Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
In order to stay up-to-date on Linux, you will need to update, and may opt to upgrade when major releases occur. You will probably also want to periodically update your applications. This month, we’ll be looking at how to do these essential maintenance functions.
Routine updates are handled through the Software Updater, which you can find in the Dash, or use the HUD – Heads-Up Display: • The Dash is launched by clicking the Ubuntu wheel icon (first on the Launcher). • The HUD can be invoked by pressing the ALT key on the keyboard.
Either way, do a search (‘UPD’ will probably be more than sufficient) and find the Software Updater (or, do it the hard, but admittedly more intuitive, way, and go to the Dash, click A at the bottom for Applications, click Installed, then scroll down to Software Updater) see bottom left image.
The Updater will look for updates in whatever repositories you have configured (for more on repositories, see Everyday Ubuntu in FCM #130). Once it completes, it shows you a list of found updates. You will probably want to accept all, but you can uncheck any as desired (see bottom image).
You will have to authenticate with your SuperUser, or administrative, credentials:
The Software Updater will then start downloading the available updates (see above).
You can also update through the command-line tool Apt-Get (see more, also in FCM #130’s Everyday Ubuntu column). In this instance, launch the Terminal and the command will be:
sudo apt-get update
Sudo, remember, is SuperUser DO, used to allow a ‘normal’ user to temporarily act as an administrator, or ‘SuperUser’. You may want to get a shirt with a big red ‘S’ on it for the times when you feel like a Super User, not that I would EVER do anything that silly…. Anyway, the ‘apt-get update’ does just what it looks like: installs updates. You can also use apt-get with a ‘-f’ at the end to tell apt-get to ‘fix’ any broken applications:
sudo apt-get -f install
(This command may remove partially installed or broken applications, so beware.)
You may find yourself wanting to upgrade to the shiny new version of Ubuntu from time to time, and that is a lot easier than it used to be. Click on the Gear icon on the top-right of your screen and go to System Settings, then click Software and Updates. Click the Updates tab. If the option for ‘Notify me of a new Ubuntu version’ (at the bottom) is set to anything but ‘for any new version’, change it to just that, ‘for any new version’. Close and the Software Updater should pop up a message if a version is available that’s newer than the one you are currently using. Click ‘Upgrade’ to start the in-place upgrade process, then go make a sandwich while you wait to get the shiny new Ubuntu Astonishing Anteater, or Spectacular Spider-Monkey, or whatever Adjective Animal it is this go-round. After a while, you’ll be back in business, but with whatever new features Canonical blessed us with in the newest release.
Sometimes the Software Updater won’t find or acknowledge the available upgrades, but not to fear – the Command-Line can come to our rescue once more. Go to a Terminal window and type in:
sudo apt-get upgrades
then type in your credentials and the upgrade should start downloading and installing.
APT-GET Revisited
Everyday Ubuntu correspondent Marc Grossé, from France, offers an interesting tip on using APT-GET: You can concatenate multiple arguments after the ‘install’ switch. Marc uses this as a way to easily reinstall multiple applications with a single command when reinstalling Linux or installing it on a new machine. You can open the Linux text editor and type in the following:
sudo apt-get install njam synaptic burgerspace dosbox
replacing the string ‘njam synaptic burgerspace dosbox’ with a list of the applications you use, with spaces between each. Save the file. Then, when ready to reinstall all at once, open the text editor again, highlight the text, and go to Edit – Copy. Now open the Terminal and use Edit – Paste to put the string in. Hit ENTER and Linux will start installing the applications without having to type the ‘sudo apt-get install’ part repeatedly. Save the file as a text file and you can put it on a removable media drive and transfer it for use on a newly set up machine, as well. Thanks to Marc for a handy time-saving tip!
Next time: Getting to know the Dash.
I invite feedback on easier/better ways to do things. Commentary and feedback are heartily encouraged and appreciated, at acer11kubuntu@gmail.com.