Adobe AIR Update Framework
From Adobe Labs
| Table of contents |
Update Framework for Adobe AIR Applications (Beta) - Introduction
New version released on 6/24/2008
This beta release of the update framework for Adobe AIR Applications provides APIs to assist developers in including good update capabilities in their AIR applications. The functionality present in update framework assists developers in the following:
- Periodically checking for updates based on an interval or at the request of the user
- Downloading AIR files (updates) from a web source
- Alerting the user on the first run of the newly installed version or performing data migration
- Confirming that the user wants to check for updates
- Displaying information to the user on the new available version for download
- Displaying download progress and error information to the user
The update framework supplies a default user interface that your application can use. It provides the user with basic information and options related to application updates. Your application can also also define its own custom user interface for use with the update framework.
FAQ
- Q: Is this framework feature complete?
- A: Yes, this framework is feature complete. This is still a beta release so the implementation may still be subject to minor changes in the following releases, following developers requests.
- Q: Can I include the update framework within my AIR application?
- A: Yes, we encourage its use and feedback on how to make this framework better.
- Q: What are the licensing terms for using the framework?
- A: This framework component is licensed under the existing Adobe AIR SDK license terms just like the service monitoring framework. The SDK License is included in the download package.
Download
Get the framework-related deliverables from this link:
- Download the update framework for Adobe AIR applications (includes framework files, documentation, and templates) (ZIP, 0.92 MB)
Please check the readme.txt file for more information about the package content.
Get the samples from this link:
- Download the samples for update framework (ZIP, 12.8 MB)
Documentation
Documentation is available in the download package, in the [docs] folder.
The PDF document describes the available APIs and how to use the framework in both Flex- and HTML-based AIR applications.
Samples
Ten samples are available, five Flex and five for JavaScript: Samples download. All the samples contain compiled binary files in addition to sources, to enable you with a good development start.
The samples cover both technologies (Flex and JavaScript), including code for each of the following: using the default user interface, using a custom user interface, extending the default user interface with languages other than the 11 languages included in the framework (check the "int" folders for such samples).
In order to demonstrate the update workflow, an app:/ URI is used for the updated air application location. You change it to match your server URL, but the binaries provided in the download package should work by default and give you a good sense of what is possible to implement using this framework.
For a very quick start-up, take a look at the code from the "simple_ui" applications (in the samples/Flex and samples/JavaScript folders)
Release Notes
- [Fixed] When a Flex application is using the ApplicationUpdaterUI class, the CSS styles from ApplicationUpdater UI may interfere with the styles from the Flex application, changing the looks of the Flex application and/or of the ApplicationUpdater UI;
Known Issues
- When ApplicationUpdaterUI is used, the Cmd-Q key sequence on MacOS X does not exit the application. A workaround for this is available on the forum.
Feedback and Community
For reporting bugs, problems or general feedback and suggestions for this library, please use the Update framework for Adobe AIR applications web forum. We also encourage you to post your general feedback and links to your projects!
