[mythtv-users] OT: Upgrade to Mysql 5.0

[R. G. Newbury]

Sam Varshavchik wrote:
> R. G. Newbury writes:
> 
> 
>> Unfortunately mysql is not, to my knowledge, available through yum. I 
>> got the upgrade to work however, by using 'rpm --force -U MySQL'.
> 
> 
> WRONG!
> 
> Never use --force, unless it's just a temporary workaround for a known, 
> and fully understood packaging error, which will quickly be rectified by 
> an upgrade to a later package release, which will not use --force.
> 
> Your updated mysql package will probably fail in some subtle way at some 
> point, or, worse yet, continue to work but give incorrect results.  Or, 
> other software that has an explicit dependency on your older version of 
> MySQL will malfunction or lose stability, in some way.
> 
> --force is not a "fix", for a dependency issue.  It's a workaround for a 
> known packaging bug.

Yadda yadda... if it was a 'known packaging bug' then mysql etc would 
have fixed their package. I strongly suspect that --force is there 
PRECISELY to allow the user to install one package where somebody has 
failed to properly set up another package.

> You do not have any packaging bugs.  Your package is fine, it's just not 
> compatible with the rest of the software that you have installed.  And 
> using --force is not going to fix it.

I do not believe that for an instant. There are packaging bugs and yum 
is not able to handle all of them. And sometimes smart isn't. The 
'problem' is that yum insists a bunch of modules and connectors must be 
removed before it will allow version 5 to be installed instead of 
version 4, when the modules and connectors will work with both versions.


> Using --force is equivalent to sticking your head into a pile of sand, 
> and hope that this will fix all your problems.

Gratutious political metaphor omitted... Man you do give good straight 
lines! Had to bite my tongue hard!
G