Les Mikesell wrote:
Nicolas Thierry-Mieg wrote:
>>> If you have the epel repo installed and enabled during a yum update, you >>> get java-1.6.0-openjdk-1.6.0.0-1.0.b12.el5.2 instead of the stock .b09 >>> version. Is this intentional and desirable? I thought epel generally >>> did not replace stock components with newer versions. >>> >> EPEL doesn't replace rhel5 packages, true, and afaict, openjdk isn't in >> rhel5. Perhaps a centos addon/extra? >> >> -- Rex >> > That might have been true at one point in time but it isn't now. On a > stock RHEL5.x you can say 'yum install java-1.6.0-openjdk' and you get a > OK, found it, I'll go known some skulls @ epel.
I'm not sure it's really a bad thing. For example OpenNMS claims it needs b12 or later. But it is curious that apparently no one noticed or knows which is better. Has the history of Linux distro treatment of java (shipping one that doesn't work and being unfriendly to the one that does) completely destroyed any interest?
Many people might not have noticed because they use yum priorities or apt pinning, as they should.
Which one should get priority, and where is the appropriate place to learn that?
by default base+updates should get priority over anything else including epel, don't you agree?
Not necessarily. I don't see any inherent reason that I would want openjdk-b09 over b12 and I'd expect the reverse since b12 fixes known bugs. But I would want to know that I'm not the first person to try to run it, which is why I raised the question.
I think priorities set globally should be for base and updates to be highest. In this case there is a particular rpm that the upstream vendor has not yet updated to the later release. Thus those that cannot wait can use yum exclude and thus move to another repo - in this case epel to get a later release. But as always if it breaks you get to keep the pieces..... Works for me.