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I'm basically a Web Developer(PHP Developer) by profession. I mainly work on PHP, jQuery, AJAX, Smarty, HTML and CSS, Bootstrap front-end web development framework.

I've also installed and using IDEs/editors like Sublime Text, NetBeans.

I'm also using Git repository for my website development as a versioning tool.

I'm using "Ubuntu 12.04 LTS" on my machine almost since last two years.

My machine configuraion is as follows:

Memory : 3.7 GiB
Processor : Intel® Core™ i3 CPU M 370 @ 2.40GHz × 4
Graphics : Unknown
OS type : 64-bit
Disk : 64-bit

The important softwares present on my machine and which I'm using daily for my work are as follows:

PHP :

PHP 5.3.10-1ubuntu3.13 with Suhosin-Patch (cli) (built: Jul  7 2014 18:54:55) 
Copyright (c) 1997-2012 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.3.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2012 Zend Technologies

Apache web server :

/usr/sbin/apachectl: 87: ulimit: error setting limit (Operation not permitted)
Server version: Apache/2.2.22 (Ubuntu)
Server built:   Jul 22 2014 14:35:25
Server's Module Magic Number: 20051115:30
Server loaded:  APR 1.4.6, APR-Util 1.3.12
Compiled using: APR 1.4.6, APR-Util 1.3.12
Architecture:   64-bit
Server MPM:     Prefork
  threaded:     no
    forked:     yes (variable process count)
Server compiled with....
 -D APACHE_MPM_DIR="server/mpm/prefork"
 -D APR_HAS_SENDFILE
 -D APR_HAS_MMAP
 -D APR_HAVE_IPV6 (IPv4-mapped addresses enabled)
 -D APR_USE_SYSVSEM_SERIALIZE
 -D APR_USE_PTHREAD_SERIALIZE
 -D SINGLE_LISTEN_UNSERIALIZED_ACCEPT
 -D APR_HAS_OTHER_CHILD
 -D AP_HAVE_RELIABLE_PIPED_LOGS
 -D DYNAMIC_MODULE_LIMIT=128
 -D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/apache2"
 -D SUEXEC_BIN="/usr/lib/apache2/suexec"
 -D DEFAULT_PIDLOG="/var/run/apache2.pid"
 -D DEFAULT_SCOREBOARD="logs/apache_runtime_status"
 -D DEFAULT_LOCKFILE="/var/run/apache2/accept.lock"
 -D DEFAULT_ERRORLOG="logs/error_log"
 -D AP_TYPES_CONFIG_FILE="mime.types"
 -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="apache2.conf"

MySQL :

5.5.38-0ubuntu0.12.04.1

Smarty :

2.6.18

**NetBeans :**

NetBeans IDE 8.0 (Build 201403101706)

Sublime Text 2 :

Version 2.0.2, Build 2221

Yesterday suddenly a pop-up message appeared on my screen asking me to upgrade to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'". I'd also be very happy to upgrade my system to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'".

Following are the issues about which I'm little bit scared about and I need you all talented people's expert advice/help/suggestions on it:

  1. Will upgrading to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" affect the softwares I mentioned above? I mean will I need to re-install/un-install and install these softwares too?
  2. Do I really need to and is it really a worth to upgrade to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" from "Ubuntu 12.04 LTS" now?
  3. If I upgrade to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" what advantage I'll get from web developer's point of view?
  4. Will the upgrade be hassle free and will I be able to continue my on-going work without any difficulties?
  5. Is "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" a LTS version and if yes till when it's going to provide support?

These are the five crucial queries I have. If you want any further explanation from me please feel free to ask me.

Thanks for spending some of your vaulable time in reading and understanding my issue.

Any kind of help/comment/suggestion/answer would be highly appreciated. Though if someone gives canonical, precise and up to the mark answer, it will be of great help to me as well as other web developers using Ubuntu around the world.

Once again thank you so much you great people around the globe.

Waiting for your precious replies.

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  • 3
    To be noted: people with code based on PHP 5.3 seem to having problems with PHP 5.5, especially those fond of using deprecated stuff.
    – muru
    Aug 23, 2014 at 14:34

1 Answer 1

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Will upgrading to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" affect the softwares I mentioned above?

Yes, you get newer versions. In general it means better version with bug fixes and new options. Sometimes something gets removed though that is being used by a person but that happens not too often.

For PHP and anything important I would suggest to search for the changelog for the new versions and the versions in between. You can run into problems with older software made with commands that got deprecated or even removed from the new coding language.

I mean will I need to re-install/un-install and install these softwares too?

No. That happens during the upgrade automatically.

Do I really need to and is it really a worth to upgrade to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" from "Ubuntu 12.04 LTS" now?

No. Your choice. When 12.04 ends we drop support for it, you do not get any updates BUT 12.04 will still work. It you use it with an internet connection you are increasing the risk of someone abusing a bug and gaining access to (parts of) your system. But even that is unlikely. But it is still your choice.

All in all I would upgrade at least a few months before support for 12.04 ends. 12.04 ends April 2017 so that is still a long way away. Heck, you might even have bought a new computer before that.

If I upgrade to "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" what advantage I'll get from web developer's point of view?

Newer versions of software tends to be a good thing ;)

Will the upgrade be hassle free and will I be ablr to continue my on-going work without any difficulties?

Normally...yes. But problems can occur... if the power goes down during the upgrade you will run into problems (that are fixable though).

Is "Ubuntu 14.04 'Trusty Tahr'" a LTS version and if yes til when it's going to provide support?

Yes. And April 2019 is the end of life month of 14.04.


Mind you!! You DO make backups of the software you create? If not then before you mess around with your operating system most, if not all, of us insist you make a backup 1st. Better safe than sorry. If you do make certain you know how to restore it and that it can be restored.

Prepare for failure and if it fails it is just a bump on the road. If you do not an upgrade going bad tends to be followed up by more and more mistakes.

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  • Addition to @Rinzwind's detailed answer, newer version of a software can differently behave due to the changes in software or configurations. So, it is recommended to read changelog of the software beforehand.
    – numand
    Aug 23, 2014 at 14:46

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