You have just finished customizing a few figures in your huge 5 megabyte database, and you now have to send it to your client, who is across the country. He prefers to have the changes by modem that day. His modem supports a screaming 1200 baud...
or this...
You finally completed the great adventure game you wrote (you _knew_ it was possible, as you stated in the documentation) and you realize the 300k sound sample of the trumpets declaring you the winner is set at the wrong speed. (It sounds like it's being played underwater) What can you do after you fix the problem? Well... you could stick the sound in a new resource file, and explain ResEdit to the 8-year olds playing your game... or... you could re-upload the whole program (1,234,567K) to America Online at 2400 baud....hmmm.....
or even this...
Your incredible ray - trace - 3d - photo - 64Bit - touchup - fractalized - JPEGged - acceleratronic application compiles to 2.5 megs. You also want to have versions available to all of your users which support all of the processors/co-processors from the 68000 -> 68050 & the 68880 -> 68888....
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ENTER UPDATE BUILDER & UPDATER!
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Included in this package are two applications to simplify updating ANYTHING...
The first application, Update Builder, asks you for the OLD version, and then the NEW version. Then UB crunches through the two files (which, by the way, can be _completely_ different kinds of files!), determining what has changed. It then pops out a simple document that describes the changes to the other application - Updater! Could it be any easier?
When Updater! is then launched (by either simply opening the application, double clicking on the updater file, dragging the updater file to the Update! application, or dragging the old version & the updater file to the Update! application) it will re-build the older file into a new, updated version!
That's all there is to it! The two programs (especially the Updater! application) are extremely tiny (35k), and hopefully will be widely distributed when the final version comes out!
The Updater! application also works on a _copy_ of the original file, so if your cat decides to bite through your SCSI cable in the middle of the update, all you have to do is (well... after replacing the cable :^) ) trash the 'new' file, and start again!
The Update and Update Builder both contain their own VERSION information, so even if both programs get ResEdited to death, the script file should automatically let you and the users know when there may be a problem.
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TECHIE & PERFORMANCE NOTES
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Update Builder plows through the two forks (data & resource) of two files. It basically determines what has been deleted, what is new, and what has possibly changed.
Updater! uses the 'older' file as a template, and builds a 'new' file with the modifications described in the Updater script file.
The updating process is _heavily_ error checked on both ends (Building and Updating) and may present a cryptic looking 'debug' dialog box. _PLEASE_ report errors-bugs-enhancements to me (along with a description (and, if possible, the actual files) of what happened and "Where" it happened (that's in the 'debug' box)) so I can fix it right away! It should be relatively bomb-proof (although, very weird, rare errors sometimes have a way of crashing out). One way to make it so bomb-idiot (myself!) proof is to write 'extra' backup data to the Updater file. You will notice that if you make a slight change in a small resource, the updater file might be a little larger than the original, but I have a feeling people would like a 'secure' update rather than a slap-patch!
One way to reduce the size of the Updater file is to only "change" data, rather than inserting or deleting it. Leave yourself some room in data/resource files for updates (i.e. a "reserved" block of data). Currently, Update Builder doesn't do any "windowing" of the data (i.e. looking for shifts), it only detects where changes have occurred... for example:
Original - 0123456789RRRRRRRR
New - 0123x456789RRRRRRRR (R=Reserved Data)
Would present a whole string of "changes" from the inserted "x" until the first "R".
If, instead, you were to use the "reserved" area-
Original - 0123456789RRRRRRRR
New - 0123456789xRRRRRRR (R=Reserved Data)
-or-
Original - 0123456789
New - 0123456789x
There would only be one change at the "R->x" position (or concatenated at the end)... this may seem trivial in this example, but let's assume you have a 1 Meg index, and you inserted one letter at the beginning! Planning for updates is good programming practice (& quite a brain-teaser sometimes too!) so _please_ try and plan ahead!
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VERSION HISTORY (The Updater!)
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1.00a
First initial release of The Updater
1.10a - CURRENT VERSION ***
Fixed a "Changed" vs. "NoChange" bug (wow... smaller updater files!)
ReBuilt using _only_ 68000 & no FPU (oops! Sorry MacClassic users!)
More "Future" additions in documentation
"Special Thanx To" addition in documentation
Added seperate version histories for The Updater & Update Builder
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VERSION HISTORY (Update Builder)
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1.00a
First initial release of The Updater
1.10a - CURRENT VERSION ***
Fixed a "Changed" vs. "NoChange" bug (wow... smaller updater files!)
ReBuilt using _only_ 68000 & no FPU (oops! Sorry MacClassic users!)
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THE STANDARD QUICKY DISCLAIMER
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I assume no responsibility for anything....
(That outta do it :^) )
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THE FUTURE
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We'll get the "icky" stuff out of the way first....
Updater & Update Builder are in the "alpha" stages right now... I plan on revising-updating both programs (see below) for a while to come, because I think that this type of utility has been in great need for a while! I don't plan on slapping down a fee right off the bat, because I think that there are many improvements that can be made to both applications. I _do_ plan on charging a "shareware" fee for the Update Builder application (the Updater! will _always_ be freeware), to cover for various costs involved in developing, distributing, and supporting it... Of course, those who supply information about the utilities will be generously (i.e. on the "freebie" list ) taken care of.... 'nuf said...
There are many things I would like to do to both applications, mainly to the Update Builder application. Some of these improvements would be - System 7 "savvy-ness" (currently it's compatible), Self-Compression (& Resource dependent (i.e. SND) compression), "Change" windowing, Application Shell (for updating), Log files, and many other aesthetics.
I _sincerely_ hope that people who use _both_ programs will provide me with feedback & bug reports... This is the _best_ way to have happy peoples. Without _your_ comments, I end up dabbling in obscurities that cause "normals" to cringe. Don't let this happen! :^)
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Special Thanx To
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Mark Hanrek, AOL SuperCard SIG Leader - Heavy Mental Support (HMS) & Ideas
Chris Johnson - HMS, Buggies & Ideas
Don Sawtelle, StoneCutter Software - "Change/NoChange" Bug & Windowing Plea
Leighton Cyr - 68000 vs. the 68020 instruction set battle
More to come (I hope!)...
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Comments, Bug Reports, Suggestions, Stinging Criticism, WarmFuzzy Praise to:
