+13
Completed

Please allow automatic silent updates.

Anonymous 11 years ago updated by Michael (Ramen Software) 9 years ago 11


This is becoming the most frequently updated app on my computer.

While I love updates, I would prefer an option to make them silent and automatic since they are getting annoying having to do them manually all the time.

Answer

Answer
Completed
Automatic updates are available in v4.5.10.
I always try to minimize the number of updates, and try to push as many changes in a single release as possible.

Unfortunately, I can't always predict the situation.

For example, looking at the last three releases:
v4.2 - a comprehensive release, including new options, translations, other fixes and improvements. It could end here.
v4.2.1 - It was reported that one of the new options doesn't work correctly with the classic theme. I fixed the issue and released a fixed version the next day.
v4.2.2 - two days later, I've received a bug report about an explorer crash. In fact, this bug is quite rare and it existed since the first versions of the tweaker, but I consider an explorer crash to be a serious issue, so I updated as soon as I fixed it. The fact that it got released right after v4.2 and v4.2.1 is a mere coincidence.

The tweaker is in no way "becoming the most frequently updated app".

Now, about silent updates, I would prefer not to allow this. The same way as old bugs are fixed, new bugs may be introduced, which can cause unexpected behavior or even an explorer crash without you expecting it.
The thing that I may consider in the feature is silent updates of "stable" versions, e.g. versions which have been released for over a week. This way they're less likely to cause issues.

Because new updates sometimes brings new bugs, this is not desirable.

What is your opinion?

What is the ideal update frequency for 7TT?

(I think every 2 weeks :-) )

And again... Two updates in two days. :(

+2
Plz don't ever hesitate to release an update!

Just allow people to set their prefs, like "never update more than once a week" ("once a week" being configurable). You should feel free to release a new version every hour -- if a feature is ready or a bug is fixed, RELEASE -- people can update when they want to.

You could even do a alpha/beta/stable release system & people can CHOOSE the release channel they want...

alpha = more frequent releases, but less stable & less tested
beta = tested more than alpha, less than stable (no known bugs for 3 days?)
stable = tested code with no known bugs for a week/month

I would also support a silent update option, OFF by default, of course (it already checks for updates, having it actually do the update itself would just be icing on the cake). I agree with a week or so delay from release to auto-update, so really bad things don't happen -- but that delay should be a choice, like I said before. Make "1 week" be the default delay, but allow "no delay" or "24 hours" or "2 weeks" or anything else.

So, I support silent auto-update as something you should write code for, but most likely as an OPT-IN feature.
-1
Thanks for the feedback!

I'd say an alpha/beta stage is an overkill for such a small app.

I thought about implementing a silent update option, which will update e.g. a week after the release, to make sure it's more or less stable.
I don't want to introduce other prefs for the updating process, as I don't think they're necessary - people just expect it to work (KISS principle). I might make it configurable from the registry, though.
+1

I don't know when a manual update is going to introduce new bugs - why would the possibility of new bugs be a problem for silent updates?


I think that an option for silent updates would be prudent. The only recourse against frequent update notifications is to turn off the update checker.

For some reason, Userecho deleted all replies to issues which have no status (like "started", "completed", etc.). Here's my reply:

I always try to minimize the number of updates, and try to push as many changes in a single release as possible.

Unfortunately, I can't always predict the situation.

For example, looking at the last three releases:
v4.2 - a comprehensive release, including new options, translations, other fixes and improvements. It could end here.
v4.2.1 - It was reported that one of the new options doesn't work correctly with the classic theme. I fixed the issue and released a fixed version the next day.
v4.2.2 - two days later, I've received a bug report about an explorer crash. In fact, this bug is quite rare and it existed since the first versions of the tweaker, but I consider an explorer crash to be a serious issue, so I updated as soon as I fixed it. The fact that it got released right after v4.2 and v4.2.1 is a mere coincidence.

The tweaker is in no way "becoming the most frequently updated app".

Now, about silent updates, I would prefer not to allow this. The same way as old bugs are fixed, new bugs may be introduced, which can cause unexpected behavior or even an explorer crash without you expecting it.
The thing that I may consider in the feature is silent updates of "stable" versions, e.g. versions which have been released for over a week. This way they're less likely to cause issues.
+1
I think a good compromise would be an automatic update option that is turned off by default. 
Answer
Completed
Automatic updates are available in v4.5.10.