compareVersion

compareVersion

Compares the version of a file or package with the version of an existing file or package.

Method of

InstallTrigger object

Syntax

int compareVersion (
   String registryName,
   InstallVersion version);

int compareVersion (
   String registryName,
   String version);

int compareVersion (
   String registryName,
   int major,
   int minor,
   int release,
   int build);

Parameters

The compareVersion method has the following parameters:

registryName

The pathname in the Client Version Registry for the component whose version is to be compared. This parameter can be an absolute pathname, such as /royalairways/RoyalSW or a relative pathname, such as plugsin/royalairway/RoyalSW. Note that the registry pathname is not the location of the software on the computer; it is the location of information about the software inside the Client Version Registry.

version

An InstallVersion object containing version information or a String in the format major.minor.release.build, where major, minor, release, and build are integer values representing version information.

Returns

If the versions are the same or if Software Installation is not enabled, this method returns 0. If the version of registryName is smaller (earlier) than version, this method returns a negative number. Otherwise, this method returns a positive number. In particular, this method returns one of the following values:

-5

component not present or not registered.

-4

registryName has a smaller (earlier) major number than version.

-3

registryName has a smaller (earlier) minor number than version.

-2

registryName has a smaller (earlier) release number than version.

-1

registryName has a smaller (earlier) build number than version.

0

The version numbers are the same; both objects represent the same version.

1

registryName has a larger (newer) build number than version.

2

registryName has a larger (newer) release number than version.

3

registryName has a larger (newer) minor number than version.

4

registryName has a larger (newer) major number than version.

The following constants can be used to check the value returned by compareVersion:

int MAJOR_DIFF = 4;
int MINOR_DIFF = 3;
int REL_DIFF = 2;
int BLD_DIFF = 1;
int EQUAL = 0;

In Communicator 4.5, the following constants are defined and available for checking the value returned by compareVersion:

<code>InstallTrigger.MAJOR_DIFF
InstallTrigger.MINOR_DIFF
InstallTrigger.REL_DIFF
InstallTrigger.BLD_DIFF
InstallTrigger.EQUAL
</code>

Description

The compareVersion method compares the version of an installed file or package with a specified version. It is often used as a check against which to initiate the installation process. If registryName is not found in the Client Version Registry or if registryName does not have version, registryName is assumed to have a version of 0.0.0.0. If registryName represents a file, compareVersion checks for the existence of the file. If the file has been deleted, its version is assumed to be 0.0.0.0.