Update Service

Overview

The update service provides:

  • Information about the latest available Sensor Controller Studio release, with easy access to the installer and revision history
  • Patches for the current Sensor Controller Studio installation, which can be added and removed without running a full installer

Sensor Controller Studio 1.3.0 and later will by default download update information (a single XML file) at each startup to check for new release and patches. If automatic check for updates is not wanted, it can be disabled through a preference setting (Ctrl + P), and the check can be triggered manually instead.

Patches are made available between releases to fix bugs and add new features, such as:

  • Support for new SDK releases in the example configuration
  • Bug fixes for SCIF driver and task code procedures
  • New examples, task resources and task code procedures

Access to Update Service Features

Update notifications are displayed in the top right corner of the Start Page Panel .

Do one of the following to check for updates:

  • In the Start Page Panel , press the Check for Updates button (top right corner, next to the update notification)
  • In the Help menu, press Check for Updates

Do one of the following to manage updates (get latest installer, view latest revision history or add/remove patches for the current release):

  • In the Start Page Panel , press the Manage Updates button (top right corner, next to the update notification)
  • In the Help menu, press Manage Updates… (Ctrl + U)

Sensor Controller Studio indicates which patches are currently installed:

  • In the main window title. This is enabled by default, but can be disabled through a preference setting (Ctrl + P).
  • In the about box (Help menu -> About Sensor Controller Studio)
  • In the header of generated SCIF driver source code (top of scif.h )

Update Information

The update information ( upd_info.xml ) is by default downloaded from a Texas Instruments HTTP server. The default source is displayed in the Manage Updates window.

The update information source can be overridden by entering a different URL in the Manage Updates window:

  • If instructed to do so by Texas Instruments support
  • To distribute update information and patch files to internal users from your company’s own HTTP server

Internet Connection and Proxy Settings

The update information download can fail if your computer is behind a proxy, and Sensor Controller Studio fails to auto-detect the correct proxy settings. If this happens, please check the Updates section in the Preferences Panel (Ctrl + P).

There are three internet connection options:

  • Direct connection
  • Auto-detect system proxy settings (default)
  • Use proxy settings entered manually

Host name and port number must always be specified when using manual settings. User name and password can be specified if needed. Note that all these settings are stored in plaintext in the Windows registry.

Patches

Each patch has an ID number and a date that indicates when it was made available. The ID numbering restarts at 1 for each new Sensor Controller Studio release, and increments by 1 for each patch. Note that there can be holes in the numbering sequence.

Normally, all patches for one release are included in the next release.

Patches do not overwrite the files in the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Texas Instruments\Sensor Controller Studio ), but are instead stored under <My Documents>/Texas Instruments/Sensor Controller Studio/patches . A patch is considered as installed and active if the patch directory and all associated files are present. Sensor Controller Studio displays an error message at startup if one or more installed patches are incomplete.

Adding and Removing Patches

Open the Manage Updates window to add, remove or reinstall patches.

Internet access is required to add or reinstall patches. When your computer is offline, it is only possible to remove currently installed patches.

For each patch the patch list displays:

  • The patch ID
  • The patch date (YYYY-MM-DD)
  • Category and description of each issue that the patch addresses

Check and uncheck patch list entries to add and remove patches, respectively.

Note that some patches cannot be installed independently of each other (for example patch 4 requires that also patches 1 and 2 are installed). If there are such dependencies, these are listed after the patch date field.

Press the Use selected patches button to apply the new patch selection, and observe the displayed messages and instructions.

Command Line Interface

Use the update service Command Line Interface as part of build automation.