Hey Craig,
Yes, this is possible in a few ways. But let me ask you this: how are you delivering the "1.5" upgraded version to your users now? Using a separate installer? Or are you just planning for future contingencies?
Parallel Versions
Hello --
Does wyBuild support multiple parallel versions of an application?
What we're trying to do is this:* Version 1.0 of an application is out and installed on user machines* Version 1.5 comes out, but requires a purchase of an additional license. Some users will upgrade, some will not.* Patches/fixes to 1.5 come out and are automatically applied* Patches/fixes to 1.0 come out as well, and are automatically applied to machines with 1.0 installed
Thanks in advance
At this point we're more planning for the future, yes. Right now we deliver *every* update with a full installer.
Releasing major revisions as separate installers and letting wyBuild manage the 'patch' updates is one of the options we're considering (if that's where you were headed with your question). If there are ways to do this without requiring a new installer for each major revision we'd like hear about that, as well.
Releasing major revisions as separate installers and letting wyBuild manage the 'patch' updates is one of the options we're considering (if that's where you were headed with your question).
This is the best way to do it as of wyBuild 2.6.x. You'll need to create a separate project for every major version. This way you can deliver patches specific to the major versions.
Tell me if this helps.
If there are ways to do this without requiring a new installer for each major revision we'd like hear about that, as well.
We're planning to do this in a non-hacky way in the future.
Okay, thanks.
What are some ways of doing this in a hacky way right now? Other than releasing major revisions as separate installers (which is our most likely approach, but still). Just curious if you know of anyone solving this same problem, even if it is kind of a hack.
Well, the easiest way is to release major versions as installers. Let's say you have version "1" and version "2". Create a wyBuild project for each. Maintain versions for each branch, and each will have it's own separate server file location (see the step-by-step walkthrough).
For instance, the version "1" project might store updates at "http://yoursite.com/updates-v1/%file%" while the version "2" project might store updates at "http://yoursite.com/updates-v2/%file%".
This way the updates are served completely independently, and a user can upgrade to the new payed version by running the latest installer.