Package Versions ID: PM-GS-PV
Although our focus in this course is on "packages", packages themselves only contain a small amount of information. Most of the information about what makes up a package actually belongs to package versions.
Each package may have multiple versions, although it may only have a single "draft" version at any time (more on that in the package creation module).
Each version contains a copy of all of the assets and dependencies required by that version. This provides stability to packages since those copied assets and dependencies will not change even if the source site or later versions are updated - or even deleted.
When a package developer activates a new version of a package, there are three ways that Marketpath CMS may handle the update. The first time you install a package on a site, or at any point following that, the update method may be configured by the site administrator. The options for what happens when a new version is released are:
- Do not do anything when a new version is activated: Will not notify administrators or attempt to auto-update the package when a new version is released. When administrators view their site packages, they will still see an icon notifying them that a new version of the package is available. This may be the best default value if your package is simply a collection of package dependencies or if you are using your package for an atypical purpose.
- Notify administrators when a new version is activated: Send an email to the site package administrator(s) when a new version is released. The site package administrators are configured per site package. It is up to the administrators to update the package manually. This is the best default value for most packages.
- Automatically apply new versions when they are activated: Attempt to automatically update to the latest version when a new version is released. If there are any issues which would prevent the installation from completing successfully, the installation will have to be completed manually. In either case - if the installation is completed or if it fails - an email will be sent to the site package administrator(s) notifying them of the status of the update. This is often the easiest option for site administrators because if everything goes well they will not have to do anything to receive the latest updates. This is also the most risky option because if the update would break their site they may not know about it until their site is already broken. If you are installing your own package across a large number of sites which you control, you should consider this for your default.