An installation of an application program is updated by use of a stored configuration
of the application program corresponding to a particular user of the local application.
In response to a user request, a determination is made that the stored configuration
corresponds to the requesting user. The stored configuration is checked to determine
if any items described in the stored configuration have been updated. If an item
has been updated, then the updated item is retrieved, and the application program
is built with the updated item. This stored configuration may also be encrypted
and stored in a manifest file which may be decrypted to produce a decrypted configuration
responsive to a user authentication. The decrypted configuration is checked to
determine if any items described in the decrypted configuration have been updated.
If an item has been updated, then the updated item is retrieved, and the application
program is built with the updated item. Either or both of the manifest file and
updated item may be stored on and downloaded from a remote data processing system.