JOSM version in Ubuntu software

[Alexander Kachkaev <alexander@…>]

Hey guys,

I just installed JOSM via Ubuntu Software and noticed that it was last built on 8 January 2016 (v9329). "You should update" appears even after the first launch and it is not unclear what to do, especially for an OSM or Ubuntu newbie.

Maybe you don't control what's going on with JOSM in Ubuntu Software – it is not clear who added it there. It would be nice if you could find a workaround for the current situation, which is probably in making sure that a newest tested version of JOSM is automatically available via Ubuntu server after each release. As a person who has been an OSX user for years and who is trying Ubuntu now, I can say that Ubuntu's marketplace is pretty convenient! You can probably suggest this install method as default one for Ubuntu users.

If you don't know what to do with Ubuntu Software, could you please advice not to use this marketplace in the instructions? Just so that others don't get confused in future.

Cheers!

[bastiK]

Hi Alex,

In order to get the most recent release, you can install the package repository which is maintained by the JOSM team (recommended).

The versions of the programs in the Ubuntu software repository are fixed with the release of each Ubuntu version and remain unchanged. (You will get minor updates, usually bugfixes.) Therefore it is impossible to keep the version in the Ubuntu repository up to date. Despite this, some people may still choose to use this source, as it is the most familiar and hassle-free way to get software running.

If you think the documentation is lacking, can you point out more precisely where and how?

[Alexander Kachkaev <alexander@…>]

Thank you for your helpful reply bastiK, now the situation makes sense.

Regarding the documentation: When I got to josm.openstreetmap.de I was expecting to see a separate grey block for Ubuntu under Windows and OSX ones, but it was not there. I then discovered a word "Ubuntu" slightly below, in the "development version" section. By that time an "outdated" copy of JOSM via Ubuntu Software was already on my machine. I was expecting to see some mentioning of "Ubuntu Software" on the "downloads" page, just to figure out what I might do to update. The instructions on that page made sense, it was just unclear how they relate to my Ubuntu-software instance of JOSM and whether I may run anything to get the latest version. It is still unclear to me what will happen after I run all those commands - will there be two instances of JOSM on the Ubuntu box or will a package just update? I understand that these doubts may look funny for a person who knows Ubuntu well, but as I said earlier, for me this is OS is quite new.

After I installed Chrome for Ubutu, I ended up having it in a list of apps in the Software center tagged as "third-party". As far as I understand, third-party Ubuntu apps are not hard-bound to the version of the OS and update separately. Would not it be reasonable to ship JOSM similarly to Chrome as a .deb archive (Ubuntu's .dmg as far I understand it)?

[bastiK]

Replying to Kachkaev:

Thank you for your helpful reply bastiK, now the situation makes sense.

Regarding the documentation: When I got to josm.openstreetmap.de I was expecting to see a separate grey block for Ubuntu under Windows and OSX ones, but it was not there.

Ubuntu is just one of many Linux distributions, so it would be strange to put it as prominent at Windows and OSX.

I then discovered a word "Ubuntu" slightly below, in the "development version" section. By that time an "outdated" copy of JOSM via Ubuntu Software was already on my machine. I was expecting to see some mentioning of "Ubuntu Software" on the "downloads" page, just to figure out what I might do to update. The instructions on that page made sense, it was just unclear how they relate to my Ubuntu-software instance of JOSM and whether I may run anything to get the latest version. It is still unclear to me what will happen after I run all those commands - will there be two instances of JOSM on the Ubuntu box or will a package just update?

It will update. ("Replaces the package from the official Ubuntu repository.")

I understand that these doubts may look funny for a person who knows Ubuntu well, but as I said earlier, for me this is OS is quite new.

Yes, I wouldn't copy & paste commands to the command line, unless I have a basic understanding of what it does to the system. Unfortunately, this is the normal way to add a 3rd party software repository and as easy as it gets ...

After I installed Chrome for Ubutu, I ended up having it in a list of apps in the Software center tagged as "third-party". As far as I understand, third-party Ubuntu apps are not hard-bound to the version of the OS and update separately. Would not it be reasonable to ship JOSM similarly to Chrome as a .deb archive (Ubuntu's .dmg as far I understand it)?

Do you have "Ubuntu Software" (aka. Gnome Software) or Software-Center (only in Ubuntu <= 15.10).

[Alexander Kachkaev <alexander@…>]

Do you have "Ubuntu Software" (aka. Gnome Software) or Software-Center (only in Ubuntu <= 15.10).

Ubuntu Software, I'm on 16.04 (the screen shot is attached to the ticket).

[Don-vip]

It's Ubuntu policy to not update software versions for a given release, so it's up to them to patch JOSM to remove the update check if needed.