updateAlphaTcl Help

Name:	updateAlphaTcl
Version:	0.1
Last update:	2021-05-21 14:43:29

This file documents the command line tool updateAlphaTcl provided by Alpha. This tool lets you update the AlphaTcl library contained in the application bundle. It extracts the latest state of the library from the code repository at SourceForge and installs it in the application.
The different kinds of updates are described in the Update Alpha Help page. They correspond to the commands found in the submenu Update Alpha in the application menu (Alpha ↣ Global Setup ↣ Update Alpha).
The script is distributed with Alpha's ExtraTools: click here to download the ExtraTools. It can also be found inside the application bundle in the Alpha.app/Contents/Resources/Libraries/Extras folder (click here to place this path in the Clipboard).
Note that this script is also used by Alpha when the user selects the from 'Terminal' implementation of the UpdateAlphaTcl service as explained here.

Usage

You may copy this script to a location on your shell PATH to make it more easily accessible or just make a soft link pointing to it.
The general syntax of the script is:

updateAlphaTcl [-d] [-u name] [-x] ?appPath?

The appPath argument is the path of the Alpha application whose library you want to update. If it is not specified, the path is assumed to be /Applications/Alpha.app by default.
The command supports the following options:

-d	to specify a Developer checkout, rather than a User checkout.
-u	to specify a SourceForge username. In that case, the script will use the svn+ssh protocol instead of https to connect to the repository.
-x	to prevent deleting the temporary folder used for the checkout. This is useful only for debugging.

If option -d is specified, the script automatically detects if the library inside the bundle is already under Subversion control and takes the appropriate action accordingly (i-e performs either a svn checkout or an svn update command).
See the Examples section below.

Prerequisites

The script requires the following standard Unix tools to be installed on your machine:

svn, which is the Subversion client
rsync, which is a very fast file-copying tool

By default, these tools are provided by Mac OS X, so they should be readily available.

Examples

To make a User update in /Applications/Alpha.app:

> updateAlphaTcl

To make a Developer checkout or update in /Applications/Alpha.app:

> updateAlphaTcl -d

To make a Developer checkout or update in an Alpha which is not located in the /Applications folder:

> updateAlphaTcl -d /path/to/Alpha.app

Known problems

From time to time, the checkout fails due to a timeout of the Subversion connection to the repository at SourceForge. This is a known issue (with SourceForge): if this happens, SourceForge recommends using the svn+ssh protocol instead of https. To do this, you should be a registered user at SourceForge and then just specify your user name with the -u option in this script. For instance (assuming your user name is vhugo):

> updateAlphaTcl -d -u vhugo

Please report any problem or bug you encounter to Alpha's Bug Tracker.

License and Disclaimer

Copyright (c) 2018-2021, Bernard Desgraupes.
All rights reserved.
The updateAlphaTcl package is free software and distributed under the terms of the new BSD license:
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
Neither the name of Bernard Desgraupes nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL BERNARD DESGRAUPES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.