Software distribution system to build and distribute a software release

摘要

A method for creating and electronically distributing a new release of a software program in a computer system having a number of processors is disclosed. One of the software programs is modified. An impact analysis is performed to identify modules to be modified as a result of the modification. A new release of the software program is built by modifying the identified modules. Typically, the new release is built in one or more repositories. The new release is stored in a central storage device. It is determined which processors require a copy of the new release, and the new release is electronically down-loaded from the central storage device to each processor. A down-load complete message is issued at each processor upon completion of the download. An install order is transmitted to each of the processors to which the new release was down-loaded. The new release is installed at each of these processors. The new release can be installed concurrently at each processor. The previous version can be reinstalled if, for example, errors or problems occur.