Updating libraries (automatically) in Moodle

Submitted by akud on Sun, 11/24/2019 - 22:54
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General discussion

Hello,

We are having a problem (this time...) uploading an Interactive Video on the university Moodle platform. It appears 9 libraries are outdated (1st attachment, in Italian - 9x "Manca la libreria obbligatoria = The mandatory library... is missing").

Ok, maybe not a big deal, but...

I gave a try on another Moodle installation, which is under my control, and as soon as I uploaded the file I got a green line reporting "Added 9 new libraries and updated 38 older ones" (Aggiunte 9 nuove librerie e aggiornate 38 vecchie - 2nd attachment).

I'm not allowed to know what's going on the uni platform, but on my Moodle I'm up to date (last week I updated to 1.20.1, 2019111300). So, I'm wondering if in the latest update was introduced an automatism thanks to which there is no longer the need to load the files in the libraries separately. Well, it's just a guess... Am I on the right path?

Well, the techs from the uni are not very cooperative (bureaucracy?). Anyway, every week having to open a ticket to request the updating of libraries is exhausting. But if the intuition is right, we could have found a point to put pressure on...

Cheers 

Attachments: 
Image icon 1_moodleUnistrasi.png
Image icon 2_moodleItaL2.png
otacke's picture

otacke

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 08:32

Hi Gerardo!

I assume you simply don't have the right to update libraries on the university server, so they can't be installed when uploading content types that require them.

Best, 

Oliver 

akud's picture

akud

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 09:09

Yes, of course I don't. Only the Moodle service provider appears to have this authority. I don't think even the Moodle "manager" (i.e. internal university staff) can load any library. Then, she (the person, the manager...) doesn't want to be responsible of "interfering" with the integrity of the database (wow! sort of "homeland security" issue - and buzzword...).

Anyway, this is the final question: could it be possible to have the right to update the libraries without accessing to /mod/hvp/library_list.php? 
I mean, if updating is automatic and can be done just uploading an h5p file while "creating" a new interactive content, noone get access to the admin area (/mod/hvp/library_list.php) and we are all safe from any "homeland security" related anxiety.

otacke's picture

otacke

Wed, 11/27/2019 - 11:14

Hi akud!

I am not entirely sure, but I think there are separate capabilities for updating libraries and managing libraries.

It doesn't necessarily have to do with "homeland security" issues. For a good reason, admins usually have a staging system where they test updates before rolling them out to a production system, and in some environments require to run through certain processes (ITIL, etc.). That's time consuming, and I can understand that the frequent updates of H5P can be bugging admins. That said: Yes, if admins granted the capability to update libraries, they wouldn't have to install the updates themselves, but they might risk the platforms stability.

Best,
Oliver

akud's picture

akud

Thu, 11/28/2019 - 11:48

Sure there's a preprod site for testing new things which is separate from the production site, even though I don't know if they test interactive contents' libraries when they update them (but this is my guess).

Anyway my question was a bit more detailed (or just "peculiar"). I would like to know if the 1.20.1 (2019111300) version allows an automatic update of the libraries, I mean, if just uploading a file I could have the libraries updated without the need of going to the /mod/hvp/library_list.php page and there uploading the (same) .h5p file.

Ok, maybe this is just "academy". Or there is something about that in the documentation (and so: where could I read?).

Thanks again.

 

 
otacke's picture

otacke

Thu, 11/28/2019 - 15:00

Hello again!

As I mentioned: "I am not entirely sure, but I think there are separate capabilities for updating libraries and managing libraries." In other words this means: If I am correct, in theory someone could update libraries without being able to access the library screen - but I may be wrong and there may be just one capability.

Best,
Oliver