Unix and Linux Stack Exchange
Unix and Linux Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [alternatives]

in some distributions, a way for the system administrator to choose between similar programs

This tag is about the alternatives system in some package managers. If you're looking for alternatives to a particular piece of software, use combined with one or more relevant tags for the software's purpose, and be sure to explain what features you want from that software.

The Debian alternatives system (also used by other distributions such as Fedora) allows several programs with similar roles to be installed. Each program has a priority, and the highest-priority program is used by default, but the system administrator can override that choice.

73 questions
27
votes
3 answers

Better way to add alternative using update-alternatives?

I've looked up the manual of update-alternatives several times but I can't find out how to show the current link pointing to a specific alternative, and that information is needed when adding a new alternative. From the update-alternatives…
pagliuca
  • 373
  • 1
  • 3
  • 6
23
votes
2 answers

Difference between auto mode and manual mode in update-alternatives

When I run $ update-alternatives --config java I get a few rows: What is the difference between auto mode and manual mode?
baudo2048
  • 333
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6
17
votes
1 answer

What is the difference between JAVA_HOME and update-alternatives?

I have been trying to figure out the best way to run OpenJDK Java Runtime as default Java for my Fedora box and use Oracle JDK 6 for Android development namely for running Android SDK Manager, Android Studio and Eclipse from Android Bundle. I…
Sudhir Singh Khanger
  • 275
  • 1
  • 2
  • 7
15
votes
6 answers

Finding all software packages in Debian that provide a particular alternative

The Debian distribution has the Debian Alternatives System. From the Wiki: The Debian alternatives system creates a way for several programs that fulfill the same or similar functions to be listed as alternative implementations that are…
Faheem Mitha
  • 34,649
  • 32
  • 119
  • 183
10
votes
2 answers

update-alternatives just for one user

I'm using a shared server. On that server different versions of Java are installed: Selection Path Priority Status ------------------------------------------------------------ 0 …
Aslan986
  • 501
  • 1
  • 4
  • 10
10
votes
6 answers

Choose which browser to open link in

I am using both Firefox and Google Chrome with multiple windows (profiles). When clicking a link in e.g. a terminal or another GUI app I'd like to choose which browser/window to load the URL in instead of running the default browser (e.g. Firefox).…
Melle
  • 211
  • 2
  • 7
10
votes
2 answers

Why whould xterm behave differently than x-terminal-emulator when it points to the same executable?

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 14 Apr 19 14:36 /etc/alternatives/x-terminal-emulator -> /usr/bin/xterm Running it using these 2 calls: /usr/bin/xterm /etc/alternatives/x-terminal-emulator First starts with black background and other starts with white.…
Rumca
  • 709
  • 1
  • 8
  • 17
8
votes
1 answer

How to add browser to update-alternatives?

In Debian 10 there is this command to choose the default browser: update-alternatives --config x-www-browser I installed Waterfox from a .deb file and it is not showing up in the list of available browsers. Is there a way to add it?
raphael75
  • 673
  • 9
  • 22
7
votes
2 answers

Changing Python's default version breaks Ubuntu 20.04

I'm creating an AMI of Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa), and I want the default Python version to be 3.6. I installed Python 3.6, also the right pip, and then set the alternative like so: update-alternatives --install \ /usr/bin/python3 \ python3 \ …
Moshe
  • 312
  • 4
  • 17
6
votes
1 answer

update-alternatives has two entries, one in auto and other in manual

On my Ubuntu 15.04, sudo update-alternatives --config java shows: Selection Path Priority Status ------------------------------------------------------------ 0 …
user93868
5
votes
0 answers

Install man pages in directory with update-alternatives

Using update-alternatives(8) on a Debian system it is possible to add man pages as slaves under some master alternative. For example, the following command installs an alternative man page tclsh.1 alongside the alternative executable for tclsh. $…
glts
  • 572
  • 1
  • 4
  • 12
5
votes
1 answer

How to set clang++ as the c++ compiler?

I'm trying to set clang++ as the system C++ compiler on Fedora 18. I have installed clang and added it to alternatives but it doesn't appear to be working. [user@localhost ~]$ alternatives --display c++ c++ - status is auto. link currently points…
Jephir
  • 151
  • 1
  • 1
  • 4
5
votes
1 answer

How does APT deal with different programs with the same name?

I decided to finally learn vi and as I was doing that I realized that vi wasn't behaving as I expected. I learned from another post that this was because, on Ubuntu, vim-tiny is installed by default. After I learned that I chose to install the full…
AlfaZulu
  • 297
  • 2
  • 7
4
votes
0 answers

Alternatives to SkyPE that can call "real" phone numbers

I currently pay SkyPE $3/month to make unlimited calls across the USA and Canada (ie, the NANPA "1" international dialing code), and, less importantly, pay them about $4 month for an inbound telephone number. However, I'm unhappy with SkyPE's…
user2267
4
votes
6 answers

search a command in PATH with the same name of the script

For example, my script is $HOME/bin/sudo. I'd like to search for an executable in $PATH with the same name, sudo, and run it - but not the script $HOME/bin/sudo itself, otherwise I will run into an infinite loop! EDIT: the point of this is that in…
eadmaster
  • 1,573
  • 4
  • 18
  • 30
1
2 3 4 5