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Posted by HC on 06/08/06 18:34
Hello, Folks. I am not sure if this can be done (and a brief search of
this group didn't yield any results that I thought would do the trick)
but if it can be done it would make my life easier so here goes.
First, what I am trying to accomplish is to make a program I've written
automatically update itself if there is a newer version on the network.
Second, my application runs on one or more computers at many
geographically separated locations. I have remote control software
that enables me to remotely update and troubleshoot my application but
I since I have to pay for this access per computer I don't have the
ability to control each and every computer that runs my software (for
those clients with more than one computer that uses my software).
Third, my application uses as its data storage system MSDE 2000 (with
current service pack).
Fourth, my users are not technical people and I want to rely on them as
little as possible.
Fifth, not all of the workstations are Internet enabled or connected,
so having the application check a website for an update is not
feasible.
Finally, to bring those different pieces together, what I want to be
able to do is connect to and control the "server" (the computer with
MSDE installed on it) and store in the database what the current
version number is along with the current program files. Then, when the
application launches, it will check that stored version number against
it's own version number to determine if there is a newer version
available. If there is a newer version available I want it to update
itself (that workstation) by retrieving that newer software from the
database. I want to avoid file sharing because it's problematic and
since I already have SQL Server (MSDE) running on the network I'd like
to use that.
Is there some way that I can either a) store my program files (one EXE
approximately 5MB in size and one OCX approximately 250KB in size) in a
table to be retrieved by my application so it can update itself or b) a
way to get SQL Server (MSDE) to read a file locally on the server and
return it to my application just like it would any recordset so I could
just tell it where the file was and let it read it from whichever
folder it's stored in?
I've looked at making a column of datatype Binary, and perhaps that's
the way I'll go (re-creating the field to the correct size each time I
do an update or perhaps making it really big so I don't have to worry
about the size). But I thought I'd ask around first since this isn't
anything I know much about.
Thank you for your time and help.
--HC
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