Updater 2.3- Easy, Safe, and Policy-Compliant auto-updating for your plugins [NEW!]

Discussion in 'Resources' started by Gravity, Aug 28, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Offline

    Gravity

    Updater - Version 2.3
    Updater is an easy-to-use but robust and fully policy-compliant plugin updating system. It provides plugin developers with the ability to both check for and download new updates straight from BukkitDev, and requires no web server setup to function.

    Download and Source:
    Updater is a single class file that you need to add to your plugin. Simply create a new class somewhere in your plugin named "Updater", and populate it with Updater's source code, which you can find by clicking the "Get Updater" link below. Then, go to the "How to use it" section to learn how adding one line of code to your plugin will implement Updater.

    Get Updater

    Features:

    • No more hassle! Never worry about configuring your Dropbox text files to the latest build's url, or forgetting to update external files again. Upload once to BukkitDev, and as soon as your file is approved clients will start downloading it, even if the approval comes at 4am and you're fast asleep.
    • Setup is as easy as copying a class and giving it your BukkitDev project slug. Updater will do the rest.
    • Ability to tag certain builds as non-update builds. For instance, on my Jenkins system every build is tagged with -DEV, so that people who are using it do not get switched to the official latest build, and can stay testing the pre-release. Simply edit the "noUpdateTag" array in the class to define what kind of builds should be left alone.
    • Don't hassle your users anymore. Server admins have enough on their hands, don't concern them with updates, because they just will /not/ update. From personal experience, I know that the only time I cared about a plugin update was when something broke. It's far too difficult to worry about a new file every day, but if you let Updater automatically install updates, your users will rejoice!
    • Be safe. EVERY file that Updater downloads has been approved by BukkitDev staff. Real humans go line-by-line through the code of each plugin that is approved on dev.bukkit.org, to verify it is free of any malicious code. Your user's shouldn't have to blindly accept your trust, you can instead show and prove to them that by using updater, you are keeping them secure.
    • Works with both .jar file and .zip file updates.
    -- Get Updater --


    How it works:

    - First, Updater connects to BukkitDev API and requests information about your project.

    - It then searches the information for the latest file, and obtains information about it like its name and version number.

    - Optionally, Updater will run a version check, comparing the newest file with the plugin's current version. NOTE: For this to work, your file titles must be named in this format: 'PluginName vVersionNumber', such as 'AntiCheat v1.0' (or simply 'v1.0', the name is not needed, but suggested). Here's a screenshot of how this should look, if done properly:
    File titles with proper version numbers (open)

    [​IMG]

    - Assuming that an update is needed, Updater will download the file from dev.bukkit.org and store it in the update folder. This is a folder defined in the bukkit.yml file where any stored jars will be switched with its currently-in-use counterpart when the system is reloaded or restarted. This means that the user does not need to worry about replacing the downloaded file with the current file; it's all done in the background.

    How to use it:

    If you are using Maven to manage your project you can use my Maven repository to get the dependency. To do this, edit your pom.xml to add the following repository:
    Code:
        <repositories>
            <repository>
                <id>gravity-repo</id>
                <url>http://repo.gravitydevelopment.net</url>
            </repository>
        </repositories>
    
    Then, add the following dependency:
    Code:
        <dependencies>
            <dependency>
                <groupId>net.gravitydevelopment.updater</groupId>
                <artifactId>updater</artifactId>
                <version>2.1</version>
            </dependency>
        </dependencies>
    
    Otherwise, you can use the traditional way and download the source code for Updater. Simply place this somewhere within your plugin's packages, and then switch over to your main class to get to work.

    As with most of my projects, I boast the fact that you only need one line of code added to your main class (the one that extends JavaPlugin) to make this work (along with my Updater class, of course), so here's what it is:

    Code:
    Updater updater = new Updater(this, id, this.getFile(), Updater.UpdateType.DEFAULT, false);
    That's it! This single line of code will literally keep the user updated for the rest of their life. Here's a breakdown of what all these values are:

    1) "this" - The plugin instance. I suggest using this in your onEnable() method, so that you can properly issue the 'this' keyword. Other methods that are called before onEnable() will not work (but anything after it, or that is called BY onEnable() does work).

