From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Software Update
Developer:	Apple Computer
Latest release:	2.0.3 (2.0.4) / 2005
OS:	Mac OS X Windows
Use:	System Utility
License:	Proprietary
Website:	apple.com/macosx/upgrade/ softwareupdates.htm

Software Update is a software tool by Apple Computer that installs the latest version of Apple software on computers running Mac OS X. A Windows version has been available since the introduction of iTunes 7, under the name "Apple Software Update". Software Update automatically informs users of new updates. It is part of the CoreServices in OS X, found at /System/Library/CoreServices/Software Update.app. Software update can be set to check for updates daily, weekly, monthly, or not at all; in addition it can download and store the associated .pkg file (the same type used by Installer) to be installed at a later date and maintains a history of installed updates.

It is recommended that all users fully update their software as new versions become available. Software Updates consist of incremental updates of the Mac OS and its applications, Security Updates, device drivers and firmware updates. All software updates require a password, as with all consequential system changes. Some updates require a system restart.

Software Update in Mac OS 9.

Software Update was originally introduced to Mac users in Mac OS 9.

All of Software Update's features are available through the command-line program softwareupdate.

As of 10.4, the command line usage for softwareupdate is:

usage: softwareupdate  [ ...]

        -l | --list             List all appropriate updates
        -d | --download         Download Only
        -i | --install          Install
                 ...     specific updates
                -a | --all              all appropriate updates
                -r | --recommended      only recommended updates
                -u | --url  ...    from signed package URLs

        Per-user preferences:
        --ignore  ...    Ignore specific updates
        --reset-ignored         Clear all ignored updates
        --schedule (on | off)   Set automatic checking

        -h | --help     Print this help

Using this tool, it is fairly straightforward for lab administrators to automatically install incoming updates by adding a cron job:
softwareupdate --install --all
(or just --recommended to be more cautious). You may want to set the job to run only every few days to give yourself a chance to jump in with an --ignore if a particular update is reported to have issues by early adopters. If running as a cron job, it is probably also a good idea to avoid running the update while a user is logged in, especially since some updates require reboot to take effect. (softwareupdate does not reboot automatically, it merely displays a warning on its stdout if a reboot is necessary.) Remote administrators may also be interested in also using the cURL and installer command line utilities to set up their own software update system.