[mythtv-users] Unable to install MythTV on UbuntuMATE Linux 16.04

[Stephen Worthington]

On Sun, 13 May 2018 17:33:53 +0800, you wrote:

>On 13/05/2018, Stephen Worthington <stephen_agent at jsw.gen.nz> wrote:
>> On Sun, 13 May 2018 16:40:02 +0800, you wrote:
>>
>>>On 13/05/2018, George Poulson <george.poulson at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> As a previous poster has said, mysql and mariadb are equivalents.
>>>> An application that needs an sql database *should* be able to use either
>>>> mysql or mariadb.
>>>>
>>>
>>>But not mythtv.
>>
>> Yes, MythTV can use MySQL.  But somehow not your install of MySQL - I
>> do not know why.  But it is better to be using MariaDB anyway.
>>
>> If you attempt to install MariaDB, anything that relies on it may also
>> need to be uninstalled.  But uninstalling is not purging - all the
>> setup for the software, including any databases, is still there.  So
>> all you do after MariaDB has installed is to re-install any packages
>> that got uninstalled.  But, apart from MythTV, there is unlikely to be
>> anything else using MySQL unless your PC has a long history.
>
>This and my other main use PC, have had UbuntuMate installed since
>12.04, as Ubuntu was then (and possibly still is) the only non-MS OS
>that has drivers for the hardware on my other PC, and, Ubuntu was (and
>possibly still is) the only non-MS OS that would allow me to run an
>external monitor from my other PC; a "super-duper" (well, it was, when
>I bought it, and had it upgraded) "laptop" computer with nVidia
>Optimus, which requires nouveau.
>
>So, both installations, while now running UbuntuMATE 16.04, have been
>running UbuntuMATE since 12.04, and, are probably regarded as "old",
>and, probably have software on them (apart from mysql), that predates
>mariadb.

MariaDB is a direct replacement for MySQL, derived originally from the
same open source code.  It has been developed since it was forked from
MySQL in such a way that it is still extremely compatible.  It is very
unlikely that you would find any problems with other software using
MariaDB instead of MySQL.  If you try an install of MariaDB, can
always switch back to MySQL again if you have problems.  And if you
want to be completely safe, just boot a copy of Clonezilla and make a
complete image backup of your system before you make any changes. That
is what I do when I upgrade my Ubuntu systems to new versions of
Ubuntu.  If there are problems, then you can just get Clonezilla to
restore the backup and you are back where you started.

https://clonezilla.org