    2) "id" - This is how Updater finds your project on BukkitDev. If you don't know what this is, follow the instructions on this wiki article.

    3) "this.getFile()" - The plugin's file, this is so that Updater can properly replace your plugin with the update when it is downloaded. Note that this is a protected value, and so it can only be accessed within your plugin's main class

    4) "Updater.UpdateType.DEFAULT" - This allows you to choose which type of update you would like to take place. Currently there are 3 options:
    - DEFAULT - Typically what you would want. Do an update check, and then if it's out of date download and install the latest update.
    - NO_VERSION_CHECK - In case you know you need (or want) to update, skip version checking and just download the latest file, regardless of any it's details.
    - NO_DOWNLOAD - In case you just want to do a version check. No files will be downloaded, but you still get information about the newest build on DBO, like it's version number and size.

    5) "false" - This is a value declaring whether you want Updater to announce the progress of the download, as it takes place. This is similar to what this output (to the console) will look like:
    Output (open)

    2012-08-29 16:30:56 [INFO] [AntiCheat] Enabling AntiCheat v1.3.6-DEV
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] About to download a new update: AntiCheat v1.3.5
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 10% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 20% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 30% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 50% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 70% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 80% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 90% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Downloading update: 100% of 93738 bytes.
    2012-08-29 16:30:57 [INFO] Finished updating.

    If this option is true, and there is no update, there will be no output to the console.

    You can also see these values documented in JavaDocs here: http://gravitydevelopment.net/docs/updater/

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NOTICE:
    As of Updater 2.0, a configuration file is created to allow server administrators to globally toggle updating for any plugin using this class. While this option does provide a convenient method for server admins to disable all Updater instances, Bukkit project submission guidelines still require that you make your plugin's Updater instance specifically toggleable with its own configuration option. This gives server administrators the opportunity to only disable the updating capabilities of one plugin in particular, should they choose to do so. You may read more about compliance with this policy here.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Expanding updater:

    Note: The following contains more advanced user information on controlling Updater. While Updater is very simple to use, it also gives a great deal of feedback and control to the developer if they want to use it. If you are just starting to develop plugins, it is recommended that you stop here and just use Updater as you have learned to use it so far. If you are an advanced user, you may continue on, but know that all of the following info is optional, and only necessary if you want to customize your experience.

    Now, of course you may want to know what the outcome of the process was, so you can inform the user or update some values in your plugin to reflect that it is now updated. This result can easily be obtained by using the "getResult()" call. This returns an UpdateResult that reflects what happened.​

    Code:
            Updater.UpdateResult result = updater.getResult();
            switch(result)
            {
                case SUCCESS:
                    // Success: The updater found an update, and has readied it to be loaded the next time the server restarts/reloads
                    break;
                case NO_UPDATE:
                    // No Update: The updater did not find an update, and nothing was downloaded.
                    break;
                case DISABLED:
                    // Won't Update: The updater was disabled in its configuration file.
                    break;
                case FAIL_DOWNLOAD:
                    // Download Failed: The updater found an update, but was unable to download it.
                    break;
                case FAIL_DBO:
                    // dev.bukkit.org Failed: For some reason, the updater was unable to contact DBO to download the file.
                    break;
                case FAIL_NOVERSION:
                    // No version found: When running the version check, the file on DBO did not contain the a version in the format 'vVersion' such as 'v1.0'.
                    break;
                case FAIL_BADID:
                    // Bad id: The id provided by the plugin running the updater was invalid and doesn't exist on DBO.
                    break;
                case FAIL_APIKEY:
                    // Bad API key: The user provided an invalid API key for the updater to use.
                    break;
                case UPDATE_AVAILABLE:
                  // There was an update found, but because you had the UpdateType set to NO_DOWNLOAD, it was not downloaded.
            }
    All these values, of course, are documented in easy-to-read HTML here: http://gravitydevelopment.net/docs/updater/

    You also may want to know information about the newest update. Some people prefer to have Updater run a version check ONLY (using UpdateType.NO_DOWNLOAD), then, if there is an update available, start notifying admins as they log in that there is a new version ready, with information like file size and version. An admin would then issue a command, and the developer would run Updater again but this time with UpdateType set to NO_VERSION_CHECK, thus downloading the newest build at the admin's request.

