Information processing apparatus, terminal system, storage medium having stored therein information processing program, and method of obtaining update data for efficiently updating data for an application

A terminal system configured to communicate with a server via a network, comprising:

• a processing system having at least one processor, the processing system configured to:
• obtain update information from the server at a first timing independent of and prior to a second timing, wherein the second timing is in response to an issuance of an instruction to start at least one application stored in a storage device accessible by the processing system, and wherein the obtained update information indicates a presence of an update on the server for the at least one application stored in the storage device, and save the obtained update information in the storage device;
• determine for the at least one application stored in the storage device whether there is an update present on the server at the second timing based on the saved update information, wherein the second timing is independent of and after the first timing;
• obtain from the server update data used for updating the at least one application responsive to the processing system determining that the update is present;
• save the obtained update data in the storage device;
• update the at least one application using the saved update data;
• and
• start the at least one application.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus configured to communicate with a server via network, the information processing program causing the computer to:

• obtain update information from the server at a first timing independent of and prior to a second timing, wherein the second timing is in response to an issuance of an instruction to start at least one application stored in a storage device accessible by the information processing apparatus, and wherein the obtained update information indicates a presence of an update on the server for the at least one application stored in the storage device, and save the obtained update information in the storage device;
• determine for the at least one application stored in the storage device whether there is an update present on the server at the second timing based on the saved update information, wherein the second timing is independent of and after the first timing;
• obtain from the server update data used for updating the at least one application responsive to the information processing apparatus determining that the update is present;
• save the obtained update data in the storage device;
• update the at least one application using the saved update data;
• and
• start the at least one application.

A method of obtaining update data for an application to be executed in a terminal system configured to communicate with a server via a network, the method comprising:

• obtaining update information from the server at a first timing independent of and prior to a second timing, wherein the second timing is in response to an issuance of an instruction to start at least one application stored in a storage device accessible by the terminal system, and wherein the obtained update information indicates a presence of an update on the server for the at least one application stored in the storage device, and saving the obtained update information in the storage device;
• determining for the at least one application stored in the storage device whether there is an update present on the server at the second timing based on the saved update information, wherein the second timing is independent of and after the first timing;
• obtaining from the server update data used for updating the at least one application responsive to the terminal system determining that the update is present;
• saving the obtained update data in the storage device;
• updating the at least one application using the saved update data;
• and
• starting the at least one application.