## About Private Update Centers

See Also

An update center is nothing more than an XML file that is known as the "autoupdate descriptor", together with the modules that it describes. The autoupdate descriptor lists all the modules that you would like to make available. For each module, the autoupdate descriptor provides information such as a name, a description, and a list of modules that it depends on.

Most importantly, the autoupdate descriptor specifies a URL for each module that it describes. Each module, in binary NBM file format, must live on a host. The autoupdate descriptor itself must also live on a host. The host where the autoupdate descriptor lives need not be the same host as where the modules live. The modules can live together on the same host or be spread across different hosts.

After the autoupdate descriptor and its associated modules are on a host, you must let your end users know that they are there. The URL to the autoupdate descriptor must be registered in the end users' IDEs. This can be done in one of two ways:

- Automatically. You can provide a module that registers the URL to the update center for them. This module can be generated in the IDE, without any coding on your part.
- Manually. You must tell your end user what the URL to your autoupdate descriptor is. Then, the end users need to register the URL to your autoupdate descriptor. They must then do so manually in the Options window.

Once the URL to the update center is registered, your end users can access your modules via the Update Center wizard, which they can find under the Tools menu. Not only new modules, but new versions of existing modules can be distributed in this way.

In the IDE, you can perform the following activities when thinking about update centers:

- Building an NBM File
- Registering an NBM File in an Update Center
- Bundling an Update Center URL
- Manually Registering an Update Center URL

See Also
  About NetBeans Platform and Module Development
  About the NetBeans Platform

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