1

I have been using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for over three years now and have been considering moving to newer LTS versions for some time. However, the thought of working software breaking or requiring changes has been the blocker to do so for me.

I work with C++11/14 (GCC 8.4.0) with ROS 1 and LCM for message passing. I have Python 2.7.17/3.6.9/3.8.0 to handle my scripting needs. Ubuntu 22.04 comes with GCC 11 by default and does not support lower GCC versions. For robotics development, it supports ROS 2 but not ROS 1 so any ROS 1 work would need to be moved to docker container based development.

I want to understand things that one must consider when upgrading Ubuntu to higher versions (18.04 to 20.04 or even 22.04 in my case) from a software development point of view (robotics pov would be a plus)?

I use Docker for software development so working on an Ubuntu 18.04 container if some software breaks after the upgrade is one option but I want to understand what is it that might break or even what might need attention after an upgrade.

Could someone share some additional information about upgrading and my options here?

EDIT: Could someone share their experiences of updating their C++/Python projects after doing a fresh install to say Ubuntu 22.04? I want to know what potential problems in software projects need to be considered when updating the OS.

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    Please ask about the last paragraph in a new question because this question needs focus (it's too broad because of the EDIT:).
    – karel
    Commented Sep 20, 2023 at 12:56
  • 1
    Have you updated your copde to Python3? Python 2 is still available, but not installed by default on Ubuntu 22.04.
    – ubfan1
    Commented Sep 20, 2023 at 15:38

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Upgrading from one LTS Ubuntu version (18.04) to an LTS version that is two LTS versions newer (22.04) is a complicated upgrade that could introduce problems in a wide variety of ways.

I see three remaining logical choices for you.

  1. Enable free Extended Security Maintenance in Ubuntu 18.04. Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) extends Ubuntu's support lifetime from 5 years to 10 years. This would extend Ubuntu 18.04's security coverage until April, 2028. ESM is free for personal use on up to 3 machines (limitations apply). All you need is an Ubuntu One account. All the software that you already have installed in 18.04 will continue to work with no problems.

  2. Upgrade from Ubuntu 18.04 to Ubuntu 20.04 and struggle to solve any new problems that may occur as a result of the upgrade.

  3. Reduce the potential problems of upgrading Ubuntu 18.04 to a newer version by backing up your data and fresh installing the latest LTS version of Ubuntu which is Ubuntu 22.04.

Improve this answer
2
  • I added an EDIT to my question. I agree that a fresh install is better but what consequences of it do I need to consider in the software development work? For example, updating the compiler is one. What are other such changes to be considered?
    – silent_monk
    Commented Sep 20, 2023 at 12:50
  • That edit makes your question closable by reviewers as needs focus because it would be too broad a set of topics for one question. Please ask about that last paragraph in a new question.
    – karel
    Commented Sep 20, 2023 at 12:53

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .