What is the difference between php and php7.2 packages?

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3
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Shall I install both of them and both of its modules?



apt-cache depends php
php
Depends: php7.2


And there is two packages for php cli:



apt-cache policy php7.2-cli 
php7.2-cli:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2
Version table:
7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2 500
500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
7.2.3-1ubuntu1 500
500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages


The next one:



apt-cache policy php-cli 
php-cli:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 1:7.2+60ubuntu1
Version table:
1:7.2+60ubuntu1 500
500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages






share|improve this question


























    up vote
    3
    down vote

    favorite












    Shall I install both of them and both of its modules?



    apt-cache depends php
    php
    Depends: php7.2


    And there is two packages for php cli:



    apt-cache policy php7.2-cli 
    php7.2-cli:
    Installed: (none)
    Candidate: 7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2
    Version table:
    7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2 500
    500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
    500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
    7.2.3-1ubuntu1 500
    500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages


    The next one:



    apt-cache policy php-cli 
    php-cli:
    Installed: (none)
    Candidate: 1:7.2+60ubuntu1
    Version table:
    1:7.2+60ubuntu1 500
    500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
    500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages






    share|improve this question
























      up vote
      3
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      3
      down vote

      favorite











      Shall I install both of them and both of its modules?



      apt-cache depends php
      php
      Depends: php7.2


      And there is two packages for php cli:



      apt-cache policy php7.2-cli 
      php7.2-cli:
      Installed: (none)
      Candidate: 7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2
      Version table:
      7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2 500
      500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
      7.2.3-1ubuntu1 500
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages


      The next one:



      apt-cache policy php-cli 
      php-cli:
      Installed: (none)
      Candidate: 1:7.2+60ubuntu1
      Version table:
      1:7.2+60ubuntu1 500
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages






      share|improve this question














      Shall I install both of them and both of its modules?



      apt-cache depends php
      php
      Depends: php7.2


      And there is two packages for php cli:



      apt-cache policy php7.2-cli 
      php7.2-cli:
      Installed: (none)
      Candidate: 7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2
      Version table:
      7.2.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2 500
      500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
      7.2.3-1ubuntu1 500
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages


      The next one:



      apt-cache policy php-cli 
      php-cli:
      Installed: (none)
      Candidate: 1:7.2+60ubuntu1
      Version table:
      1:7.2+60ubuntu1 500
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages








      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Aug 28 at 17:13









      Braiam

      49.9k20130213




      49.9k20130213










      asked Aug 28 at 13:19









      Daniyal

      5032929




      5032929




















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          12
          down vote



          accepted










          php is a meta package. It does not contain any software, but just links to the "correct" package via its dependency/ies.



          From apt show php:




          This package is a dependency package, which depends on Debian's default
          PHP version (currently 7.0).




          (7.0, because I'm using 16.04)



          So it is up to you whether to install php or php7.2. But note: with the next release upgrade, php might get upgraded to the next version, while with php7.2, the version is fixed which might lead to some issues after upgrading.



          For the normal user® is is recommended to install the meta-package.




          There are also meta-packages depending on multiple other packages, so you can install a whole software bundle with just one meta-package, e.g. unity-desktop.



          From help.ubuntu.com:




          One of the handy features of apt (the packaging system used by Ubuntu) is the use of metapackages. These packages do not contain actual software, they simply depend on other packages to be installed. This setup allows entire sets of software to be installed by selecting only the appropriate metapackage





          Links:



          • Ubuntu Help: MetaPackages

          • Related Question: What is the difference between a meta-package and a package?





          share|improve this answer






















          • It's actually recommended to install the metapackages instead of the individual packages themselves so that upgrading between releases goes more smoothly and updates PHP properly without problems. This was something strongly mentioned and discussed in the 16.04 and 18.04 cycles among the server team
            – Thomas Ward♦
            Aug 28 at 13:45











          • Thanks, I updated the answer to point this out. Do you have a link to that discussion ?
            – RoVo
            Aug 28 at 13:50










          • Unfortunately not, it was during IRC discussions about the PHP transitions back in the 16.04 cycles on an unlogged channel. We had a lot of discussions about package transisions back in 16.04's dev cycle, but the general thought nowadays is to just install the metapackage
            – Thomas Ward♦
            Aug 28 at 13:55


















          up vote
          0
          down vote













          The php-* packages are metapackages which depend on the corresponding php7.2-* packages, the latter providing the actual PHP software.



