How to downgrade a package?

senjin · 2007-12-01 20:59:26

How to downgrade a package if:
1. I typed pacman -Scc or I just installed the package so I don't have any previous version.
2. All mirrors are already synced.

The only way seem to be find proper version of files in cvs and build the package... which is not always easy. And here's my main question: Is there a command or program that allows me to automatically download from cvs all the files I need to build package X in version Y?

jean-paul · 2007-12-01 21:04:54

take a look in the wiki

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Downgrade_packages

Jean-Paul

pressh · 2007-12-01 21:06:06

If you do not have it in cache anymore, and all mirrors are synced, the best thing you could probably do if you want an older version is to build it using abs. Read the wiki entry on abs for more details.

That said, if you really depent on some package maybe it is a good idea to back them up.

[edit]
didn't know that there was a wiki entry for downgrading packages

Last edited by pressh (2007-12-01 21:07:39)

senjin · 2007-12-01 21:11:49

That said, if you really depent on some package maybe it is a good idea to back them up.

Right, but I can't do this, when I install new package and it's broken.

I have read about abs - but I couldn't find information how to use it to build package in specific version.

Wiki about downgrading says to edit PKBUILD which is of course not enough when there some more files than PKGBUILD.

Last edited by senjin (2007-12-01 21:13:36)

smurnjiff · 2007-12-01 21:22:05

You could look on the archive mirrors for older versions of the packages.

http://phraktured.net/archmirror/
http://ftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/linux/sun … archlinux/
http://ftp.icm.edu.pl/pub/Linux/sunsite … archlinux/

senjin · 2007-12-01 21:49:30

But again - this is only partial solution - works only if I'm lucky and the version I'm looking for is still on one of these mirrors.

smurnjiff · 2007-12-01 22:20:05

Then you will need to either request the package from someone else who may have it or download it using ABS. You can remove all the extra files in the SOURCE() area and see if it compiles cleanly.

senjin · 2007-12-02 01:07:36

That again are not good solutions. Why?

1. When you find a bug you're usually in hurry - because function you need right now doesn't work. Asking someone for a package takes lot's of time and it's unsafe.
2. Modifying PKGBUILD is not so easy - there is big chance (at least when I do it...), that it doesn't compile or is different (read: worse) from the original package. If I had knowledge to build all the packages I would be a developer Why shouldn't I use PKGBUILD (and other files necessary) already written by experts?

I started this thread because I thought there is something I don't understand, but now I see it: Archlinux needs a reasonable easy way for downgrading packages. By "reasonable easy" I mean: without developer skills and without knowledge that can't be learned from wiki, and without very specific knowledge about the package to be built.

Also by downgrading I don't mean only getting back to the previous version - because it is possible that the bug was made before and just wasn't found for long time.

peets · 2007-12-02 01:34:56

senjin: some problems of the past can't be fixed, but now that you're aware of them, you can prepare for the future. Sarcastic and slightly evil, sorry: To help other Arch users, maybe you could set up a Simple Arch Repository Archive (SARA) that would keep all the versions of each package and make them available to all. I actually wonder how much space that would take up, and what kind of demand there would be.

jean-paul wrote:

who | grep -i blonde | date; cd ~; unzip; touch; strip; finger; mount; gasp; yes; uptime; mount; sleep

lol!

Last edited by peets (2007-12-02 01:35:47)

senjin · 2007-12-02 10:08:53

prepare for the future

Should I download all the available packages just in case I will need them in future, when they're broken?

Keeping all the built packages would be difficult because of size, but keeping only PKGBUILDs and other files? Should be easy! More: Archlinux uses cvs so I think it's technically possible to get any previous version of the files (am I wrong at this point?) - so it's already done. All we need is a tool for easy access to cvs. Then you need only makepkg and pacman -U which is quite straightforward.

byte · 2007-12-02 11:29:37

> All we need is a tool for easy access to cvs.

http://cvs.archlinux.org

We are all able to use web browsers, aren't we?

senjin · 2007-12-02 12:23:32

We are all able to use web browsers, aren't we?

