I’m not sure how plausible this idea is but I’ve seen it implemented in another PHP program that uses modules.   On this other program in the module info array the script used a combination of JavaScript and PHP to alert site A’s administrator if a newer version of a module was available on the official download site (site B).  Basically the script would compare the version # on site A with the version # on the official site, site B, and if the version # on Site B was greater than the version # on site A the script would prompt site A’s administrator to download the newer version. I was thinking you could add something like this to the module info array:


The script could check the version # that’s stored in the text file on Site B.  (This file could/should be separate from the zip archive.) Then if the version # in Site B’s text file is greater than your version # it would prompt you to download the newest version using the entry in:


Does this sound like a useful suggestion?  I could possibly work on it myself, but I’m  sure others would do a better job, and I need feedback to know if anyone wants this option besides myself?  

I already wrote a module to do this (Module Updater).  It doesn't automatically update modules for you, since that was a huge pain in the ass (permissions wise, not to mention security), but it will tell you when a module is out of date and let you check it off as "upgraded".