ShowControllerSettings()
   at MySql.Installer.Console.Actions.ConfigureAction.PostPackageSelection()
   at MySql.Installer.Console.Actions.PackageBasedAction.DoAction()
   at MySql.Installer.Console.Program.Main(String[] args)

To echo Tim Taylor, better documentation would be appreciated. Documentation at https://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql-installer/en/MySQLInstallerConsole.html continues to be incomplete and should include all key value pairs.

For example, I am currently stuck with this error due to not knowing what key=value pair is required to set this.

    MySQL Server 8.0.21 - An authentication plugin must be specified for new users.

Posted by developer:
 
Fixed the reported unhandled exception when executing the command: mysqlinstallerconsole.exe install -showsettings server
Documentation will be improved in a future enhancement.

Posted by developer:
 
Fixed as of the upcoming MySQL Installer 1.6.2 release, and here's the proposed changelog entry from the documentation team:

An exception was returned during the product selection step when using
MySQLInstallerConsole command options to create a silent installation.

Thank you for the bug report.

Bug #106529 marked as duplicate of this one.