Menu

#3 editor:check for updates?

open
nobody
None
5
2010-11-07
2010-11-07
Anonymous
No

with so many changes to j661 recently, it might make sense to add a feature for checking online for new updates, probably this could be implemented just by getting an XML file from sourceforge and comparing the current version against the latest one.
Any new release would then need to be reflected in the XML file, which could be uploaded to the web space at j661.sourceforge.net

So during startup there could be a note saying "new version 0.49 beta" available

this could be helpful to ensure that people always use the latest version

Discussion

  • Hervé Girod

    Hervé Girod - 2010-11-07

    Hello, do you propose to do this check automatically in the editor?

     
  • Nobody/Anonymous

    maybe do this once automatically during startup (splash screen) and provide an option to do the same check manually from the about menu?

    that would be in line with other software packages (like for example firefox).
    it would be important to make the automated check either configurable (so that it can be disabled), or at least to fail gracefully (i.e. if the user is not connected to the internet), so a try/catch block that will not cause an error would seem to make sense.

    One could simply add an XML file to the web directory, and then add version numbers with a description/comment (e.g. include the changelog), so that people directly see a notice saying "new version available: bug fixes and new features".

    An option for a plain text notice seems to make sense, so that the project can communicate important news to all users, no matter if it's a bug fix, new release or whatever.

    One could even get fancy and directly add the download URL to the XML file and offer an option to download the latest version via the editor. but I guess that's just a matter of convenience. On the other hand given how even most JAVA apps work these days (i.e. eclipse or netbeans), it might be an interesting idea to pursue. In eclipse or netbeans (or again firefox), users can even download updated plugins/addons via the IDE.

     
  • Hervé Girod

    Hervé Girod - 2010-11-07

    I was just thinking of somethng like that, after sending my comment. THis is the kind of feature which exist in IDEs like Netbeans for example. It should also be possible to uncheck the automatic update checking (unchecked by default), which would be useful for people who do not have a permanent internet connection. Also I think that giving exactly the list of changes between the user version and the last version, and giving the download link, should not be very difficult.

    As for an update inside the Editor itself, it is surely possible (done in Netbeans), but I don't know if it's easy to do in Java. I will have to think about it ;)

     
  • Nobody/Anonymous

    Regarding the XML file, another possibility would be directly using Java WebStart (i.e. an JNLP file) - that would allow people to directly test out j661 from their web browser, the JAR file would be transparently downloaded, and even a matching JRE could be installed automatically as needed.