001b. Adding an update server and a changelog

In this chapter we will ...

Surely you will develop your component further. How do you make sure that your customers always use the latest version? How do they know about an update?

Since Joomla! 2.5.4 there is a possibility in Joomla! to offer updates for extensions. Also, a Joomla! Core Update can be made directly from the back end without having to download and upload the package itself.

This chapter explains how to create and run an update server for your component.

Update Server sounds a bit complicated, basically it's just a URL to an XML file specified in the installation XML file. This XML file then contains a number of details, including the new version and the download URL which Joomla! can read out. If Joomla! finds an update this will be displayed in the back end.

Extensions Update

Joomla! has a built-in update software that allows you to easily update your core Joomla! version. This update mechanism is also available to third-party Joomla! extensions. However, you need to set up an update server.

You can try this out on your local development environment. To do so, you will need a Joomla! site, which will be your site that you are going to try to update the extension on. The update server could be any folder on your local web server.

Install version 1.0.0 of our component. To enable the update manager to be able to check for updates, you need to create a new version.