Slackware-Current: Updating question
 

When I decide to update slackware-current, I usually back up, grab the iso, upgrade the individual package dirs without --reinstall or --install-new, because that allows me to leave out a lot of bloat I don't really need or have room for. Then I sort the other stuff I have on disk if it feels put out.

I have the current iso, and notice everything is recompiled against Python 3, so the age of python 2 seems passed.

With the exception of python2 will that scheme work this time round? I have gazillions of python modules for various bits & pieces, and can expect trouble there, although I think most are on python3 or appimage.

i just updated going from current September release by Alien Bob( kernel 4.19.75) to the status of about 3 days ago ( kernel 5.4.12)
I just followed Alien Bobs article https://docs.slackware.com/howtos:sl...:systemupgrade

which uses slackpkg to get everything up to date ,by doing manual install of new kernel and appropriate blacklisting i'm now on 5.4.12 and have both python3 for slkpg and others:

python-2.7.17-x86_64-2
python-appdirs-1.4.3-x86_64-4
python-certifi-2019.11.28-x86_64-2
python-chardet-3.0.4-x86_64-4
python-distro-1.4.0-x86_64-1
python-docutils-0.16-x86_64-1
python-idna-2.8-x86_64-3
python-notify2-0.3.1-x86_64-4
python-packaging-20.0-x86_64-1
python-pillow-7.0.0-x86_64-1
python-pip-19.3.1-x86_64-2
python-ply-3.11-x86_64-2
python-pygments-2.5.2-x86_64-1
python-requests-2.22.0-x86_64-2
python-sane-2.8.3-x86_64-4
python-setuptools-45.0.0-x86_64-1
python-six-1.13.0-x86_64-2
python-urllib3-1.25.7-x86_64-1_SBo
python-urllib3-1.25.7-x86_64-2
python3-3.7.2-x86_64-1_SBo
python3-PyQt5-5.9.2-x86_64-1ponce


no apparent clash and by blacklisting _Sbo, ponce ,Alien packages they all still work

A look at Current CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT will show that many 14.2 packages have been replaced by new packages. Do you intend to go manually through the list of added/removed packages? Maybe that's what you implied by:
Like captain_sensible, I would also recommend using slackpkg to manage the upgrade.

The only time I ever needed to use a backup was when I made the mistake of using slackpkg some years back. I know everyone swears by it. I ended up swearing at it. Maybe I'll try it again … I'll update the backup first.

I have a warm cosy feeling of laziness about the pc and no real need to update. But if I leave it too long, there's a crash landing in the new install, and I've real headaches and have to remember how I got things set up the way I did.

EDIT: I'm on current of July 2019. 14.2 is way back - 2015? I have some graphic stuff I compiled, or otherwise laid hold of, wine, a cad package and some medical viewers. That's the 'other stuff'

if read Alien Bob article to the letter i don't see any problems. I went like a dream for me.

Two key elements are going to

https://mirror.slackbuilds.org/slack...lackware64/ap/

downloading and installing manually

# installpkg kernel-firmware-20200114_9c340bd-noarch-1.txz
#installpkg kernel-generic-5.4.12-x86_64-1.txz
#installpkg kernel-modules-5.4.12-x86_64-1.txz
# upgradepkg mkinitrd-1.4.11-x86_64-14.txz

I also latest slackpkg from mirrors and did that manually

then having blacklist entries /etc/slackpkg/blacklist

by making sure they are un-commented

something like:kernel-generic
kernel-generic-smp
kernel-huge
kernel-huge-smp
kernel-modules
kernel-modules-smp
kernel-firmware
mkinitrd

if your psychic powers are weak you might not appreciate this in /etc/slackpkg/blacklist:

# Automated upgrade of kernel packages aren't a good idea (and you need to
# run "lilo" after upgrade). If you think the same, uncomment the lines
# below



as Alien explains slackpkg-upgrade will wipe out old kernels and you haven't set up new ones...so if something goes wrong your knackered. Thats the first gotcha i was aware of .


