[Ifeffit] Re: IFEFFIT updater problem

[Matt Newville]

Hi Jeff, 

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004, Jeffrey Catalano wrote:
>
> The IFEFFIT updater is behaving badly.  Everytime I start an IFEFFIT group
> program, it wants to download the same two updates.  I've installed them
> three times now (remembering to run the make bat thingy each time).  Any
> ideas if the problem is with my computer or with the updater?  Other than
> that everything works wondefully!

Hmm, that seems weird.  Here's what is supposed to happen with the
updater (and I hope you mind me sending this on to the mailing list
-- if the problem happens for you, it will probably happen for
someone else, and the updater isn't very well documented), and a way
that should be able to work around it -- you can skip to the end if
you like ;).

When the applications apt, artemis, athena, gifeffit, ifeffit,
sixpack, and tkatoms run (from the batch files, desktop icon, or
start menu), the updater is run before the main application is run.
  
The updater reads two files:
 C:\Program Files\Ifeffit\updates\updater.ini
 C:\Program Files\Ifeffit\updates\updater.dat

 updater.dat holds the current 'local update level' on your machine, 
             which is just a 3 digit number, like 003 or 005. 

 updater.ini holds the time of the last "real check for updates" and  
             how long to wait until the next update should be done.

If the last real check was within the last 24hours, the updater
stops right there.  Actually, the time to wait until the next real
check can be set longer with the 'Do not remind me again until' list
in the main updater GUI.

If it's past the time to do a "real check for updates", the updater
fetches the current 'available update level' from the cars webpage:
   http://cars9.uchicago.edu/ifeffit/updates/update.dat, 
which currently reads '005'.  If it can't reach this web page and 
read this file in 15seconds, the updater stops.

If the 'local updater level' is equal to the 'available update
level', you are up to date and the updater stops.

If the 'local updater level' is less than the 'available update
level', a GUI pops up, and you are told that there are update(s) to
install, and asked if you'd like to install them.  If you approve,
the updates are downloaded one by one and installed.  The update
packages are all zip files, named as
   http://cars9.uchicago.edu/ifeffit/updates/ifup_XXX.zip

for update level=XXX.  The progress of the download and unpacking
should be shown in the updater GUI.

These updates are unpacked relative to the main Ifeffit directory,
typically C:\Program Files\Ifeffit.  Each of the updates includes,
the file 'updates\updater.dat' to have the 'current update level'.  
So, if the update ifup_005.zip was installed, updates\updater.dat
should say '005', and the updater shouldn't run again until I set
the update level on the web page to 006.

OK, that's what is supposed to happen.  If that hasn't happened and
updates\updater.dat does not say '005', a simple solution should be
to edit it (notepad, whatever) to say

005

in the first line. 

I'd be interested to hear if other people are having this problem.

Cheers,

--Matt

PS: a small problem can occur if the updater.exe program itself 
    needs to be updated, as an executable program currently in use 
    cannot be overwritten.  So any new updater.exe is written to the 
    'updates' directory, and you are told to run make_bats.exe.  
    Then make_bats.exe checks for an updater.exe in the updates 
    directory and moves it to the main Ifeffit directory.