Linux Bash – Yum – Installing a Specific Version of a Package or Application

Note to self – never update Visual Studio Code on Linux – aka today was FUN.

I found out via a vague GitHub Issue that Microsoft’s latest versions of VSCode are built using some higher version of “libstdc++” and “CXXABI_1.3.9” that most if not all currently existing versions of Linux are currently not compatible with.

The error in question:

The terminal process failed to launch: A native exception occurred during launch (/lib64/libstdc++.so.6: version `CXXABI_1.3.9' not found (required by /usr/share/code/resources/app/node_modules.asar.unpacked/node-pty/build/Release/pty.node)).

In this below GitHub thread there is a long list of angry developers since 02/04/2021 including an IT representative that works on a Navy Ship that are all just absolutely pissed off – it’s a fun read.

https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/115784

So as a result of this fun exploratory task I had to find a way to revert VSCode to an older – working version that is compatible with my distro.

Here are the steps I took – credit to the Navy IT Tech who goes by “appurist” on this GitHub thread – I used part of his solution and found other solutions to pair together to find the ideal version numbers for my Linux Distro.

Open Terminal
Type the following command:
- yum list –showduplicates | grep code.x86
This will bring back a list of versions for your desired application that you want to downgrade
Copy your desired version string and create the package name as follows:
- Structure Example:
  - Package Name
  - Hyphen –
  - Version String
- Actual Example
  - code-1.52.1-1608137084.el7
Either of the two following command styles:
- Uninstall Application – Reinstall Application
  - yum -y remove code
  - yum -y install code-1.52.1-1608137084.el7
- Downgrade Application and Version Lock to prevent updates
  - yum downgrade code-1.52.1-1608137084.el7
  - yum install yum-plugin-versionlock
  - yum versionlock code