I've got various 3rd party packages that i didn't want touched so i added them as well

[0-9]+_SBo
[0-9]+alien
[0-9]+ponce
[0-9]+slonly



I found packages installed using slpkg and some others untouched and still working

Yes, kind of Alien Bob to hide away that article there :-P.

Overall, I feel my computer has the right to make me look a twit if I act the twit. I'm temporarily less tolerant, however when it takes me up on the offer!

Well, the computer didn't die this time with slackpkg. It sort of made it through.

I'm now sorting through the rather large number of alien, SBo, _slonly and even the occasional ponce build with my own compiles still to do.

Now, riddle me this: I ran latest_firefox.sh, and it landed me with firefox-72.0.2.Now that has a profile change; it made a new profile and you have to create and sign in to your firefox account to get the old one back. That's a pain. I 'upgraded' again, and am now back on firefox-66.0.2.

Is there a way of getting around this without making a firefox account?

I never used firefox account as this is against my privacy policy. Still I share ff profile between all linux distros and BSDs.

your profile is located in /home/user/.mozille/filrefox/xxxxxx/prefs.js
your bookmarks have to be exported from old firefox.

You will have to re-install all add-ons though.

1) install new ff
2) run in once to create a new folder in
/home/user/.mozille/filrefox/yyyy/
3)close ff (you have to close ff otherwise copied prefs.js will be overrwritten)
copy
/home/user/.mozille/filrefox/xxxxxx/prefs.js to /home/user/.mozille/filrefox/yyyy/
4) start ff impoer booksmarks from wherewer you made backup, install add-ons

Use slackroll instead. I've been doing that on almost all of my systems. (I've got one still using slackpkg; I'll end up converting it as well.)

It even warns you that you might be about to do something stupid. Of course, you can still do the stupid thing if you wish.


slackpkg has more convenient handling of .new files than slackroll; slackroll asks if you want to modify every touched config file, even if you've never modified it. I realize that's the safest thing to do, but it can be tiresome to answer with "No, go to the next thing".

@Aeterna: Thanks very much for the detailed explanation. That sounds like a carefully worked out plan. I'll do that, although palemoon has come on uncommonly well, and looks like it is a viable alternative to ff without all those PITA changes that firefox keeps implementing. I sometimes wonnder what the ff devs are smoking.

@Richard Cranium: Interesting. Have you a link for slackroll?

I've been lazy about config files and updates in the past. This time, I'm going the whole way. I intend to update (done), update compat32(done) update all slackbuilds, AppImages, _slonly & ponce packages, and personal compiles (yet to do). There's actually only one slonly, one ponce package, and most of my contributions are repackaged binaries, iirc. But I have 6 SBos. Then I've done the lot.
For the config files, I haven't updated in yonks, So I overwrote them all, saving the old ones as .orig. Several things broke, but with the exception of rc.inet1, I just fixed them, or replaced the old hack with a new hack.

This should have been on a new thread although a simple search will find your answer.


Run Program - firefox -p
Choose a default-release.

type about:profiles into the address bar and choose your default profile.
What I did was copy and rename one so that it has my initials and that is the one I choose.

EDIT - Why a smilie is in my reply I haven't a clue and what to do about it is a mystery

@Gordie: yes, it should be another thread. You've got me on a technicality.

The smilie is in your post because this site interprets ':' followed by'p' as a smilie.
The profiles worked out kinda messy but I got in eventually. Copied the old profile in; renamed it to the default-release in the current firefox directory, and chose it.

@Aeterna: I hadn't exported the bookmarks so I had to go round thye houses, restoring the last backup, but they're 99.95% there.

Thanks. I'll give it a look.

It may not be your cup of tea; it does, however, provide a simple and safe mechanism for kernel upgrades and it recognizes that some package upgrades really need to happen first and will warn you about that.

The interface is command-line driven; no menus (unlike slackpkg). That perhaps could be fixed with GitHub pull requests or a fork.

I don't think that I would attempt to keep this -current laptop up to date without it.