newest stable KDE in openSUSE 11.4 - what am I doing wrong?

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1

Hi,

I need some hints on how to learn the package and repository system in openSUSE. Currently I have some issues with “Suzy” and I think it is because of missing understanding and knowledge on my side. The whole story is a bit longer, so here it goes:

I have installed openSUSE 11.4 which came originally with KDE 4.6.0. In order to get some of the bugfixes (there are some bugs which annoy me…) I added the repos from which one can get the newest stable KDE release:

http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Release:/46/openSUSE_11.4

http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Extra/KDE_Release_46_openSUSE_11.4/

another additional repo, I have activated is Packman.

I then did a zypper dup and everything was installed. But in the time after that, I noticed that the system got shaky. It was not the base system, but applications like Konqueror, Kontact and Amarok where crashing. Before: not a single crash occured. During all the updates in the meantime, I always got the latest and greatest from the additional KDE repos, but I also noticed that there always were some packages which were held back. No clue, why…

So I rolled back to KDE 4.6.0 by deleting the additional repos and switching the packages to the standard repos and Packman.
But there they were again: the annoying usability bugs…

So I tried another one: adding the KDE repos again, putting the priority to 90 (instead of 99) and during switching the packages to these repos, I checked all “red” packages in YaST and made sure that the newer version stays as it is.

Sidenote: it is really confusing for me that in the KDE-repos, there are sometimes older packages than in the standard openSUSE update repos, but in openSUSE standard is still KDE 4.6.0… how can that be?

So now it looks like that it is a bit better, no crashes so far, but I am not really sure if this way is the right one to go.

I realised that I still have the old Kubuntu way of thinking: adding the Launchpad repo for the newest KDE release, hitting sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, let it run, it makes sure that everything jumps to the latest and greatest… and it always gets the new stuff automatically… thats it.

So how is getting the newest KDE version done in openSUSE? How do I make sure, that I have compatible packages, which fullfill the dependencies of each other, so that the system is as stable as possible? How do I need to manage the software repositories so that there will be no mix-up in between the packages which can cause stability issues?

Thanks & regards
Steffen

2

The 2 repos you list should be fine.

Look at this
Upgrade kde4.6>

I have all my repos at 99

3

I saw that I did not switch the packages back to Packman after I updated from the KDE repos. So this might be the reason…

To get a better understanding: when packages are switched to Packman, does the system then still update to the newest packages, no matter from which repo, or is there an algorythm (or something like that) which says for example: “when this package xyz is updated, it needs to have the newer version of package abc”? Or: “when package xyz is updated, it needs to have the older version of abc”? → confusing for me: what is when there are two packages updated and one of them needs the newer version of package abc and the other one the older version of package abc?

So it seems like that I have done one mistake, but this is corrected now. If I still feel like “Suzy is shaky” where should I have a look?

4

I have done all 4.6.x upgrades from the same repos without problems. In Yast sotware manager I go to the repositories tab, select the the /Release:/46… repo in the list, right-click on the package list and choose All in this list>Update if newer version available. The I switch to the Extra repo and do the same.

IINM only when upgrading from the original version (4.6.0) I had to clear some conflicts by hand, mostly regarding vendor switch, never breaking any dependencies.

I’ve done this in oS 11.3 and 11.4, both 64 bits.

5

This is my practice too
Well sort of, because once the switch has been made, even if you go to ‘system’ in repo view and do this:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/Software%20Management/SM3.png
It will update every packages showing blue, whilst still holding true to your earlier switches.

Take k3b as an example:
k3b is in R46 and when you apply the switch on R46 it is switched to that repo, but once you switch to Packman, k3b is switched back to Packman.
Of course there are other packages like this, but you get the idea.
So effectively the Packman switch cancels out the switch on any package that is in R46 but also in Packman (like k3b)

From time to time dependency questions will be presented to you as the developers change the build in line with development. So my advice is, if you try to update and you get new questions, abort and wait. Keep an eye on the forum for comments or ask a question.

6

So true. I’m not so bold as to do a system update, much less an upgrade :). Usually I do this by repo, so it’s easier (for me) do understand what is happening. the system listing always have a few blue (and red) packages, but I don’t go there… I got in the habit of giving a higher priority (smaller number) to packman, and it has worked well most of the time.

But these things are very dynamic - which is not bad. For example today I upgraded from KDE 4.6.3 to 4.6.4 in a laptop, and had a conflict due to networkmanager changing from svn to git version, but Yast gave me an option (switch to git) without breaking any dependencies, and it worked quite well - it even brought in the widget, much better than the previous knetworkmanager info window, able to show all nearby access points at the touch of one button - and very nicely formatted too. KDE is shaping up great, indeed.

7

so it seems like that I don´t do anything wrong. I do all the update stuff the same way. The only fault which was in my update process, was that I did not switch back to Packman, after the KDE packages were updated.

So I have corrected that. I got two messages: about the older Linphone package, and about a Mesa 32 bit package, which was required by Bibble (which I have installed by hand). I have choosen: “stay with the old package” in both cases.

Now it feels like that the system does work quite well. Before I always had crashes in Amarok when switching between radio streams, Konqueror crashing randomly, Kmail crashing while fetching mails over IMAP… and so on. Everything KDE related, nothing wrong with the underlying system.

8

“stay with the old package”
Correct

I’m using 4.6.0 on my main system, it’s just more stable