PR #1155: Install wheel assets when present and verify checksums

- Add download_and_install_wheel_asset() helper
- Prefer release wheel assets for non-Windows installs and verify SHA256
- Fallback to pip install when no wheel asset is available

Author: amilcarlucas

ardupilot_methodic_configurator/backend_internet.py

@@ -400,6 +400,54 @@ def _compute_sha256(path: str) -> str:
     return h.hexdigest()
 
 
+def download_and_install_wheel_asset(
+    download_url: str,
+    file_name: str,
+    expected_sha256: Optional[str] = None,
+    progress_callback: Optional[Callable[[float, str], None]] = None,
+) -> int:
+    """Download a wheel asset, verify SHA256 if provided, and install via pip."""
+    logging_info(_("Downloading wheel asset for installation..."))
+
+    try:
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            temp_path = os.path.join(temp_dir, file_name)
+
+            if not download_file_from_url(
+                download_url,
+                temp_path,
+                timeout=120,
+                progress_callback=progress_callback,
+            ):
+                logging_error(_("Failed to download wheel from %s"), download_url)
+                return 1
+
+            if expected_sha256:
+                actual = _compute_sha256(temp_path)
+                if actual.lower() != expected_sha256.lower():
+                    logging_error(_("SHA256 mismatch for wheel: expected %s got %s"), expected_sha256, actual)
+                    try:
+                        os.remove(temp_path)
+                    except OSError:
+                        pass
+                    return 1
+
+            # Install the wheel file
+            ret = subprocess.check_call([sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "--upgrade", temp_path])
+
+            if ret == 0 and progress_callback:
+                progress_callback(100.0, _("Installation complete"))
+
+            return ret
+
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+        logging_error(_("Wheel installation failed: %s"), e)
+        return 1
+    except Exception as e:  # pylint: disable=broad-exception-caught
+        logging_error(_("Unexpected error installing wheel: %s"), e)
+        return 1
+
+
 def verify_and_open_url(url: str) -> bool:
     """
     Verify if a URL is accessible and open it in the default web browser if successful.

ardupilot_methodic_configurator/data_model_software_updates.py

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 from ardupilot_methodic_configurator.backend_internet import (
     download_and_install_on_windows,
     download_and_install_pip_release,
+    download_and_install_wheel_asset,
     get_release_info,
     get_expected_sha256_from_release,
     webbrowser_open_url,
@@ -93,6 +94,21 @@ def _perform_download(self, latest_release: dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
                 return False
 
         try:
+            # Prefer wheel assets included in the GitHub release if available
+            wheel_assets = [a for a in latest_release.get("assets", []) if a.get("name", "").lower().endswith(".whl")]
+            if wheel_assets:
+                wheel = wheel_assets[0]
+                expected_sha256 = get_expected_sha256_from_release(latest_release, wheel["name"])
+                return (
+                    download_and_install_wheel_asset(
+                        download_url=wheel["browser_download_url"],
+                        file_name=wheel["name"],
+                        expected_sha256=expected_sha256,
+                        progress_callback=self.dialog.update_progress if self.dialog else None,
+                    )
+                    == 0
+                )
+
             return (
                 download_and_install_pip_release(progress_callback=self.dialog.update_progress if self.dialog else None) == 0
             )