Documentation Mailing Lists FAQ Frequently Asked Questions v2

How do I update my APC-AA installation to the latest version? Author: Mitra (revised by Jason) mitra@earth.path.net Article progress: Complete

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This FAQ assumes you did the original installation from CVS (see Installation of ActionApps Doc )

First, check that you really want to update. There is usually a stable release and a developer release. The instructions below will update to the latest release from CVS - which is what most of the people discussing things on the apc-aa-general mailing list are using. This might not be as stable as a release you may be running.

Back-up Your Files and DB

The CVS will write over your current config file, usually located in /apc-aa/includes/config.php3. The key values you will need to re-enter after updating and may not be able to remember are: AA_ID, DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD. Without these correct values, AA will not work.

You should also back-up all your apc-aa files, encase the update fails and you need revert back.

Once you have done your back-ups, login to shell on you account and cd to the apc-aa directory and run

cvs -n update

This will display the changes and potential conflict - look for lines starting "C" these are conflicts that need a developer to figure out. You'll have to ask this list if you get one of these.

NOTE: It is common to get 'timed out' type errors from the CVS, which is hosted at SourceForge.net. Just keep trying every few minutes

If it all looks good, run

CVS update -dPAC

This will:
-d Build directories, like checkout does. (if there is new directory in the repository, then it is created)
-P Prune empty directories.
-A Reset any sticky tags/date/kopts. (allways load HEAD branch of the CVS)
-C Overwrite locally modified files with clean repository copies.
(For more options try "cvs --help update")

You should then compare the version number at the top of /apc-aa/includes/config.php3 to see if it is newer then your backed up config.php3 file. If not, you can simplly upload your backed-up version over the new one. If the new config file is different, you will need to manually write in your settings, based on the backed-up version.

Access http://yourhost/apc-aa/sql_update.php3, this will update the database to the latest version. The script always refreshes the database structure to the newest version - no matter if you allready have the newest structure.

The script makes a backup of the tables, but there is not yet a documented way to restore the old version, and note that re-running the script overwrites the last copy of the backup.

Last Edit: Aug 17 2011

<aafaq id=1728> ~ToDo: 1728 How do I update my APC-AA installation to the latest version? </aafaq> 

This FAQ interface was developed by Jason at Commons.ca

APC ActionApps is a free software content management system initiated by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) APC - Internet and ICTs for social justice and development