KDE 3.5.x -> KDE 4

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BloodyIron · Post by **BloodyIron** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:32 pm

I'm still a bit fresh to the nuances of Gentoo.

I was thinking of now (or soon) upgrading from KDE 3.5.x to KDE 4. But I am curious. What happens to previous packages that are either now defunct, or they emerge a newer version?

Are the previous/defunct versions removed, in favour of the new versions? Are they just left to sit idle on the system? Is there a way I can remove orphaned packages?

I imagine this has been asked before, but I was unable to turn anything up with my google searches I am afraid.

Eckos · Post by **Eckos** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:34 pm

pappy_mcfae · Post by **pappy_mcfae** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:35 pm

KDE3.5 and KDE 4.0 can live together on one system, but it happens at the peril of KDE3.5. Some icons and other functions can start to act strangly when the two are together, at least they did for me.

At present, IMHO, KDE4.0 is broken. Many of the basic functions I expect of a GUI, such as transparent xterms, simply don't work. Even using XFCE's terminal or KDE3.5's didn't result in transparency. They both work right under KDE3.5 and XFCE. Why not KDE4.0?

KDE4.0 is not pretty, and it's not even close to fully configurable like KDE3.5. I tried it out for a few days, and it drove me crazy. I removed it. I'm not going to put it back on until it comes close to KDE3.5 in functionality. The scuttlebutt is that's not going to happen for at least six to nine months. Bleah!

Blessed be!
Pappy

BloodyIron · Post by **BloodyIron** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:01 pm

For those confused, I am asking about cleanly upgrading from 3.5 to 4, without having unused packages satrewn across my computer without me being aware of it.

Pappy, lets say I would want to replace 3.5 with 4, how would I go about doing it properly?

pappy_mcfae · Post by **pappy_mcfae** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:19 pm

First of all, you'd have to unmask all the programs required to make KDE4 happen. Check the /usr/portage/profiles/package.mask for the full list of masked KDE4 apps. Create the file /etc/portage/package.unmask, and add all the listed masked programs (including dependencies, such as poppler-8.0) to the file. A simple cut and paste should do the job nicely.

Then you'd want to remove KDE3.5. Use the Wiki HOWTO. I recommend doing this before you install KDE4.0 to prevent any possible weirdness getting to KDE4.0.

Finally, you will want to issue the command (assuming you want everything AND the KDE kitchen sink, which isn't a bad idea, actually) emerge -av kde-base/kde-meta:kde-4. At this time, KDE4.0 is only offered as a meta-package. That makes getting rid of it a real pain in the tushy. It is doable, though, just in case you change your mind.

That should get you going, but I need to tell you that I haven't worked with KDE4.0 without using kdm as a front-door to it. As far as I know, you should be able to keep your ~/.xinitrc in tact, as KDE4.0 reputedly opens with "exec startkde", the same way it does for KDE3.5. However, I cannot independently verify that at this time.

Good luck.

Blessed be!
Pappy

BloodyIron · Post by **BloodyIron** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:32 pm

thx for the help pappy, looks like I need to be careful in this case.

pappy_mcfae · Post by **pappy_mcfae** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:20 am

The worst that can happen is that you won't like it, or it won't work, and you'll be forced back to KDE3.5. I really don't see that happening, but one never knows, and your mileage may vary. Hell, if you've come to this point, might as well go for it and see what happens next. No guts, no glory!

Good luck.

Blessed be!
Pappy