          The purpose of those metapackages is to make upgrades smoother: when you upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release which provides, say, PHP 7.3, the php-* packages will be upgraded to the newer versions, which of course will depend on the new php7.3-* packages. Thus the new php7.3-* packages will be automatically installed, and the old php7.2-* ones will be marked as no longer used (and to be removed with apt autoremove).



          If you install only the php7.2-* packages, they will work fine for now, but later you would need to install the packages for newer PHP versions manually, so yes, it is recommended to install the php-* ones.






          share|improve this answer




















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            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

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            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

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            active

            oldest

            votes








            up vote
            12
            down vote



            accepted










            php is a meta package. It does not contain any software, but just links to the "correct" package via its dependency/ies.



            From apt show php:




            This package is a dependency package, which depends on Debian's default
            PHP version (currently 7.0).




            (7.0, because I'm using 16.04)



            So it is up to you whether to install php or php7.2. But note: with the next release upgrade, php might get upgraded to the next version, while with php7.2, the version is fixed which might lead to some issues after upgrading.



            For the normal user® is is recommended to install the meta-package.




            There are also meta-packages depending on multiple other packages, so you can install a whole software bundle with just one meta-package, e.g. unity-desktop.



            From help.ubuntu.com:




            One of the handy features of apt (the packaging system used by Ubuntu) is the use of metapackages. These packages do not contain actual software, they simply depend on other packages to be installed. This setup allows entire sets of software to be installed by selecting only the appropriate metapackage





            Links:



            • Ubuntu Help: MetaPackages

            • Related Question: What is the difference between a meta-package and a package?





            share|improve this answer






















            • It's actually recommended to install the metapackages instead of the individual packages themselves so that upgrading between releases goes more smoothly and updates PHP properly without problems. This was something strongly mentioned and discussed in the 16.04 and 18.04 cycles among the server team
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:45











            • Thanks, I updated the answer to point this out. Do you have a link to that discussion ?
              – RoVo
              Aug 28 at 13:50










            • Unfortunately not, it was during IRC discussions about the PHP transitions back in the 16.04 cycles on an unlogged channel. We had a lot of discussions about package transisions back in 16.04's dev cycle, but the general thought nowadays is to just install the metapackage
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:55















            up vote
            12
            down vote



            accepted










            php is a meta package. It does not contain any software, but just links to the "correct" package via its dependency/ies.



            From apt show php:




            This package is a dependency package, which depends on Debian's default
            PHP version (currently 7.0).




            (7.0, because I'm using 16.04)



            So it is up to you whether to install php or php7.2. But note: with the next release upgrade, php might get upgraded to the next version, while with php7.2, the version is fixed which might lead to some issues after upgrading.



            For the normal user® is is recommended to install the meta-package.




            There are also meta-packages depending on multiple other packages, so you can install a whole software bundle with just one meta-package, e.g. unity-desktop.



            From help.ubuntu.com:




            One of the handy features of apt (the packaging system used by Ubuntu) is the use of metapackages. These packages do not contain actual software, they simply depend on other packages to be installed. This setup allows entire sets of software to be installed by selecting only the appropriate metapackage





            Links:



            • Ubuntu Help: MetaPackages

            • Related Question: What is the difference between a meta-package and a package?





            share|improve this answer






















            • It's actually recommended to install the metapackages instead of the individual packages themselves so that upgrading between releases goes more smoothly and updates PHP properly without problems. This was something strongly mentioned and discussed in the 16.04 and 18.04 cycles among the server team
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:45











            • Thanks, I updated the answer to point this out. Do you have a link to that discussion ?
              – RoVo
              Aug 28 at 13:50










            • Unfortunately not, it was during IRC discussions about the PHP transitions back in the 16.04 cycles on an unlogged channel. We had a lot of discussions about package transisions back in 16.04's dev cycle, but the general thought nowadays is to just install the metapackage
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:55













            up vote
            12
            down vote



            accepted







            up vote
            12
            down vote



            accepted






            php is a meta package. It does not contain any software, but just links to the "correct" package via its dependency/ies.



            From apt show php:




            This package is a dependency package, which depends on Debian's default
            PHP version (currently 7.0).




            (7.0, because I'm using 16.04)



            So it is up to you whether to install php or php7.2. But note: with the next release upgrade, php might get upgraded to the next version, while with php7.2, the version is fixed which might lead to some issues after upgrading.



            For the normal user® is is recommended to install the meta-package.




            There are also meta-packages depending on multiple other packages, so you can install a whole software bundle with just one meta-package, e.g. unity-desktop.



            From help.ubuntu.com:




            One of the handy features of apt (the packaging system used by Ubuntu) is the use of metapackages. These packages do not contain actual software, they simply depend on other packages to be installed. This setup allows entire sets of software to be installed by selecting only the appropriate metapackage





            Links:



            • Ubuntu Help: MetaPackages

            • Related Question: What is the difference between a meta-package and a package?





            share|improve this answer














            php is a meta package. It does not contain any software, but just links to the "correct" package via its dependency/ies.



            From apt show php:




            This package is a dependency package, which depends on Debian's default
            PHP version (currently 7.0).




            (7.0, because I'm using 16.04)



            So it is up to you whether to install php or php7.2. But note: with the next release upgrade, php might get upgraded to the next version, while with php7.2, the version is fixed which might lead to some issues after upgrading.



            For the normal user® is is recommended to install the meta-package.




            There are also meta-packages depending on multiple other packages, so you can install a whole software bundle with just one meta-package, e.g. unity-desktop.



            From help.ubuntu.com:




            One of the handy features of apt (the packaging system used by Ubuntu) is the use of metapackages. These packages do not contain actual software, they simply depend on other packages to be installed. This setup allows entire sets of software to be installed by selecting only the appropriate metapackage





            Links:



            • Ubuntu Help: MetaPackages

            • Related Question: What is the difference between a meta-package and a package?






            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Aug 28 at 13:47

























            answered Aug 28 at 13:24









            RoVo

            5,4921236




            5,4921236











            • It's actually recommended to install the metapackages instead of the individual packages themselves so that upgrading between releases goes more smoothly and updates PHP properly without problems. This was something strongly mentioned and discussed in the 16.04 and 18.04 cycles among the server team
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:45











            • Thanks, I updated the answer to point this out. Do you have a link to that discussion ?
              – RoVo
              Aug 28 at 13:50










            • Unfortunately not, it was during IRC discussions about the PHP transitions back in the 16.04 cycles on an unlogged channel. We had a lot of discussions about package transisions back in 16.04's dev cycle, but the general thought nowadays is to just install the metapackage
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:55

















            • It's actually recommended to install the metapackages instead of the individual packages themselves so that upgrading between releases goes more smoothly and updates PHP properly without problems. This was something strongly mentioned and discussed in the 16.04 and 18.04 cycles among the server team
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:45











            • Thanks, I updated the answer to point this out. Do you have a link to that discussion ?
              – RoVo
              Aug 28 at 13:50










            • Unfortunately not, it was during IRC discussions about the PHP transitions back in the 16.04 cycles on an unlogged channel. We had a lot of discussions about package transisions back in 16.04's dev cycle, but the general thought nowadays is to just install the metapackage
              – Thomas Ward♦
              Aug 28 at 13:55
















            It's actually recommended to install the metapackages instead of the individual packages themselves so that upgrading between releases goes more smoothly and updates PHP properly without problems. This was something strongly mentioned and discussed in the 16.04 and 18.04 cycles among the server team
            – Thomas Ward♦
            Aug 28 at 13:45





            It's actually recommended to install the metapackages instead of the individual packages themselves so that upgrading between releases goes more smoothly and updates PHP properly without problems. This was something strongly mentioned and discussed in the 16.04 and 18.04 cycles among the server team
            – Thomas Ward♦
            Aug 28 at 13:45













            Thanks, I updated the answer to point this out. Do you have a link to that discussion ?
            – RoVo
            Aug 28 at 13:50




            Thanks, I updated the answer to point this out. Do you have a link to that discussion ?
            – RoVo
            Aug 28 at 13:50












            Unfortunately not, it was during IRC discussions about the PHP transitions back in the 16.04 cycles on an unlogged channel. We had a lot of discussions about package transisions back in 16.04's dev cycle, but the general thought nowadays is to just install the metapackage
            – Thomas Ward♦
            Aug 28 at 13:55





            Unfortunately not, it was during IRC discussions about the PHP transitions back in the 16.04 cycles on an unlogged channel. We had a lot of discussions about package transisions back in 16.04's dev cycle, but the general thought nowadays is to just install the metapackage
            – Thomas Ward♦
            Aug 28 at 13:55













            up vote
            0
            down vote













            The php-* packages are metapackages which depend on the corresponding php7.2-* packages, the latter providing the actual PHP software.



            The purpose of those metapackages is to make upgrades smoother: when you upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release which provides, say, PHP 7.3, the php-* packages will be upgraded to the newer versions, which of course will depend on the new php7.3-* packages. Thus the new php7.3-* packages will be automatically installed, and the old php7.2-* ones will be marked as no longer used (and to be removed with apt autoremove).



            If you install only the php7.2-* packages, they will work fine for now, but later you would need to install the packages for newer PHP versions manually, so yes, it is recommended to install the php-* ones.






            share|improve this answer
























              up vote
              0
              down vote













              The php-* packages are metapackages which depend on the corresponding php7.2-* packages, the latter providing the actual PHP software.



              The purpose of those metapackages is to make upgrades smoother: when you upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release which provides, say, PHP 7.3, the php-* packages will be upgraded to the newer versions, which of course will depend on the new php7.3-* packages. Thus the new php7.3-* packages will be automatically installed, and the old php7.2-* ones will be marked as no longer used (and to be removed with apt autoremove).



              If you install only the php7.2-* packages, they will work fine for now, but later you would need to install the packages for newer PHP versions manually, so yes, it is recommended to install the php-* ones.






              share|improve this answer






















                up vote
                0
                down vote










                up vote
                0
                down vote









                The php-* packages are metapackages which depend on the corresponding php7.2-* packages, the latter providing the actual PHP software.



                The purpose of those metapackages is to make upgrades smoother: when you upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release which provides, say, PHP 7.3, the php-* packages will be upgraded to the newer versions, which of course will depend on the new php7.3-* packages. Thus the new php7.3-* packages will be automatically installed, and the old php7.2-* ones will be marked as no longer used (and to be removed with apt autoremove).



                If you install only the php7.2-* packages, they will work fine for now, but later you would need to install the packages for newer PHP versions manually, so yes, it is recommended to install the php-* ones.






                share|improve this answer












                The php-* packages are metapackages which depend on the corresponding php7.2-* packages, the latter providing the actual PHP software.



                The purpose of those metapackages is to make upgrades smoother: when you upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release which provides, say, PHP 7.3, the php-* packages will be upgraded to the newer versions, which of course will depend on the new php7.3-* packages. Thus the new php7.3-* packages will be automatically installed, and the old php7.2-* ones will be marked as no longer used (and to be removed with apt autoremove).



                If you install only the php7.2-* packages, they will work fine for now, but later you would need to install the packages for newer PHP versions manually, so yes, it is recommended to install the php-* ones.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Aug 28 at 13:28









                fkraiem

                8,43321727




                8,43321727



























                     

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