How to Get the Latest Version of a Program in Ubuntu

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Ubuntu, the popular Linux distribution, is well-known for its stability. This stability is due in part to its 6-month release cycle. Main programs included with Ubuntu are only updated every 6 months. This ensures that the developers have adequate time to test the software for regressions, bugs, and instabilities. However, sometimes it is nice to install the latest version of a program. This tutorial will use the application launcher Kupfer (like Gnome Do or Launchy) but the same procedure applies for other programs.

The easiest way to get the latest version of a program is to install its PPA. A PPA is a Personal Package Archive, or a mini repository just for that particular program. This way, the developers can push new releases only to people who want them, while not affecting the stability of the main system. To find a PPA for the program, visit https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ppas and put in the name of the desired program:

ppa-kupfer

If no PPA for the program exists, see the troubleshooting section at the end of this article. If a PPA exists, you will see it listed in the search results (above). Simply click on it and it will open the PPA's main page. You will see instructions for adding a PPA to your system. The easiest way to do this is to highlight the bold text, right-click and say Copy (to copy it to your clipboard).

ppa-add

Now, open your Terminal program (Gnome Terminal, Konsole, xterm, etc) and type the following command, pasting in the copied text:

1	$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kupfer-team/ppa

Once the PPA has been added, update your system and then upgrade the program to the new version:

1 2	$ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get upgrade

If everything works, the upgrade will finish successfully and you will have the new version of the program installed. Note - you will have to close and start the program again if it is currently open to see the changes.

Troubleshooting

Below are some common issues that may come up when using a PPA:

No PPA exists for the program: If no PPA exists, then it will be necessary to visit the developer's website. The developer may provide a precompiled .deb file which you can just download and install. However, you will not receive automatic updates for this program as you would with a PPA. The other option is to compile the program from source, which is not covered in this article.
The key for the PPA cannot be added: This could be a problem with the Ubuntu keyserver. Try again in a little while and it will hopefully work.
The apt-get update command fails: This can occur if the PPA cannot be found or if a version of the program does not exist for your version of Ubuntu or system architecture (commonly i386 or amd64). In this case, you will need to look elsewhere for an updated version of the program.

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Last Updated on Friday, 10 September 2010 08:07

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