[NTLUG:Discuss] OpenOffice 2.0.3 upgrade - Debian

[Stuart Johnston]

According to the Debian bug reports, this is no longer the case with the version currently in 
Testing.  Keep in mind that when you install packages from backports.org, you are installing 
unofficial, development versions.

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=284056
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=337309

Do other distros disable the Java dependent functionality or do they have it all working with the 
Java compilers?


Wayne Walker wrote:
> You should complain LOUDLY to the debian folks.  OpenOffice should Not
> require java to install.  As you saw, that causes lots of nightmares.
> 
> Lots of other distros install OpenOffice without Java.  It works fine
> without Java.
> 
> Wayne
> 
> On Fri, Aug 25, 2006 at 07:36:52AM -0500, Terry Henderson wrote:
>> As a new Debain user, I have marveled at the ease with which I've
>> installed and upgraded applications - UNTIL, I upgraded OpenOffice
>> 1.1.3 to 2.0.3
>>
>> Not only did I have to manually enter a line in /etc/apt/sources.list
>> to use backports.org but ended up adding "contrib non-free" to all
>> lines that began with "deb ftp://...."  and "deb http://...." (this
>> was to solve uninstallable dependency  for java).  I should note that
>> the "contrib non-free" additions need to be removed afterward for
>> apt-get to work properly for future updates and new application
>> installs.
>>
>> It took several days for me to figure all this out and get
>> OpenOffice.org updated.  I would have saved a lot of time by just
>> installing manually but was determined to use the package manager,
>> (for everything).
>>
>> Part of the problem is that I had to cross version lines to get this
>> one application upgraded, (OpenOffice 1.1.3 is in sarge/stable while
>> OpenOffice 2.0.3 is in testing/unstable).
>>
>> And the second problem was OpenOffice's requirement for java, and not
>> sure why that was such a problem, but I assume it is because can not
>> be kept in the normal repositories and can not be part of OpenOffice,
>> (because it belongs to Sun).  If it hadn't been for that, things would
>> have been much easier I'm sure.
>>
>> There may have been an easier way of doing what I just did, and being
>> new to Debian and it's idiosyncrasies was mostly what confounded me
>> and caused me to take so long to get the job done and maybe someone
>> else can shed some light on this subject so as to make it a bit easier
>> for the next new user that encounters this delima.
>>
>> As far as I can tell, just upgrading OpenOffice manually is the best
>> or easiest route.
>>
>> -- 
>> Registered Linux User 188099
>>                   <><
>>
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>