Im a bit unclear on keeping opensuse up to date. I know there were several threads discussing same but I still am a bit in the dark
As far as I can tell there are at least 3 ways (using gui):
(1) Yast2 Software Management (eg from Yast, or Kickoff:System-Configuration-Install/Remove Software)
eg Menu: Package - All packages - Update if newer version available
(2) Online Update (eg from Yast)
eg Menu: Package - All packages - Update if newer version available
(3) Apper (eg from Kickoff Menu: System-Configuration-Apper(Software Management, or Autostart-System Tray) - Updates
I also recall seeing “search in web” (webpin?), but I cant seem to find it now…maybe its been recently removed. I also seem to recall it never finding anything.
Can anybody please explain clearly why there are these different ways of updating, what their relative merits are
(, and possibly how they relate to using say zypper on the command line).
An “official” openSUSE release has two repos: OSS and non-OSS with the realeased software (we leave here the debug and source repos of the same out of the discussion). These will not change after the version is released.
Until 12.2 there was one Update repo. With 12.2 there are two Update repos, one for OSS and a seperate for non-OSS (you forgot to tell what version you have, thus this extra info). In the Update repo(s) are published the Security and Recommened updates. We advice you to install these on a regular base (I do it once week, other do it once a month or from the moment they are there). You can do this using
zypper patch
or YaST > Software > Online Update. In the last case it is easy to see what is there and you can (un)check what you want install or postpone to a later time (I can e.g. imagine that you want to postpone a kernel update because it requires a reboot and that is not allways convenient).
It can also be done using PackageKit, but I do not use it (not installed here), thus I can not explain here.
When you use also other repos, like Packman, they do not have the Update repo. The problem here is that they publish new versions independent of the fact if they patch a security risk or just a misspelling of a menu item. You can install these newer version with
codezypper up
where you can add that you want to do that for a specific repo, see the man page).
Or use Yast > Software > Software Managent. I use the Repositories view (from the View button or from the tab list) and then right click > Update if a newer version ..... But you can also do this for all repos at once.
Again, I do not know how this works in PackageKit.
Earlier (somewhere in the 10 and/or first 11 versions) there was an Update applet that warned you as a GUI user that there were updates in the Update repo. That does not exist anymore.
There now is the Apper applet that warns you if there is a newer version of any software in any of your repos (which is of course NOT the same as before). You can then start from Apper to install them. But as Apper works through PackageKit I can again give you no details.
YaST > Software and zypper use the same library end thus are only user interfaces to the same functionality. I do not know about PackageKit. but I guess it also uses that library.
HTH
Edit: Webpin is to find software packages (and their repos) you do not have until now. Same for http://software.opensuse.org/search
On 2013-02-12 06:56, vazhavandan wrote:
>
> p8mode;2526290 Wrote:
>> Hello.
>>
>> I also recall seeing “search in web” (webpin?), but I cant seem to find
>> it now…maybe its been recently removed. I also seem to recall it never
>> finding anything.
>>
>> Thanks very much in advance.
> webpin module was there in YaST but is now removed
> old web based webpin :- http://packages.opensuse-community.org/
There is a new webpin and it works.
Vendor : obs://build.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Tools
Description :
Command-line client for the openSUSE Package Search web service
commonly known as "webpin": http://webpinstant.com/
But it is broken again. Webpin CLI does not find itself