Short description of LFPatcher patching methods

LFPatch uses three patching methods: Add, Delete and Modify patching. By patching methods we mean the operations LFPatch can perform on Your files.

Add method

LFPatch uses Add method when it detects, that You have added new file to Your product since the last release. In this case it creates record in the patch file describing new file (its size and time/date information). It also stores the new file within the patch file (in compressed way). During applying the patch, this file is created on user's disk.

Delete method

LFPatch uses Delete method when it detects, that You have deleted the file from Your product since the last release. In this case, LFPatch creates record in the patch file describing which file to delete during applying the patch. Before deleting, the file is checked against file size and date. In case of incosistence it is not deleted.

Modification method

LFPatch uses Modification method when it detects, that You have changed the file since the last release. In this case, LFPatch parses this file and creates difference record within the patch file. During applying the patch, the original version of the file is modified and transformed into the new version. As in the Add and Delete methods, the original file size and date are checked to prevent patching wrong version of the file.