Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

D Gordon Hardy

Benjamin C Chamberlain

Darrin N Hatakeda

A system and method for patching an installed application program and making an installer program aware that an application has been patched is disclosed. The system and method recognizes that a patch has been launched to update the application, the patch including an identifier for the application and information related to a desired change to the application. In response, the installer program accesses a first information store containing information related to a series of functions for installing the application. The installer program also accesses a second information store containing information related to the installed state of the application. Then, the installer program modifies the first information store in accordance with the desired change to the application such that the modified first information store includes additional functions for applying the patch to the application. The installer program then initiates a reinstallation of the application based on the modified first information store such that the desired change is reflected in the application after the reinstallation, i.e., the application is patched. Finally, the installer program stores a new installed state of the application in the second information store, the new installed state including an indication that the patch exists for the application and information related to the desired change to the application.

System and method for patching an installed application program

A method and computer-readable-medium for installing a patch to a computer application program based on the criticality of the patch and the execution format of the computer application are disclosed. An installer program installs application programs. The installer program also-stores related information, including an execution format, in a configuration database. The execution format is either Run-Locally or Run-From-Source. If the execution format is Run-From-Source, the application or features that are designated as Run-From-Source are read-only and are executed from a source, such as from a CD-ROM. Since Run-From-Source executions run from a read-only source, patches cannot be directly applied. When a patch is authored, information as to the criticality of the patch is stored with the patch. Preferably, the criticality is specified based on a feature. When an installer program applies a patch, the installer program queries the execution format. Any features that are Run-Locally can be patched. If a feature is Run-From-Source, a query is made as to whether the feature is critical. If the patch is critical for a feature, the feature is installed, the execution format is changed to Run-Locally, and the patch is applied. If the patch is not critical for a Run-From-Source feature, the patch is not applied. The configuration database is updated during processing to reflect what features have been patched, and what features have not been patched.

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D Gordon Hardy