Abstract: A method and computer-readable medium for upgrading an application program, and making an installer program aware that an application has been upgraded is disclosed. The method recognizes that an upgrade to the application has been initiated. The upgrade includes an identifier for the application to be upgraded, as well as information required for the installer to perform the upgrade. The installer program accesses the upgrade information, which includes instructions necessary for installing the upgrade. The installer program also accesses information related to the installed state of the application and related applications. The installer program determines whether or not the upgrade should be performed. If the upgrade should be performed, the installer program performs the upgrade and stores the fact that the application has been upgraded. If the application should not be upgraded, the installer program stores information reflecting the fact that the upgrade is available but not installed.

Abstract: A system and method for managing locations of software components via a source list. The needed software components are identified. A list of source locations is referenced repeatedly until a valid source location is found or until each source location on the list has been referenced. If a valid source location is found, the software components are retrieved from that source location. New source locations may be added to this list of source locations when the user identifies these new source locations. A list of source locations is continually maintained.