USB app updater...

da023n · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:16 am **Posts:** 7

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone one knows of an alternative to Ketarin?

I currently use LiberKey and LupoSuite purely because they are capable of updating the apps within their packages. I am considering putting together a suite of my own however can only find Ketarin that can update the apps in the same way liberkey and luposuite can. Ketarin needs .NET 2.0 to work I believe, is there an alternative that doesn't have any dependencies?

Cheers.

webfork · **Posted:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:09 am

Not quite the direction this thread has been going but someone might find this useful:

http://www.changedetection.com/ - This is really only useful if you have only a few applications that you absolutely love that you want to get emails about but its still pretty cool.

Found out about this here...

http://www.freewaregenius.com/2009/10/13/changedetection-com-monitors-websites-for-changes-and-notifies-you-via-email/

-.- · **Joined:** Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:32 pm **Posts:** 332

http://cleansofts.org/view/update-notifier.html
i like using update notifier but it wont update portable apps, but it can tell you when there are new verisons then you can make portable/download yourself

also app has portable option as well

da023n · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:16 am **Posts:** 7

I'm really looking for something that I can direct to download updates from sites of all my portable apps, which is what Ketarin does but without the .NET framework dependancy. I'm assuming there isn't one.

joby_toss · **Posted:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 10:30 pm

Not sure it works with portable apps but you could give it a try:
"AppSnap is an application that simplifies installation of software. It automatically figures out the latest version, downloads the installer and then installs the software in one seamless step."

Lupo73 works very hard on his suite updater, and I think it's (also) because he couldn't find anything decent out there ...

da023n · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:16 am **Posts:** 7

If Lupo73's updater could provide an option to add new apps and their download locations it would be ideal. If I knew anything about programming I'd probably give it a go myself. Anyway I'll try appsnap, cheers.

guinness · **Joined:** Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:00 am **Posts:** 3738

I personally wouldn't use AppSnap because it analyses the installed programs on the local machine and saves this file to the %APPDATA% directory. Ketarin is good because you can add your own programs plus automatically download and extract with commandline switches, but very difficult to use and .NET app. Update-Notifier (If I remember) installs files on the local machine and has a limited number of monitored applications same goes for FileHippo updater!

Have a look at WebVersions http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5271, because the problem I can see with http://www.changedetection.com/ is if a simple advert changes on the site you will receive erroneous emails! WebVersions analyses a number e.g. 1.0 and detects any changes to this number only. It takes the text before the number and after.

Code:

Before - 
<li><b>TheApp:</b></li>3.0.0.0<br \>

After - 
<li><b>TheApp:</b></li>3.0.0.1<br \>

It doesn't support automatic downloading but you can enter any program (bonus!) have a look at the examples supplied.

da023n · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:16 am **Posts:** 7

Thanks for the suggestion guinness, I'm ideally looking for something that can auto download the software much like the updaters in liberkey and luposuite. Webversions, from reading your post, seems extremely complicated and time consuming. I appreciate you've done a lot of work explaining it (more than the developer) but I dont understand what you need to write in the txt file to get an update, I'm not a programmer.

Lupo73 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:26 am

Dear da023n, I'd like to improve my updater to add support for external apps, but I need your help because it is a very complex feature. The idea is to do something like WebVersions, but easier to use. Now the problem is that doesn't exist a standard for publications nor for software packages, so the mechanism of the updater needs to be very complex.
First of all I could think to add the support of portablefreeware website, that has a wide range of portable software published with a standard form. All collaborations to think and improve this feature are welcome, because my idea is to make something able to support the widest range of portable software. :wink:

da023n · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:16 am **Posts:** 7

Hi Lupo73,

I'm not sure how much help I could offer, I'm not a programmer.

My take on the updater is as follows, I might be over simplifying things.

Your updater and liberkeys works very well with the apps included on your respective sites because you keep the apps up-to-date and the updater downloads from there. To add another app to the suite you'd either have to add to (and update yourself) your site lots and lots of apps which is obviously very time consuming and not really an option.

So that only leaves two other options, you either add a feature to use the download link from the authors website and hope they update it, or use the download links from a site such as this one or softpedia/filehippo/download.com etc (both of which the user will have to set up). Somehow it'll need to figure out if the download link points towards an actual update, probably the same way webversions or ketarin does. If it does then you need a facility to point the download to a specific folder (something the user will have to set up) to replace the file already there, with options to extract said software if it comes in a zip file etc.

If its more complicated than that I dont have a clue.

guinness · **Joined:** Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:00 am **Posts:** 3738

Quote:

I appreciate you've done a lot of work explaining it (more than the developer) but I dont understand what you need to write in the txt file to get an update, I'm not a programmer.

You don't put anything in the text file, i have only given these example so you don't have to go through the task of using the 'add new' GUI.

da023n · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:16 am **Posts:** 7

My bad must have missed that bit, its unfortunate that it doesn't download them.

Lupo73 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 04, 2010 1:57 am

I'm considering to convert my Suite Manager in open source software. Could it interests someone? It could allow to develop features to support external updates and I'd like to collaborate with users interested in this development.

webfork · **Posted:** Fri Jun 04, 2010 11:53 am

I'm always more interested in software that's open source, preferably GPL'd. I'd certainly be more available to helping out with software testing if you'd go that route.

guinness · **Joined:** Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:00 am **Posts:** 3738

I'm in with helping development. I remember we exchanged some messages and I tried to get a feature whereby any page could be supported, rather than Your site and PortableApps.com. But I couldn't get the RegExp figured out. I asked around but no one could tell me (effectively) how a user could find a number (ex: 4.60) and then it would automatically select the before and after tags so _StringBetween() could be used. Like in WebVersions!

But YES to OpenSource.

USB app updater...

Who is online