firefox upgrades need to be more robust

[Scott Zawalski]

Binary package hint: firefox

The way firefox currently upgrades is disastrous. There needs to be hooks that ask the user when they quit firefox if they want to upgrade instead of upgrading over the currently installed version of firefox while it is running.

With the web becoming more prevalent and people keeping more important data in a browser it is unacceptable to expect them to restart their browser (which sometimes they can't even do properly if firefox has been upgraded underneath them) whenever an upgrade is done.

The ideal process would be:

Download the deb file and wait for user interaction.
Have firefox check for an upgraded deb file in a specific place.
If firefox sees the deb have it ask the user if they want to upgrade which would involve a restart.
if Yes == Install and restart
if No == Ask later (i.e. when they quit firefox.)

If the upgrade is present and no firefox processes exist, install update.

If at login and/or during bootup there is an upgrade waiting for firefox install it.

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

I wasnt sure if this should be don ein apt or ubufox .
If you use update-manager to update you can choose if you want to upgrade it or not.
There is a bug simular to this bug but i dont have link anymore that i can tell.

[Julian Andres Klode (juliank)]

Nothing to do for APT here. Upgrading a running program is not a problem, but you should really restart it nonetheless, in case of security updates.