Application auto-update with self-hosting

Question

I'm planning to self-host my application but not sure what is the best way to implement auto-update.

I'm planning to do following:

1. Application checks if newer version available on server
2. If new version available - application will downloand APK to device's flash.
3. ??

My question is how do I initialize update from code? I understand user will need to confirm this action but I want to do as much work as possible myself. Do I need to call specific intent to do this?

I guess question is how do I install APK programmaticaly if it's already on device..

Answer 1

I guess question is how do I install APK programmaticaly if it's already on device..

You can launch the install using the following code:

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setDataAndType(Uri.fromFile(new File(fileName)), "application/vnd.android.package-archive");
startActivity(intent);

The above code was taken from an answer to a similar question: automatic install of apk