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Update the README file.
* Re-organize the sections into a more logical order. * Tidy-up the wording of the introduction. * Add more details to the section on customizing the updater
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Robert Knight
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112
README
112
README
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@ -2,35 +2,33 @@ This tool is a component of a cross-platform auto-update system.
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It is responsible for performing the installation of an update after
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the necessary files have been downloaded to a temporary directory.
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This tool is responsible for:
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It was originally written for use with Mendeley Desktop (see www.mendeley.com)
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* Reading an XML file specifying the contents of an update.
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* Extracting and installing updated files from one or more compressed packages.
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* Removing any files which are no longer needed in the new version of the application.
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* Requesting elevated priviledges if required to install the update.
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* Displaying a simple updater UI and re-launching the main application
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once the update is installed.
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The tool consists of a single small binary which depends only on libraries
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that are part of the base system.
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The external dependencies of the updater binary are:
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* The C/C++ runtime libraries (Linux, Mac),
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* pthreads (Linux, Mac),
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* zlib (Linux, Mac)
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* native UI library (Win32 API on Windows, Cocoa on Mac, GTK on Linux if available)
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The tool consists of a single small binary which performs update installation,
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an XML file format describing the contents of an update (an 'update script')
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and a tool to create update scripts from a directory containing an installed application.
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To perform an update, the application (or another separate tool) needs to download
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the updater binary, an XML file describing the update and one or more zip packages
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the updater binary, an update script and one or more compressed packages
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containing the files for the update to a temporary directory. It then needs
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to invoke the updater, specifying the installation directory, temporary package
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directory and path to the update script file. The updater then installs the
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update and restarts the application when done.
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to invoke the updater, specifying the location where the application is installed,
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the location of the compressed packages and the path to the update script.
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Once the updater has been started, it:
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1. Waits for the application to exit
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2. Acquires the necessary priviledges to install the updates, prompting
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the user if necessary.
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3. Installs the updates, displaying progress to the user in a small dialog
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4. Performs cleanup and any additional actions required as part of the update
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5. Starts the new version of the main application.
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In the event of a failure during the update, the installation is rolled back
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to its previous state and a message is presented to the user.
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Building the Updater
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====================
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@ -40,17 +38,16 @@ Building the Updater
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cmake <path to source directory>
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make
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Customizing the Updater
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=======================
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The updater binary will be built in the src/ directory.
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To customize the application name, organization and messages displayed by the updater,
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edit the AppInfo class and the icons in src/resources
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You should also run the tests in src/tests to verify that the updater is
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functioning correctly.
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Preparing an Update
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===================
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1. Create a directory containing your application's files,
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laid out and with the same permissions as they would be when installed.
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laid out in the same way and with the same permissions as they would be when installed.
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2. Create a config file specifying how the application's files should be
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partitioned into packages - see tools/config-template.json
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@ -65,14 +62,63 @@ Preparing an Update
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relevant packages, file_list.xml file and updater binary to a temporary
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directory and invoke the updater.
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Delta Updates
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=============
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Invoking the Updater
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====================
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The simplest possible auto-update implementation is for existing installs
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Once the application has downloaded an update, it needs to invoke it. The syntax is:
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updater --install-dir <install-dir> --package-dir <package-dir> --script <script file>
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Where <install-dir> is the directory which the application is installed into,
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<package-dir> is the directory containing the packages required for the update
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and <script> is the file_list.xml file describing the update.
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Once the updater has run, it will launch the file specified in the file_list.xml file
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as being the main application binary.
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See the updater test in src/tests/test-update.rb for an example
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of how to invoke the updater.
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You should design the process used to download and launch the updater so that new
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versions of the updater itself can be delivered as part of the update if necessary.
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Customizing the Updater
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=======================
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To customize the application name, organization and messages displayed by the updater:
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1. Edit the AppInfo class (in AppInfo.h, AppInfo.cpp) to set the name
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of the application and associated organization.
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2. Replace the icons in src/resources
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3. Change the product name and organization in src/resources/updater.rc
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4. If you are building the updater on Windows and have a suitable Authenticode
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certificate, use it to sign the Windows binary. This will make the application
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show a less scary UAC prompt if administrator permissions are required
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to complete the installation.
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Updater Dependencies
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====================
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The external dependencies of the updater binary are:
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* The C/C++ runtime libraries (Linux, Mac),
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* pthreads (Linux, Mac),
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* zlib (Linux, Mac)
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* native UI library (Win32 API on Windows, Cocoa on Mac, GTK on Linux if available)
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Full and Delta Updates
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======================
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The simplest auto-update implementation is for existing installs
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to download a complete copy of the new version and install it. This is
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appropriate if a full download and install will not take a long time for most users
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(eg. if the application is small or they have a fast internet connection).
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With this tool, a full-update involves putting all files in a build of
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the application into a single package.
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To reduce the download size, delta updates can be created which only include
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the necessary files or components to update from the old to the new version.
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