    We have a few methods available for you to use for this information. We already know that we can determine the outcome of the version check by calling getResult(), but here are some more methods you can call to get information about the newest file:

    - getLatestName() - Returns the name of the latest file you have uploaded to BukkitDev (Ex: "AntiCheat v1.5.9")
    - getLatestType() - Returns the type of the latest file you have uploaded to BukkitDev (Alpha, Beta, Release)
    - getLatestGameVersion() - Returns the compatible Game Version of the latest file you have uploaded to BukkitDev (Ex: "CB 1.6.2-R1.0")
    - getLatestFileLink() - Returns the link to the latest file you have uploaded.

    The scenario mentioned about would look something like this (pseudocode):

    Code:
    // In main class
    
    public static boolean update = false;
    public static String name = "";
    public static ReleaseType type = null;
    public static String version = "";
    public static String link = "";
    // You would want to make getter methods in your class, this is just for simplicity.
    
    public void onEnable()
    {
      Updater updater = new Updater(this, YOUR_ID_HERE, this.getFile(), Updater.UpdateType.NO_DOWNLOAD, false); // Start Updater but just do a version check
      update = updater.getResult() == Updater.UpdateResult.UPDATE_AVAILABLE; // Determine if there is an update ready for us
      name = updater.getLatestName(); // Get the latest name
      version = updater.getLatestGameVersion(); // Get the latest game version
      type = updater.getLatestType(); // Get the latest file's type
      link = updater.getLatestFileLink(); // Get the latest link
    }
    
    // In a listener class:
    
    @EventHandler
    public void onPlayerJoin(PlayerJoinEvent event)
    {
      Player player = event.getPlayer();
      if(player.hasPermission("foo.bar") && Main.update)
      {
        player.sendMessage("An update is available: " + Main.name + ", a " + Main.type + " for " + Main.version + " available at " + Main.link);
        // Will look like - An update is available: AntiCheat v1.5.9, a release for CB 1.6.2-R0.1 available at http://media.curseforge.com/XYZ
        player.sendMessage("Type /update if you would like to automatically update.");
      }
    }
    
    // And then later in a CommandExecutor class, when they type /update:
    
    Updater updater = new Updater(this, YOUR_ID_HERE, this.getFile(), Updater.UpdateType.NO_VERSION_CHECK, true); // Go straight to downloading, and announce progress to console.
    

     
    Last edited: May 6, 2016
    FisheyLP, Nathat23, Eathuis and 36 others like this.
  2. Offline

    moose517

    right now my actual filenames on the jars are like Notebook-2.2.jar will updater be able to delete that or do i need to start changing filenames to just Notebook.jar for example?
     
  3. Offline

    Gravity

    It'll download the file as whatever your plugin's name is. Past that, it's actually up to Bukkit to decide which file to replace with the update. Note that if the user originally downloads a file with a different name, you might have an issue. I haven't tested much because I never include version numbers in the file titles.
     
  4. Offline

    moose517

    Well for all future builds including updater i'll stop using file names with versions in them. Having a bit of an issue, when i launch the build that has updater it claims filenaming is wrong on DBO but AFAIK they are correct
    http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/notebook/files/
     
  5. Offline

    Gravity

    You have file names that either don't have a version or don't have a 'v' in the version.
    The 'v' is case-sensitive (lowercase), so be consistent.
     
  6. Offline

    moose517

    apparently my slug was bad actually, had it as Notebook and changing to notebook fixed it.
     
  7. Offline

    darkness1999


    That´s what I got.

    I have a question: am I allowed to let the updater run aways, or not?(I know you said this on top but...)
     
  8. Offline

    Gravity

    Right, as I put in the large warning you MUST have a way to disable the updater so that it complies with BukkitDev policies. The user MUST be able to toggle off you initializing the Updater class completely.
     
  9. Offline

    darkness1999

    Oh, ehm I thought exactly the wrong way round. Sorry it´s embarrassing.
     
  10. Offline

    moose517

    one last question hehe. Does using updater count towards downloads shown on DBO? wanna make sure i've got accurate numbers so its something that would be useful to know.
     
