Ubuntu

what repository do I point Ubuntu at to get the latest boost libraries

Asked by Beth Griffin

what repository do I point Ubuntu at to get the latest boost libraries

Using http://ppa.launchpad.net/boost/ppa/ubuntu (xenial main) fails to fetch with a 404 (page not found)

I originally used:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:boost-latest/ppa
sudo apt-get update

but that has the same error.

What should the boost repository be?

Thank you,
Beth

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Manfred Hampl
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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

Is it not in the default Ubuntu repository?

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Beth Griffin (beth-griffin) said : 		#2

I can only find 1.58 on the default ubuntu servers, and I would like to install 1.59 or 1.61

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#3

What is in the later version that you need so badly?

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Beth Griffin (beth-griffin) said : 		#4

I already answered that: 1.59 is more critical, but we may decide to move to 1.61

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

No, you haven't. You only said you would like it. Why would you like it? What is in the 1.59 or 1.61 versions that are necessary?

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Beth Griffin (beth-griffin) said : 		#6

I don't know, I am only dealing with requirements decided by those above me. I am just the DevOps, not the developer, trying to maintain a build infrastructure.

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Best Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#7

It seems that there is a misunderstanding with respect to the Ubuntu release philosophy. Ubuntu is no rolling release.
A certain package usually will stay on the same version that was the stable one when the Ubuntu release was published.

Ubuntu 16.04 was published with boost 1.58 and that will most probably never be upgraded.
If you need a higher version of boost, then you should switch over to a newer version of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu yakkety has boost 1.61, and Ubuntu zenial has 1.62

Some people have tried providing updated package versions in a PPA, but that is no official Ubuntu version and lies within the responsibility of the provider of the PPAs.
You can list all PPAs with a version of boost (any version for any Ubuntu release) with https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ppas?name_filter=boost

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Beth Griffin (beth-griffin) said : 		#8

Thank you very much for clarifying what was not well illuminated by my web searches.

So basically, the PPA named boost-latest ISN'T the latest any more, and there really is no reliable PPA, after looking at all 254 items in the search results.

Developers really like to make my job difficult ;-D

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Beth Griffin (beth-griffin) said : 		#9

Thanks Manfred Hampl, that solved my question.

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#10

"there is no reliable PPA": a PPA (personal package archive) by definition is not reliable.
You have to be aware that a PPA can be named at will by the provider, and even a "latest" in the name does not guarantee anything.

I see the following options for you:
1. search for a PPA that provides the version of the package for the Ubuntu release that you want (already done, unsuccessful)
2. create a PPA of your own (this might make other people happy as well)
3. build the boost software from source on your system (instead of using packages)
4. upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#11

Because ubuntu is not a rolling release distribution packages will be left if there is no great benefit to updating it. This is especially true in the LTS releases where stability is champion over new versions of things. If you switch to a rolling release (which are less stable due to being rolling) then you can always be sure the latest packages are available to you

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daoudi (sarada) said : 		#12

Hi
how to install boost 1.61 under ubuntu 16.04

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#13

@daoudi (sarada):
boost 1.61 on ubuntu 16.04 is not available.
Upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04, and you will have boost 1.62 or boost 1.65