Updating a deployed OpenInsight application (Deployment,Performance)

Using Check-Out to Update a Deployed OpenInsight Application

Many Advanced Revelation and OpenInsight for LANs developers have deployed applications on full development systems. End users with limited User access rights could run the application while the developer continued to fix problems and make changes. This could be an expensive proposition due to the cost of having to deploy a full development system for each user. The Runtime Deployment Kit ( RDK ) lets the developer deploy applications without the additional cost of a full development environment. Applications can be packaged so they require less storage, including executables and optionally, source code. This system does eliminate the ability of the developer to make "on the fly" changes to the application. When using the RDK to deploy and application, the development system and the deployed application are no longer stored at the same location. For example, the development location may be C:\REVSOFT\OINSIGHT while the deployed application location may be N:\ACCOUNTS. However, with the usage of the check-out process, a development team can simulate this kind of "on the fly" modification using OpenInsight for Workgroups. The following example outlines the procedure.

Procedure: To Update a Deployed Application Using Check-Out

1. Deploy an OpenInsight for Workgroups application to a new directory, for example, N:\ACCOUNTS .

2. Development continues on the application in the C:\REVSOFT\OINSIGHT sub-directory. Fixes are tested and implemented, windows created, stored procedures written. You're ready to add these to the deployed application.

3. From the development system's Application Manager menu choose Development | Check-out | New Check-out. The Check-out Entities dialog box is displayed. Clear the Lock Entities option and enter the Check-out Path. This is the location of the deployed application ( N:\ACCOUNTS in this example).

4. Click the Entities button to display the Select Entity dialog box where you choose the changed/new entities for check-out. For a deployed application, typically you choose executables (WINEXE or EVENTEXE) or object code (stored procedures) entities.

5. To ensure that you check-out all relevant entities, click the Uses button in the Select Entity dialog box . All related entities are displayed; select additional entities for check-out as needed.

6. Return to the Check-out Entities dialog box to complete the check-out process.

Note - If you change a data table you need to manually copy it to the deployed application's location. If you add a new table to the application you also need to copy the application s DBT table to the deployed application's location. (The DBT table can be found in the APPNAME.DBT file in the C:\REVSOFT\OINSIGHT sub-directory, where APPNAME is the name of the deployed application.)

The check-out process employing the copy to option provides the developer with the benefit of a dynamic development environment, rapid and easy updates to deployed applications, and the addition of a protected environment for testing application modifications prior to updating a live system.