  11. Offline

    Gravity

    It does presently, yes.
     
  12. Offline

    aman207

  13. Offline

    Gravity

    You're using mixed-case Vs. They should be lower case. I don't know if that's the issue but at a glance it's what I noticed.
     
  14. Offline

    aman207

    I only see lower case v's
     
  15. Offline

    Gravity

    ....
    [​IMG]
     
    Ultimate_n00b likes this.
  16. Offline

    aman207

    You must see something different from me
    DonatorExpress.png
     
  17. Offline

    Gravity

    Apologies, I'm looking at the deleted files as well.
    I was going to clone your project from github and diagnose the issue, but seeing as you're not using either Ant or Maven I don't really have the time right this second. If you want to look into it yourself, you should put some debug prints in the verionCheck method of Updater, and just get a general feel for what it's discovering on DBO vs. what it currently has.
     
    aman207 likes this.
  18. Offline

    aman207

    Yeah sorry for no Maven, rather new to this stuff (as you can tell). I think I can probably look into it myself.
     
  19. Offline

    iiHeroo


    What would I code in the main class for an OPTION to auto update, I mean like, to see if AutoUpdate is true or false.
     
  20. Offline

    Gravity

    Sorry, I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Are you directly responding to my quote above?

    You always have to have a toggle to turn the updater off, that's not an option; your file will get rejected from BukkitDev if you don't.
     
  21. Offline

    iiHeroo


    uhh, I think I got the code right, but just to make sure, I mean is, what to I put in the code to check if it's true or false on the auto-update
     
  22. Offline

    Gravity

    You want to check with a config variable that the user can edit.
     
  23. Offline

    gameingmania

    How Do I Go About Adding A Config Option To Turn It On Or Off (so Bukkit Dev will accept it)?
     
  24. Offline

    Gravity

    Just as you would go about adding a config option for any other configurable option in your plugin. Create a value in the config named "auto-update" or something similar, and if it's false, don't start the updater. There are plenty of examples on github of plugins that do this properly. If you're unfamiliar with the Configuration API, you need to learn that first.
     
  25. Offline

    filoghost

    I was forced to switch to this updater, rather then just checking a version. It works very well but there are 2 problems:
    1) The updater thinks that 1.8.1 > 1.9 because 181 > 19. Instead, you should pair the length of the two strings, like this 181 - 19 ---> 181 - 190 ---> 181 < 190.
    2) The updater freezes the server. This is not a big problem, but you could make it async and add an interface with an UpdateResult as argument. The updater checks on bukkit dev (async) then it runs the method of the interface sync. It should also download async.
    Just some advices :)
     
  26. Offline

    Gravity

    I'm not sure why you would be forced to use this, but the code is open source and you're free to make improvements as you see fit. The code is threaded, but if you want the result of the process it is going to have to wait for the update to finish. That's just the nature of the system.
     
  27. Offline

    gameingmania

    Ok thanks
     
  28. Offline

    filoghost


    Because Bukkit doesn't allow external website checking, however here's the code (it just makes two Strings of the same length, adding zeros):

    Code:java
    1. private boolean isHigherVersion(Integer higher, Integer lower) {
    2.  
    3. String high = higher.toString();
    4. String low = lower.toString();
    5.  
    6. while (high.length() < low.length()) {
    7. high = high + "0";
    8. }
    9.  
    10. while (low.length() < high.length()) {
    11. low = low + "0";
    12. }
    13.  
    14. return (Integer.parseInt(high) > Integer.parseInt(low));
    15. }


    So the version 1.9 will be higher than 1.8.1 because 190 > 181 :)
     
  29. Offline

    Norbo11

    Quick question, does this plugin still add to the "Downloads" counter whenever a new update is downloaded? I've been using this for my plugin for a while now and it's great but I've noticed a drastic decrease in the amount of downloads the plugin is getting.
     
  30. Offline

    Gravity

    As far as I know, it adds to the downloads. I don't know that there's a way to differentiate between an Updater and a regular user connecting to the site because of how I've designed the process.
     
  31. Offline

    Norbo11

    Must just be a coincidence or so then... I don't see any reason why it wouldn't add to the downloads either. Thanks anyway.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page