Upgrade every Third-Party component at least once a year

[simonaubert_bd]

Hello all,

Like many softwares in the market,  Alteryx uses third-party components developed by other teams/providers/entities. This is a good thing since it means standard features for a very low price. However, these components are very regurarly upgraded (usually several times a year) while Alteryx doesn't upgrade it... this leads to lack of features, performance issues, bugs let uncorrected or worse, safety failures.

Among these third-party components :

- CURL (behind Download tool for API) : on Alteryx 7.15 (2006) while the current release is 8.0 (2023)
- Active Query Builder (behind Visual Query Builder) : several years behind

- R : on Alteryx 4.1.3 (march 2022)  while the next is 4.3 (april 2023)
- Python : on Alteryx 3.8.5 (2020) whil the current is 3.10 (april 2023)
-etc, etc....
-

of course, you can't upgrade each time but once a year seems a minimum...

Best regards,

Simon

[i_love_databases]

Correct me if I'm wrong but there is the Tableau API DLL

On Alteryx ; 0.0.0.1188889

on Tableau : 0.0.16638

https://www.tableau.com/support/releases/hyper-api/0.0.16638

[i_love_databases]

Oh and in C:\Program Files\Alteryx\bin we can fubd a lot of third party libraries such as Newtonsoft.Json.dll

Newtonsoft is now in Version 13.0.3 https://www.newtonsoft.com/json

while Alteryx is in 12.02

[matthew-goodrich]

Alteryx has increased our investment into the management and proactive upgrading of third party components. We use a number of open source components and are actively working to prioritize the libraries that need updating. I’m happy to report that work has already begun on at least two of the specific concerns you name below, while yet another is actually complete and will ship (along with various other updates) in the upcoming 2023.1 product release. We expect to see many more such delivered during H2 2023. Alteryx is committed to secure software development practices and will continue to upgrade 3rd-party software whenever security-related upgrades or modifications are advised by the upstream development organization or community consensus.

[simonaubert_bd]

Hello @matthew-goodrich  Good news, really hope to put on hand on this 2023.1, then. 

Best regards,

Simon

[simonaubert_bd]

I have also found

-zlib.dll https://www.zlib.net/ current 1.2.13 (october 2022) while Alteryx 1.2.11.0 (january 2017)

-Mindfusion Alteryx : 2014
-MiRaster Alteryx : 2019
-etc, etc..

@matthew-goodrich  On a related topic, that would be very cool to have a reference of all third parties, and their version for each Alteryx version (at least for new releases).  :)

[simonaubert_bd]

@matthew-goodrich  Hello
Yes some of these components have been updated
- Curl is now 7.86 (10/2022 new is 8.1.2 05/2023) https://curl.se/docs/releases.html
- openssl.exe 3.0.7.0 (11/2022 current is 3.1.1, 05/2023 https://www.openssl.org/news/newslog.html

- Tableau tableauhyperapi.dll is still 0.0.0.11889 (hyperapi_release_14.0.0.0) from 12/2020 while the last is v0.0.17360 (07/2023) https://tableau.github.io/hyper-db/docs/releases

- Active Query Builer (ActiveDatabaseSoftware.ActiveQueryBuilder2 aka Active Query Builder 2 WinForms Edition ) is 2.10.5.792 from 10/2016 https://www.activequerybuilder.com/history.html?sec=3-6&story=230 (full history is here https://www.activequerybuilder.com/history.html?sec=3-6

Last one is Active Query Builder 2 WinForms Edition v.2.10.27.838 04/2022 ===> we are 6 years behind !!
- python38.dll still in 3.8.5
- zlib.dll https://www.zlib.net/ while Alteryx still 1.2.11.0 (january 2017) current 1.2.13 (october 2022) 

- MindFusion (MindFusion.Common.dll) Alteryx 1.3.0.26556 I don't know the current

- MiRaster Alteryx : 5.0.0.1031 (2019).. this was a pitney bowes software dll, but I think this is now Precisely.. http://mapinfomarketplace.precisely.com/

- Newtonsoft Alteryx is in 12.02 while now in Version 13.0.3 https://www.newtonsoft.com/json
- R : on Alteryx 4.2.3 (03/2023) while the new is 4.3.1 (06/2023)

- Chromium chrome_elf.dll 97.0.4692.99 (01/2022 )
- Lua Lua.dll current 5.4.3.14 (03/2021) current is 5.4.6 (05/2023) https://www.lua.org/news.html
- iconv.dll https://www.gnupg.org/download/iconv.html Alteryx 1.9.0.0 current 1.9.1

- devage.core.dll going with SourceGrid.dll : 4.10 and 4.11 on Alteryx You can find the last release here https://sourceforge.net/projects/sourcegrid/files/sourcegrid/SourceGrid%204.20/

-libprotobuf.dll Protoco Buffers Alteryx 3.19.2.0
- d3dcompiler_47.dll 10.0.20348.1 from 2021

etc, etc, etc

Don't you think openly mention it in release notes and having a recap in the help would be nice??

Best regards,

Simon