make a certain software version the default in ubuntu

Solution 1:

I think the best way to do this on Ubuntu is like that:

sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php5.6

You may change the version according to your needs.

Solution 2:

There are a million things you can do instead of changing your $PATH.

One is to define an alias in your /home/YOUR_NAME/.bashrc file,

alias myphp=' /path/to/my/favorite/php ' 

Another one is to rename the version of php that you do not want, and to transform /usr/bin/php in a symbolic link to the version you wish to use:

sudo mv /usr/bin/php /usr/bin/php_5.3.10
sudo ln -s /path/to/php/you/want /usr/bin/php

Or you may use the Debian alternatives system. First, you install a php alternative,

 sudo update-alternatives --install "/usr/bin/php" "php" "/pathto/your/favorite/php" 1 

then you control that everything's fine by means of

sudo update-alternatives --display php

And much, much more.

Solution 3:

sudo update-alternatives --config php