How to *update* a Fedora Core 3 component program?

[Paul Howarth]

Bo Berglund wrote:
> I am new to Linux and Fedora Core 3 (installed yesterday)....
> 
> When I tried the web browser I found that it is FireFox 1.0 Preview
> Release, so obviously I want to update it.
> I can get the 1.0.4 installer all right and I can unzip it too, but
> when I launch the install it looks like it is going to install a *new*
> instance of the program and this is not what I want. I want a regular
> software update, like when I install a new update of a program in
> Windows. On that platform it updates the *existing* installation
> instead of creating a new.
> 
> One of my reasons for this is that the FireFox is available on the
> Applications menu in Fedora and I want to get the 1.0.4 launched from
> there.
> 
> So these are my questions:
> 1) How can I *update* FireFox?

# yum update firefox

This will get the latest firefox packaged for Fedora (download from the 
Internet) and update your system.

If you run "yum update" without specifying a package name, it will get 
*all* updates, which is *a lot* for a fresh Fedora Core 3 installation.

> 2) How can I in general uninstall programs in Fedora?

Fedora uses "packages" called RPM (RedHat Package Manager) files. They 
make uninstalling particularly easy:

# yum remove packagename

will remove the "packagename" package, and any other package that will 
not work without it (which is known as a "dependency").

> 3) Should the installer not ask me to su before continuing?

Yes, unless you're planning to install it into your home directory or 
somewhere else that you, as a regular user, can write to.

See also: http://www.fedorafaq.org/#installsoftware

Paul.