4 ms·

My one mis-understanding for Linux is .. Let's say Firefox 3 has just come out. It is available for Linux as source build, but when it comes to packages for Ub

My one mis-understanding for Linux is .. Let's say Firefox 3 has just come out. It is available for Linux as source build, but when it comes to packages for Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, or whatever else that comes in depending on the distro correct? I know for example Gentoo is for the hardcores who decide to build everything from source but I do not have a true understanding of how packages in Linux work across distro's .. can anyone enlighten me on that?

jonny_noog 18y ago
The short answer is that packages don't work across distros. Or perhaps I could say they shouldn't be expected to work across distros. The longer answer is that in situations where one distro has descended from another (probably the most well know example being Ubuntu descending from Debian) it is possible to use an Ubuntu package on Debian or vice versa, I've done it. But you should have a really good reason to do this and have done your homework (I can only think of one occasion where I did have a good enough reason to do this, and it didn't last long). This is possible (though not recommended) because all the distros that descend from Debian use the package management system derived from Debian also, which is incidentally the best one, IMO. If you wish to know more about what makes it the best and the policy that guides how packages move through the different Debian releases (Experimental, Unstable, Testing and Stable), check out this link: http://newpeople.debian.org/~srivasta/talks/why_debian/talk.html http://newpeople.debian.org/~srivasta/talks/why_debian/talk.... Particularly, you could read the section titled "Quality of implementation". I assume something similar would apply to Red Hat and all the distros that descend from it for example... Their package management policy just doesn't work as well is all. :)
- truebosko 18y ago
  Thanks both of you for the great answers, it makes a more sense now.
indiejade 18y ago
Some would have a "Firefox3" option in their respective repository or package manager which makes the update very very easy (APT/YUM/RPM). These allow you to check the box and press "update". PCLinuxOS does this, for this specific upgrade, if I remember correctly (Firefox2 -> 3). Others that require a little more work let you just download the tar.bz2 file, decompress via command-line it in the appropriate directory. But sometimes it takes a bit of reading the documentation to understand how to get the symbolic links and such launching the correct instance of the browser. Actually, I don't know if I should be attempting to answer your question when I'm so tired. Hope that makes sense.

jonny_noog 18y ago

The short answer is that packages don't work across distros. Or perhaps I could say they shouldn't be expected to work across distros. The longer answer is that in situations where one distro has descended from another (probably the most well know example being Ubuntu descending from Debian) it is possible to use an Ubuntu package on Debian or vice versa, I've done it. But you should have a really good reason to do this and have done your homework (I can only think of one occasion where I did have a good enough reason to do this, and it didn't last long). This is possible (though not recommended) because all the distros that descend from Debian use the package management system derived from Debian also, which is incidentally the best one, IMO. If you wish to know more about what makes it the best and the policy that guides how packages move through the different Debian releases (Experimental, Unstable, Testing and Stable), check out this link: http://newpeople.debian.org/~srivasta/talks/why_debian/talk.html http://newpeople.debian.org/~srivasta/talks/why_debian/talk.... Particularly, you could read the section titled "Quality of implementation". I assume something similar would apply to Red Hat and all the distros that descend from it for example... Their package management policy just doesn't work as well is all. :)

truebosko 18y ago
Thanks both of you for the great answers, it makes a more sense now.

indiejade 18y ago

Some would have a "Firefox3" option in their respective repository or package manager which makes the update very very easy (APT/YUM/RPM). These allow you to check the box and press "update". PCLinuxOS does this, for this specific upgrade, if I remember correctly (Firefox2 -> 3). Others that require a little more work let you just download the tar.bz2 file, decompress via command-line it in the appropriate directory. But sometimes it takes a bit of reading the documentation to understand how to get the symbolic links and such launching the correct instance of the browser. Actually, I don't know if I should be attempting to answer your question when I'm so tired. Hope that makes sense.