[AccessD] Deployment Woes

Mark,

  I've seen it done both ways; A "launcher" app as you outlined and a FE
which does it's version checks on it's own.

  The existing short cuts though are not really a big issue.  You can easily
have the existing app call a bat file which:

1. Deletes the existing shortcut.
2. Creates the directory structure on the client required for the local FE.
3. Copies down the new FE and supporting files.
4. Creates a new shortcut on the desktop to point to the local FE.
5. Creates a shortcut on the desktop to point to a bat file on the server to
use for future updates.

  I do my distribution sets in the latter mode and do a batch file as
outlined above.  The FE at startup compares an local table to the same table
that's in a the FE on the server.  If the two don't match versions (I placed
an new FE on the server), the app tells the user to update and quits.

  The update is nothing more then executing the bat file on the server,
which works as outlined as above.

  Personally I think it's a six one way half a dozen another type of thing.

Jim
(315) 699-3443
jimdettman at earthlink.net

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com]On Behalf Of Mitsules, Mark
S. (Newport News)
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 4:48 PM
To: '[AccessD]'
Subject: [AccessD] Deployment Woes


I need the weekend to think this over, but I'm open for suggestions.  Our
department currently utilizes an existing database which is not split.
There are an estimated 100 shortcuts to this database littered throughout
the department.  Do to a rising concern in "concurrency issues", I need to
split this db.  With such an ingrained dependency on the existing shortcut,
it was suggested that I utilize the existing db as nothing more than a
glorified .bat file starter to distribute the new FE and subsequently check
revision status.  This seems like an awful lot of overhead in order to
placate the existing user base, and obviously would increase start-up times.
What do you think?



Mark
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