Arch Linux

hexdump

Member

Registered: 2023-10-04

Posts: 8

A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

Hi,

I have been reading through the system maintenance wiki page and seeing some youtube videos about it and there's something that confuses me.

Everyone says that before updating the system it is a good idea to go to arch linux news site and see if there's something special about the updates. If it needs any manual intervention, etc.

Today, I tried to update my system with pacman -Syyu and some updates shown (nvidia drivers, some qt update libraries and something else I can't remember). So, my question is... why wheren't these updates on the arch news page? May I suppose that if there's nothing new in the news page the updates I am getting are safe to install?

Thanks in advance

Last edited by hexdump (2023-10-08 14:23:23)

graysky

Wiki Maintainer

From: :wq

Registered: 2008-12-01

Posts: 10,731

Website

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

News is typically for particular updates that require user intervention or the like.  Most of the time updating packages doesn't need any input from you.  You are expected to diff configs yourself and pacman will create ,pacnew files in such cases.  See the wiki for more.

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AUR packages • Zsh and other configs

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,643

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

Can I ask why you are using -syyu?  Someone is promoting the terrible advice of using two 'y's and I am trying to figure out who that is.

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Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
The shortest way to ruin a country is to give power to demagogues.— Dionysius of Halicarnassus
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How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

dogknowsnx

Guest

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

Someone is promoting the terrible advice of using two 'y's and I am trying to figure out who that is.

You'll be fighting windmills. There are countless arch-based distros (slight exaggeration), and browsing (some of) those forums will make your hair stand on end...

@hexdump sorry for being kind of off-topic (but I assume you know what I'm talking about...)

EDIT: @hexdump I didn't mean to butcher your name

Last edited by dogknowsnx (2023-10-08 15:58:23)

c00ter

Member

From: Alaskan in Washington State

Registered: 2014-08-28

Posts: 421

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

There are updates in Arch Linux daily. Count on it. Sometimes a large number. The News are typically where user-intervention is needed, migrations or as when our friend @jonathon passed. (May he rest in peace.)

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UNIX was not designed to stop you from doing stupid things, because that would also stop you from doing clever things. -- Doug Gwyn

kermit63

Member

Registered: 2018-07-04

Posts: 371

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

Can I ask why you are using -syyu?  Someone is promoting the terrible advice of using two 'y's and I am trying to figure out who that is.

As far as I can tell, the (mal)practice started with manjaro. There was an update that left the system unable to launch the xserver 6+ years ago. The official recommendation was to boot to cli, then do a pacman -Syyu. Since then, a lot of users started using Syyu instead of Syu. Some even wear it like a badge of honor. As manjaro's popularity waned through the years, its users must've switched to other arch-based distros, including vanilla arch, but carried over the practice.

Unfortunately, the official forum post recommending the fix is no longer available. The original manjaro forums got corrupted a few years back and a new forum was created. The old posts were not carried over.

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Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

dogknowsnx

Guest

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

its users must've switched to other arch-based distros, including vanilla arch

Phew! Glad to know that my arch install is arch-based.
Speaking of Arch news - maybe a post on the front page on why it is a terrible idea to issue an uncalled-for -Syyu is in order...

Last edited by dogknowsnx (2023-10-08 19:00:02)

hexdump

Member

Registered: 2023-10-04

Posts: 8

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

Can I ask why you are using -syyu?  Someone is promoting the terrible advice of using two 'y's and I am trying to figure out who that is.

Justs because I saw it on youtube, I checked man and seemed to be a better option. It seems it doesn't . I'm just starting with pacman and arch.

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,643

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

The yy causes everything to be updated, regardless of whether it seems up to date.   It is a waste of your bandwidth and time.  More importantly, it is a waste of bandwidth of the mirrors which are provided free of charge -- it is abusive.
But, it can also cause problems that can lead to breakage.  This can happen when forcing a refresh when using a mirror that is out of date and has older information than another mirror you had used previously. 
It is generally bad.  In very specific situations, it can be useful.

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Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
The shortest way to ruin a country is to give power to demagogues.— Dionysius of Halicarnassus
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

hexdump

Member

Registered: 2023-10-04

Posts: 8

Re: A bit confused about pacman package updates and Arch news site

The yy causes everything to be updated, regardless of whether it seems up to date.   It is a waste of your bandwidth and time.  More importantly, it is a waste of bandwidth of the mirrors which are provided free of charge -- it is abusive.
But, it can also cause problems that can lead to breakage.  This can happen when forcing a refresh when using a mirror that is out of date and has older information than another mirror you had used previously. 
It is generally bad.  In very specific situations, it can be useful.

Thanks for the detailed information.