Components

If features are the building blocks of the setup from the user's perspective, then components are the building blocks from the developer's perspective. Components are setup objects that help you organize similar application data, such as files, registry entries, and shortcuts into logical groups.

Components are subsets of features. Normally, you'll have multiple components associated with one feature.You should be aware of certain guidelines when associating files with your components. For example, a file and its shortcut should both be shipped in the same component. Also, a component should contain only one EXE, DLL, OCX, or HLP file. Including more than one of these file types in a component is a violation of Setup Best Practices. Lastly, Microsoft recommends that no file be shipped in more than one component, “even across products, product versions, and companies.”

For more information, see Components - The Developer's View.