Update package for offline synchronization of software updates

• US 20060080651A1
• Filed: 03/29/2005
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gupta, Rahul, Shaji, Ullattil, Menzies, Derek P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,590,981 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates

Abstract

The description of an update package for updating a software application in an offline synchronization operation is presented. The update package includes update information for a plurality of updates. The update information includes a reference to the update payload and the relationships of the present update to other updates in the update package. A system for updating a software application on a client computer is also presented. An update agent includes a communication module and a media module. The communication module is configured to communicate with both an update source over a communication network, or the media module. The media module obtains update information from computer-readable media. The communication module communicates with the update source or the media module in the same manner.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium bearing an update package for use by an update agent to perform an offline update of a software application on a client computer, the update package comprising:

an update catalog file, the update catalog file comprising;

a list of updates available in the update package; and

a table of file locations of files corresponding to each update available in the update package; and

a set of update fragments for each update available in the update catalog file.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the update catalog file is an XML document formatted according to a predetermined update catalog file schema.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein each entry in the table of file locations comprises a uniform resource locator (URL) describing the location of a file corresponding to an update available in the update package.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the update package further comprises configuration information, the configuration information including a minimum software application version number identifying the minimum revision number of the software application required in order to use the update package in an offline update process.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the configuration information further includes a payload indicator that indicates whether update payloads for the updates available in the update package are included in the update package.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the update package further comprises a set of end user licensing agreements (EULAs).

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the configuration information further includes a EULA indicator that indicates whether EULAs corresponding to the updates available in the update package are included in the update package.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the update package further comprises update fragments, such that for each update available in the update package a corresponding set of update fragments is included in the update package.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein an update fragment includes installation instructions for its corresponding update.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein an update fragment includes relationship information, identifying a relationship of its corresponding update to another update.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the relationship of the corresponding update to another update is a dependency relationship.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the configuration information further includes an update source identifier that unique identifies the update source from which the contents of the update package were obtained.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the update package is a compressed filed including a directory area and a compressed data area, the directory area listing all files included in the compressed file, and the compressed data area including the compressed files.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the update package is a twice-compressed file, such that the directory area lists only one once-compressed file and the data area comprises the once-compressed file, and when extracted from the twice-compressed file, the directory area of the once-compressed file lists all files included in the once-compressed file, and the data area of the once-compressed file comprises the files listed in the directory area of the once-compressed file.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the update agent is configured to update software on a Microsoft Windows®

operating system.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable medium is an optical disc.

17. A software update package for use by an update agent executing on a client computer for updating a software application in an offline manner, the software update package comprising:

an update catalog file, wherein the update catalog file is an XML file formatted according to a predetermined schema, and includes;

a list of updates available in the update package; and

a table of file locations of files corresponding to each update available in the update package;

a plurality of update fragments, such that for each update available in the update package a corresponding set of update fragments is included in the update package.

18. A software update system implementable on a client computer for updating a software application on the client computer from an update package located on computer-readable media, the software update system comprising:

an update agent that updates the software application on the client computer according to software update data from an update source, the update agent including;

a communication module configured to obtain software update data from the update source over a communication network, and also from a media module; and

a media module configured to obtain software update data stored on computer-readable media, wherein the media module is further configured to implement the same communication interfaces as the update source when the communication module communicates with the update source over the communication network;

wherein the communication module is further configured to communicate with the media module in the same manner as it would communicate with the update source.

19. The software update system of claim 19, wherein the communication module communicates with the update source via a set of Web services, and wherein the media module implements the same Web services as the update source.

20. The software update system of claim 19, wherein the update data stored on the computer-readable media includes:

an update files table indicating the location of update payload files corresponding to each update in the update data; and

a update payload indicator signaling whether the update payload files corresponding to the updates in the update data are included on the computer-readable media; and

wherein the update agent is configured to obtain the update data from the media module and obtain the update payload files from a location other than the computer-readable media if the update payload indicator signals that the update payload files are not included on the computer-readable media.