Archiver packs together components of a function or a group of functions into a single file for storage or transport. It is also used to explode the package into its constituent items and put them away in an account. A package may be built in a development account and extracted in a live account or vice-versa.
For custom code development purposes this is like a Multi-Value version of WinZip transporting a collection of software in one go. It makes progressive development easy to redeploy no matter how large or complex the collection of software components grows.
There has always been an UNINSTALL method for removing the existing functionality before EXTRACTING and INSTALLING upgraded functionality, but it was not very accessible or possibly well known. It also takes multiple steps to cleanly backup, uninstall, extract and install new versions.
New to ARCHIVER in Manage 2000 8.1sp5 is the REPLACE option on the ARCHIVER Extraction screen.
REPLACE automates the steps necessary to backup and replace existing functionality with replacement functionality stored in the ARCHVIER package:
- creates a new PROJECT_LIBRARY record with Item ID {FILE.KEY}.bak.
- REBUILD {FILE.KEY}.bak package filling its contents with the current file items from the current account.
- UNINSTALL {FILE.KEY} removing all the identified file items from the current account.
- EXTRACT {FILE.KEY} copying all the package contents to the current account.
- The user is then prompted to INSTALL the package in the current account resulting in compile and screen building operations
