How to have a Local Install have Precedence Over a System Wide Install?

haziz · 01-05-2012, 10:39 AM

I have a shell account on a Linux server (running Ubuntu 8.04) with user level permissions (but no root priveleges). The system has Git 1.5.x installed. I wish to run a more current version of git. I can compile from source and install in my home directory but would like the git commands to invoke my local, more current install, rather than the older system wide installation of Git.

How do I go about doing this?

Thanks.

weibullguy · 01-05-2012, 10:51 AM

Here is how I do it...

1. Create the directory $HOME/MySystem
2. Add the following to my $HOME/.bashrc

Code:

if[ -d $HOME/MySystem ]; then
    PATH="$HOME/MySystem/bin:$HOME/MySystem/usr/bin:$PATH"
    export PATH
fi

3. When building software, pass --prefix=$HOME/MySystem/usr to the configure script.

Step 2 ensures the version in $HOME/MySystem will be found before the system-wide version. Step 3 will need to be modified as necessary depending on whether the package uses autotools, cmake, etc.

This is also how I manage Python and Perl modules. When I use easy_install or pip to install Python modules/packages they go to $HOME/MySystem/usr/lib64/python2.7/. Similarly for using CPAN to install Perl modules.

TobiSGD · 01-05-2012, 10:53 AM

Assuming that you are using Bash as shell (which should be standard on 8.04), just edit the file ~/.bashrc and edit the PATH variable in it, so that the path to the directory with the new git in it stands in front. Logout and in again after that. Now the system will search for programs you invoke in that path first and will find the newer git and use it.

EDIT: weibullguy's approach looks better.