Re: Helixcode Updater thingie

[Ian Peters <itp helixcode com>]

On Thu, Sep 14, 2000 at 08:38:57PM +0530, Archit Baweja wrote:
> I just noticed that the Helixcode GNOME Updater locks the RPM database on my
> RH v6.2 from the start. Thats is that even when its downloading the stuff, it
> has a lock.
> 
> I have the suggestion that the lock be placed only when the files have been
> downloaded and are ready to install. If after downloading it can't get a lock
> on the database, it should wait [open to other suggestions...]until it gets a
> lock. And so it should even have a timeout thing about obtaining the lock.

The lock must be held.  The packages to upgrade are determined at the
start of the updater, before they are downloaded, obviously.  We hold
the lock to make the operation seem atomic, ie if we didn't hold the
lock, the user or another application could change the state of the
system between when we calculate what to update and when we have the
packages downloaded.  That would be bad.  :(

-- 
Ian Peters
itp helixcode com