This note is intended for developers who want to update the AlphaTcl library inside the development application bundle from a
working copy containing the complete Alpha source code. This is
about updating the library inside the development application bundle (a
compiled application located in the build directory) when your
working copy of the Alpha source code has been updated and contains
changes.
If you are a user and want to update the AlphaTcl library
inside a released version of Alpha (probably located in the /Applications folder), please read QA #9: How can I update the AlphaTcl library ? or the Update Alpha Help page instead of this note.
The built application's bundle contains the AlphaTcl library. Regularly
changes are committed to the code repository and you may want to update
your library in order to maintain your application up-to-date. There are
basically two methods to achieve this:
using the items of the Alpha ↣ Global Setup ↣ Update AlphaTcl menu. This is explained in the file Update Alpha Help.
using the Makefile facility: only one single command has to be typed
in a Terminal window as explained in this technical note.
The present note is about the second method. For different reasons,
this is certainly the preferred method (at least during Alpha's
development).
Warning: be aware that these methods are mutually exclusive:
you should not maintain two different working copies of the AlphaTcl
library (because the one handled by the second method would corrupt the one
handled by the first method).
This note is not about updating the core of the application.
This aspect is described in TN #1: How to update the core.
Updating the library
Make sure you have a working copy (see QA #1: How do I get Alpha's source code ?) and that
your application is in the build folder as described in TN #1.
Now, if you know that some changes have been made in the AlphaTcl
library and want to update your copy of the application, there are two
things that need to be done:
update the working copy;
copy the updated files into the application bundle.
There is one single instruction for this. In a Terminal window, change
directory in order to be positionned in the Current folder. Then execute
the following command :
make alphatcl-update
That's all there is to it. The command takes care both of updating and
installing the modified files. You can now launch your updated Alpha.