From: "marc_guillot" <marc_guillot@...>

>
> I know that could be a big security problem, but I will use it only in
> LANs, with no Firebird Server access from Internet. I want it to
> upgrade our application. Clients connect to Firebird Server, and if
> they found that they version application is different from database
> version, they generate the new application executable from server
> (reading it from server trought an UDF).

Another idea, and one that I use in all my applications, is to create a
small, loader program which first checks for newer versions from a shared
network directory. I have my own installation program which I use for all my
apps. It allows the network administrator to install the application files
to a directory on the network which can be seen by all workstations. The
setup for the application can be run on any workstation from this directory.
The loader program first checks this directory for an update to the program
and if it finds one, it updates the local copy before executing it. If it
doesn't find any updates, then it just runs the application. The nice thing
about this is that I can add parameters to run the normal application in the
loader program and the application tests for these. If the user tries to
execute the program directly, it can abort giving them an error message that
they must run the loader program first.

I also add administrator functionality into the program which lets the
administrator set a certain time and date for the update to take place. That
way they can set it for later in the day or whenever they want and it won't
update anyone until after that time/date. If an immediate update is needed,
it allows the administrator to broadcast a message to all users who have the
app open and the app will inform the user that an update is needed. It will
save any work and shut down so that it forces the user to update.

HTH
Woody (TMW)