[PLUG] More RH8 Trouble

[Russ Johnson]

At 06:17 AM 1/28/2003 -0800, you wrote:
>   To satisfy my curiosity, please tell me why any linux OS upgrade
>(regardless of distribution) should break installed -- end user -- software?

As you pointed out, incompatible library versions is the first thing I 
think about.

>   In my naivety I believe that if I install all my software in /usr/local or
>/opt then config files should be left untouched by the OS upgrade and only
>incompatible library versions would cause problems if the old versions are
>removed.

In theory, yes. But it all depends on where the program is storing said 
config files. Yes, it should be /opt/etc or /usr/local/etc, but sometimes 
they still store this stuff in /etc. This is also why a full backup is 
always recommended prior to any changes to your system. Given the vast 
complexity of any system, and the fact that it's impossible for a 
programmer to account for ALL contingencies, a backup becomes a necessity. 
On the surface, it appears that all they need to do is ignore /opt and 
/usr/local, but there may be cases where that's not possible.

>   I, too, had major problems with config files being overwritten without my
>knowledge or permission when I upgraded from RH 6.2 to 7.3. Am I wrong in
>thinking that this shouldn't happen? What am I missing here?

Well, if the package manager isn't used to install the "user" software, 
then it's not going to know about the package during the upgrade. Very 
rarely do I install things without the package manager. Even a tarball of 
source can be compiled into an RPM for installation. It's a little more 
work, but it saves in the long run when you upgrade.

Just my thoughts... YMMV and TIMTOWTDI


Russ Johnson
Dimension 7/Stargate Online
http://www.dimstar.net

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