HA! I think we're close to answer for my question

For example: I have problem with xfig 3.2.5. Somebody told me that 3.2.4 works better. How to get from this page all the files I need to build xfig i 3.2.4 version?

pressh · 2007-12-02 12:54:25

I guess I really miss the point here, but what is wrong with doing an abs, copy the downloaded xfig files over to a build directory, changing the pkgver variable and do a makepkg ? It should work in most of the cases (apart maybe for some new introduced patches but as arch has a policy not to apply much patches there won't be a lot of them).

Another thing is, don't update if you really depent on your system at that time. Only update if you can have some time to fix your machine if something does brake.

Last edited by pressh (2007-12-02 12:55:10)

shining · 2007-12-02 12:57:56

So it's not even possible to get a specific revision using cvs? Only via the web interface?
What's the point of cvs then?

senjin · 2007-12-02 12:59:26

pressh wrote:

I guess I really miss the point here, but what is wrong with doing an abs, copy the downloaded xfig files over to a build directory, changing the pkgver variable and do a makepkg ? It should work in most of the cases (apart maybe for some new introduced patches but as arch has a policy not to apply much patches there won't be a lot of them).

makepkg doesn't work... probably because I use wrong version of Imakefile.archlinux.patch (as you see problems happen). How to get proper version of this file?

Another thing is, don't update if you really depent on your system at that time. Only update if you can have some time to fix your machine if something does brake.

I just installed xfig, I don't have any previous version.

pressh · 2007-12-03 10:50:09

Sorry I didn't noticed that you didn't have any prior versions of xfig installed. I creaded a new Imakefile patch, added the gcc4 patch again, and uploaded the archive here: http://pressh.archlinux.googlepages.com … 3.4.tar.gz

Just run makepkg inside the archive. It builds and runs at my machine.
Note that I will remove the file at some time so you may want to back it up yourself just in case you need it again at some point in the future

cheers

Last edited by pressh (2007-12-03 10:54:35)

senjin · 2007-12-03 13:37:36

Thanks for help... I finally received the compiled package of xfig from different user.

Anyway - if any developer is reading this thread - I hope I proved that downgrading is not always trivial thing.

Bugs are fact. They happen often and it's difficult to say that it's fault of archlinux... maybe not enough people using testing repos - but it's not easy to change it.

I don't think we can stop all the bugs - but we can try to manage with them. A reliable tool for downgrading packages would make this distribution much stable.

B-Con · 2008-01-23 03:43:31

Not to drudge up an old thread, but even if providing all old package versions in the rep's isn't something the admins want to do, might it be possible to, at some point, merely support the latest three versions of something, just for situations like this? (I discovered that ffmpeg got broken recently and had a similar problem.)

brisbin33 · 2009-02-24 18:24:36

i found this thread while trying to find an elusive thread containing an amazing site and a script that could be used to "roll back" you're system to a given date. i saved the site, but not the script... it's here somewhere; please, if you know of this thread... can i has link?

the site of sheer awesomeness: http://arm.nrk.cc/

B-Con · 2009-02-25 04:16:35

brisbin33 wrote:

i found this thread while trying to find an elusive thread containing an amazing site and a script that could be used to "roll back" you're system to a given date. i saved the site, but not the script... it's here somewhere; please, if you know of this thread... can i has link?
the site of sheer awesomeness: http://arm.nrk.cc/

Wow, that's handy.

I was actually thinking about trying to start a similar project, recently, but this is quite nice.

Arch Linux

#1 2007-12-01 20:59:26

How to downgrade a package?

#2 2007-12-01 21:04:54

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#3 2007-12-01 21:06:06

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#4 2007-12-01 21:11:49

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#5 2007-12-01 21:22:05

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#6 2007-12-01 21:49:30

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#7 2007-12-01 22:20:05

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#8 2007-12-02 01:07:36

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#9 2007-12-02 01:34:56

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#10 2007-12-02 10:08:53

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#11 2007-12-02 11:29:37

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#12 2007-12-02 12:23:32

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#13 2007-12-02 12:54:25

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#14 2007-12-02 12:57:56

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#15 2007-12-02 12:59:26

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#16 2007-12-03 10:50:09

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#17 2007-12-03 13:37:36

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#18 2008-01-23 03:43:31

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#19 2009-02-24 18:24:36

Re: How to downgrade a package?

#20 2009-02-25 04:16:35

Re: How to downgrade a package?

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