Check for updates automatically

[tonyflora63]

Hi

Does anyone know of a way to have an application check for an update every time it launches? I've tried ClickOnce with no success because of it's limitations, and don't understand how the Application Updater block works? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[jshurst]

You could write a web service that returns the version number. Then on application start you could call the web service method and see if it matches the current version number stored somewhere in your application. If it doesn't then display an update available message (or update it automatically, etc).

J

 

[tonyflora63]

Thanks jshurst

Do you have an example of what the code would look like?

 

[jshurst]

Not really, but a web method is just the same as a regular method except for the "webmethod" keyword.

So you could create a web service with a method in it that returns a one row dataset.

Like so...

<WebMethod()> _
Public Function GetVersion (ByVal versionNumber as String) as DataSet
Dim myDataSet as New DataSet

'  Then do you logic to get your version and build a dataset with whatever information you want in it

'Then return your dataset
Return myDataSet


End Function

Make a reference to a public web server that hosts your web service and check it on the page_load.

J