log_viewer

Version Management Scripts

This document describes the automated version management scripts used in the Log Viewer project to maintain consistency across all platforms and build artifacts.

Overview

The Log Viewer project uses centralized version management through the Build_Version file, with automated scripts that update platform-specific files to maintain version consistency.

Central Version File

Build_Version

Location: rpmbuild/SOURCES/Build_Version

VERSION=3.2.0

This file serves as the single source of truth for the application version across all platforms.

Version Update Scripts

1. update_rpm_version.sh

Purpose: Updates RPM spec files with the current version

Location: rpmbuild/SOURCES/update_rpm_version.sh

What it updates:

Usage:

cd rpmbuild/SOURCES
./update_rpm_version.sh

Cross-platform compatibility: Handles both macOS and Linux sed syntax differences.

2. update_inno_version.py

Purpose: Updates Windows Inno Setup installer script with version and executable references

Location: rpmbuild/SOURCES/update_inno_version.py

What it updates:

Enhanced Features:

Usage:

cd rpmbuild/SOURCES
python3 update_inno_version.py

Example Output:

Updating Inno Setup script for version: 3.2.0
Updated LogViewer_Installer.iss with version 3.2.0 and executable name LogViewer-3.2.0.exe
Inno Setup script updated successfully

3. generate_version_info.py

Purpose: Generates Windows version information file for executable metadata

Location: rpmbuild/SOURCES/generate_version_info.py

What it creates:

Version Parsing:

Usage:

cd rpmbuild/SOURCES
python3 generate_version_info.py

Automated Integration

Build Process Integration

The version scripts are automatically called during platform builds:

macOS Builds

Linux Builds

Windows Builds

Local Builds (Build_App_Windows.bat):

REM Read version from Build_Version file
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%a in ('findstr "VERSION=" Build_Version 2^>nul') do set VERSION=%%a

REM Update version-dependent files
python generate_version_info.py
python update_inno_version.py

REM Build with versioned output
pyinstaller log_viewer_windows.spec

GitHub Actions Workflow (.github/workflows/windows_build.yml): Fixed in v3.2.0 - The workflow now calls version scripts in the correct order:

# Generate version info
python generate_version_info.py

# Update Inno Setup script BEFORE building
python update_inno_version.py

# Build executable
pyinstaller --noconfirm log_viewer_windows.spec

Previous Issue: The workflow was calling update_inno_version.py after PyInstaller, causing Inno Setup to reference non-existent versioned executables.

Linux/RPM Builds (Build_App.sh)

# Read version and update RPM spec
./update_rpm_version.sh

# Build executable (includes Build_Version in bundle)
pyinstaller --noconfirm ./log_viewer.spec

Recent Fix (v3.2.0): Updated log_viewer.spec to include Build_Version in the datas array:

datas=[('config.yml', '.'), ('help_content.md', '.'), ('Build_Version', '.'), ...]

This ensures the Linux executable can read the version dynamically for the About dialog, fixing the issue where Linux builds were stuck at version 3.0.0.

Recent Fixes (v3.3.0):

Version Consistency Verification

Manual Verification

To verify all components are using the correct version:

cd rpmbuild/SOURCES

# Check central version
grep "VERSION=" Build_Version

# Check RPM spec
grep "%define version" ../SPECS/LogViewer.spec

# Check Windows installer script
grep -E "(MyAppVersion|MyAppExeName|Source.*LogViewer.*\.exe)" LogViewer_Installer.iss

# Check Windows version info
grep "FileVersion.*VERSION" version_info.txt

Troubleshooting Version Mismatches

If you encounter version mismatch errors:

  1. Verify Central Version: 
    cat rpmbuild/SOURCES/Build_Version
  2. Re-run All Version Scripts: 
    cd rpmbuild/SOURCES
./update_rpm_version.sh
python3 update_inno_version.py
python3 generate_version_info.py
  3. Check Updates Were Applied: 
    # Verify RPM spec
grep "%define version" ../SPECS/LogViewer.spec
   
# Verify Inno Setup script
grep "MyAppVersion\|Source.*LogViewer" LogViewer_Installer.iss
  4. Commit Changes: 
    git add ../SPECS/LogViewer.spec LogViewer_Installer.iss version_info.txt
git commit -m "Update version references to $(grep VERSION= Build_Version | cut -d= -f2)"

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: “Source file LogViewer-X.X.X.exe does not exist”

Cause: Version mismatch between PyInstaller output and Inno Setup script expectations

Solution:

  1. Run python3 update_inno_version.py to sync versions
  2. Ensure Build_Version contains the correct version
  3. Rebuild the Windows executable

Issue: RPM version not updating

Cause: RPM spec file not updated with new version

Solution:

  1. Run ./update_rpm_version.sh manually
  2. Check for sed command compatibility (macOS vs Linux)
  3. Verify permissions on spec file

Issue: Windows version info incorrect

Cause: version_info.txt not regenerated with new version

Solution:

  1. Run python3 generate_version_info.py
  2. Verify Build_Version format is correct (X.Y.Z)
  3. Check for Python script execution errors

Best Practices

  1. Always Update Build_Version First: Before any release, update the central version file
  2. Run Scripts After Version Changes: Manually run version scripts when changing versions outside of builds
  3. Verify Cross-Platform: Test version updates on different operating systems
  4. Commit Version Updates: Always commit version file changes before tagging releases
  5. Use Semantic Versioning: Follow MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format for consistency

Script Maintenance

Regular Updates

Adding New Platforms

When adding support for new platforms:

  1. Create a version update script following the existing pattern
  2. Integrate into the platform’s build process
  3. Add verification commands to troubleshooting documentation
  4. Test version consistency across all platforms

Organization: Michette Technologies
Project: Log Viewer
Last Updated: 2024