Hello,everyone!

Background: I am using RedHat 8 on my server.As you all might know,the automatic RedHat update is no longer provided to RedHat 8-9 user.I am concerning that some of the software is getting older and in need of upgrade.However,I have some questions regarding upgrade...

Question:

1.If I found a software (e.g. PHP) after I searched the web,but it is for RedHat 9.Can I download and use it on my server(RedHat 8)?

2.Kernel problem. I acknowledged that my kernel is pretty old.If I want to upgrade,is there any risk after I installed it?

3.Final question but maybe stupid question: Will my old setting in the software remain the same after I upgraded this software?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

"1.If I found a software (e.g. PHP) after I searched the web,but it is for RedHat 9.Can I download and use it on my server(RedHat 8)?"

You should install packages that have been compiled on the same version of gcc as you have installed. If you cannot find a rpm compiled on your version of gcc then you should download source and install that.

"2.Kernel problem. I acknowledged that my kernel is pretty old.If I want to upgrade,is there any risk after I installed it?"

Kernels are backward compatible so you should not have any compatibility problems using a newer kernel than came with your distribution. I have done this many times. You usually have stability problems with a new kernel so you should dual boot the 2 kernels until the new kernel is stable.

"Will my old setting in the software remain the same after I upgraded this software?"

As a general rule yes. The exceptions are when there are changes to software configuration files such as the radical changes between Gnome 1.x and Gnome 2.x.

Once you learn how to maintain Red Hat 8 without using Red Hat's support then you will become distribution independent. Your next upgrade could be made with any rpm based distribution (Fedora, Mandrake, RedHat, and SuSE) with equal ease and self confidence.


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Steve Stites

Thanks for your reply,jailbait.

My first question is how do I know the gcc version which the rpm is compiled?My computer is using gcc 3.2.7.If so,is that mean i can download and install a rpm package which is gcc 3.2.7 compiled no matter it is for Fedora core 1?

Thanks.

"If so,is that mean i can download and install a rpm package which is gcc 3.2.7 compiled no matter it is for Fedora core 1?"

As a general rule, yes. If the rpm is created on SuSE you may also have the problem that the file structure is different. SuSE places all of the window managers (Gnome, KDE, etc.) in /opt and Fedora, Mandrake, and Red Hat place them in /usr. But yes, I have used Red Hat and Mandrake rpms on SuSE. I haven't tried SuSE or Mandrake on Fedora since I switched to Fedora.

As to gcc versions, as a general rule, something compiled on an earlier version of gcc than you are using will probably work on your system. Something compiled on a later version of gcc might work on your system.

In the last year I have gotten away from "foriegn" rpms because I have started using checkinstall.

http://asic-linux.com.mx/~izto/checkinstall/

Checkinstall is a way to change a tarball into a rpm. Normally you compile a tarball with:
./configure
make
make install

With checkinstall the procedure becomes:
./configure
make
checkinstall

and checkinstall creates a rpm package for you. Then you install the rpm package and it appears in your rpm database.

I have used rpm to create several rpm packages which do not come with Fedora:

http://users.rcn.com/srstites/rpm.we...edora.rpm.html

Note that when I created kdeadmin I had to use ./configure parameters to set up the compile the Fedora way instead of the standard way that is used by SuSE.

These rpms work on Fedora and Red Hat 9. They might work on Red Hat 8. Maybe so, maybe not. But the point is that you can download the source tarball from the developer's web site, compile the programs on your own system, and use checkinstall to create a rpm that is absolutely compatible with your system. Once you start doing this you are absolutely independent of Red Hat. You can read Linux Today every day to keep up with security updates and download the tarballs and install them yourself.

http://linuxtoday.com/

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Steve Stites

Thanks for your reply again,jailbait.

However,I just wanna know how to get the rpm's gcc compiled version??That's all I wanna know.I appreciate your suggestion that you may build your own rpm.But to me,I am a newbie and I would like to use a "Get ready" rpm.So,it's crucial to me if I know what's the rpm's gcc version.

Thanks for your invaluable information for me that I've never known.

"I just wanna know how to get the rpm's gcc compiled version?"

I don't think that the rpm contains the gcc version number. What it should contain is the glibc version dependency. For example you can do:
rpm -qRp /pathname/package.rpm
and rpm will tell you what packages the rpm depends on. Each version of gcc works with a specific glibc. So if the package will work with your version of glibc then it was compiled on the same version of gcc that you are using.

-----------------------------
Steve Stites

Hello.I'm back again.

Today,I tried to upgrade my php from version 4.2.2-8 to 4.2.2-17 (RedHat 9 version).However,it prompted me that I need libcryto.so & libssl.so.How can I get those?

Thanks a lot.

"Today,I tried to upgrade my php from version 4.2.2-8 to 4.2.2-17 (RedHat 9 version).However,it prompted me that I need libcryto.so & libssl.so.How can I get those?"

First you have to find out what package(s) provides libssl.so and libcrypto.so. These are probably in /usr/lib. So for libssl do:
find /usr/lib -iname "*libssl*"
Suppose that you find it in /usr/lib/libssl.so. Then you find out what package provides /usr/lib/libssl.so with:
rpm -q --whatprovides /usr/lib/libssl.so
This will tell you what rpm package that you have installed provided the file /usr/lib/libssl.so. Then go to wherever you got php version 4.2.2-17 and download the equivalent version of the package that provides libssl.so.

Similarly for libcrypto.so.


___________________________________
Be prepared. Create a LifeBoat CD.
http://users.rcn.com/srstites/LifeB....home.page.html

Steve Stites