System and method for patching an installed application program
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for patching an application and making an installer program aware that the application has been patched, comprising the steps of:
- recognizing that a patch has been launched to update the application, the patch including an identifier for the application and information related to a desired change to the application;
accessing a first information store containing a series of instructions for installing the application;
accessing a second information store containing information describing an installed state of the application;
modifying the first information store in accordance with the desired change to the application such that the modified first information store includes additional instructions for applying the patch to the application;
patching the application based on the modified first information store such that the desired change is reflected in the application after the patching; and
storing information describing a new installed state of the application in the second information store, the new installed state information including an indication that the patch exists for the application and information related to the desired change to the application.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for patching an installed application program and making an installer program aware that an application has been patched is disclosed. The system and method recognizes that a patch has been launched to update the application, the patch including an identifier for the application and information related to a desired change to the application. In response, the installer program accesses a first information store containing information related to a series of functions for installing the application. The installer program also accesses a second information store containing information related to the installed state of the application. Then, the installer program modifies the first information store in accordance with the desired change to the application such that the modified first information store includes additional functions for applying the patch to the application. The installer program then initiates a reinstallation of the application based on the modified first information store such that the desired change is reflected in the application after the reinstallation, i.e., the application is patched. Finally, the installer program stores a new installed state of the application in the second information store, the new installed state including an indication that the patch exists for the application and information related to the desired change to the application.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for patching an application and making an installer program aware that the application has been patched, comprising the steps of:
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recognizing that a patch has been launched to update the application, the patch including an identifier for the application and information related to a desired change to the application;
accessing a first information store containing a series of instructions for installing the application;
accessing a second information store containing information describing an installed state of the application;
modifying the first information store in accordance with the desired change to the application such that the modified first information store includes additional instructions for applying the patch to the application;
patching the application based on the modified first information store such that the desired change is reflected in the application after the patching; and
storing information describing a new installed state of the application in the second information store, the new installed state information including an indication that the patch exists for the application and information related to the desired change to the application. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
retrieving the additional instructions for applying the patch to the application from the information related to the desired change contained in the patch; and
combining the additional instructions with the series of instructions in the first information store to create the modified first information store.
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8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the additional instructions comprise an install instruction to add a new program file to the application, the new program file being contained in the patch.
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9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the additional instructions comprise a registry key value for entry in a system registry containing configuration information associated with the application.
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10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the additional instructions comprise a list of affected program files and a corresponding list of patch bits for altering the affected program files.
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11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the patching the application step comprises installing a new program file for the application from the patch.
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12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the patching the application step comprises writing a new entry in a system registry associated with the application, the system registry containing configuration information associated with the application.
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13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the patching the application step comprises, responsive to the modified first information store, deleting an existing program file associated with the application that is not needed by the application after patching the application.
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14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the patching the application step comprises, responsive to the modified first information store. installing a new program file associated with the application and added by the patch.
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15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the patching the application step comprises, responsive to the modified first information store, writing an entry in a system registry containing configuration information related to the application.
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16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the patching the application step comprises, responsive to the modified first information store:
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retrieving from the patch a stream of patch bits representing an alteration to an existing program file associated with the application; and
altering the existing program file to include the patch bits retrieved from the patch.
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17. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for applying a patch to an installed application, which when executed perform steps comprising:
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receiving a notification that a patch file has been launched, the patch file including information related to a desired change to the installed application;
accessing the patch file and reading-the information related to the desired change to the installed application;
performing patching operations using the information related to the desired change read from the patch file, the patching operations operative to put the installed application in a new installed state; and
updating a configuration database with state information related to the patch and with state information related to the new installed state of the installed application. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer-implemented method for removing an installed application including program files added by a patch to the installed application, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a notification of an uninstallation of the installed application;
reading a configuration database to determine the installed state of the installed application, the installed state including an indication that the patch has been applied to the installed application, the installed state including a reference to at least one resource related to the patch; and
performing an uninstallation of the installed application based on the installed state of the installed application. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
creating a modified installation file from an existing information file and information contained in the patch, the modified installation file containing instructions for removing the installed application; and
executing the instructions contained in the modified installation file.
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31. The computer-implemented method of claim 30, wherein a portion of the instructions for removing the installed application is related to the information contained in the patch.
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32. A computer-implemented method for applying a patch to a network image of an application, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a notification that the patch has been launched, the notification including an indication that the patch is to be applied to the network image of the application;
reading a patch package containing installation information needed to modify an installation file associated with the application during an installation of the network image, the patch package further containing bits of information for modifying a program file of the application;
modifying the installation file in accordance with the installation information to create a modified installation file; and
creating a new network image based on the modified installation file, the new network image containing the bits of information contained in the patch package. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification