Check Software Version Before Installing It In Ubuntu

In this post, you will learn to know the version of a program before it is installed in an Ubuntu operating system.

The other day I needed to install a MySQL client on Ubuntu 16.04. The one I always use is MySQL Workbench, so I decided to download it. The usual thing in Ubuntu is to have at least two options when installing a package: through the Ubuntu repositories or by downloading the installer from the website of the program in question.

However, as you probably know, the problem is that the Ubuntu repositories do not always have the latest version of all the programs. In this way, it is ensured that the program to be installed has no negative impact on the operating system.

The usual thing is that we already know the version that is available from the web of the program, but how do we know the version of the program in the Ubuntu repositories?

Find the version of a program from the Ubuntu Software Center

This option is the easiest because you do not have to know any commands. Just enter the name of the program and check its version.

In addition to the version, you will find additional information such as the size of the program.

Know the version before installing it from the command line

This method is for me the best and fastest if you are familiar with the terminal. We just must enter the following command:

apt show <program-name>

Now that we know the version of the program in the Ubuntu repositories as well as on the website, we can decide which of the two options to choose to install in the operating system.