I developed an application in Matlab and I compiled it in Linux.
My application can check for updates online and download them.
The aim is to have the updates installed and to restart the application (automatically).
The installation consists basically just in unzipping the code and replace the current one with the new one.
I thought to have Matlab write a bash script and then launch it to install the code and then restart. However I cannot understand why it cannot restart.

The bash script I wrote makes the following operations (files are already unzipped from within Matlab):
- it kills the current application (so that it can be replaced by the new one)
- it moves the unzipped files from a temporary directory to the target directory replacing the old files
- it removes the temporary directory
- it calls the new executable (in fact, it's calling a bash script which launches the Matlab compiled application)

The bash script I wrote is correctly launched. In fact, it kills the current application, it replaces the files and it removes the temporary directory. However, the new executable is not executed.

I tried using exec, or opening a new xterm with the new application, or using disown or nohup, no luck in any case.

If I launch the script manually, it correctly calls the new executable. But if it is launched from within the old application, it does not work (or better: as I said only some operations are executed).

Here the script:
#!/bin/sh
kill -9 $(pidof main)
mv -f /periz/matlab/compiled-linux/archive/tmp/* /periz/matlab/compiled-linux/
rmdir /periz/matlab/compiled-linux/archive/tmp
/periz/matlab/compiled-linux/run_main.sh /usr/local/MATLAB/MATLAB_Compiler_Runtime/v83

What am I missing?

Many thanks!!!

Are you forking and calling setsid before launching the script? You're killing the parent session if you aren't, which I would guess is the problem.

Thanks for the answer.

I'm going to try it soon!

so, this is the case.
sorry that I'm still not well understanding how it works.
I modified the code as follows, and I tried to put "fork()" at positions (a) (b) and (c)

#!/bin/sh
(a)
kill -9 $(pidof main)
(b)
mv -f /periz/matlab/compiled-linux/archive/tmp/* /periz/matlab/compiled-linux/
rmdir /periz/matlab/compiled-linux/archive/tmp
(c)
setsid /periz/matlab/compiled-linux/run_main.sh /usr/local/MATLAB/MATLAB_Compiler_Runtime/v83

If I place it at (a), the old application will not be killed. If I place it at (b), the old code will not be replaced with the new one. Finally, if I place it at (c), the new application will not start

What is the ratio behind?
Thanks again

Actually, when I said before launching the script I meant in your application. It is the parent of the script. I don't program in matlab so don't know if it has the facilities to do this. The rational is to fork a process and then separate it from the parent process since you are going to kill the parent.

Thanks, I got it!
Now it works!