Software repository question

[Leo "TheHobbit" Cacciari]

Il 05/24/2011 07:49 PM, dave boland ha scritto:

> [...snip..]
> I agree it is getting easier, and I understand some of the challenges of
> keeping packages updated for all distributions.  
> 
> However, there is no point in having LTS versions if we have to live
> with outdated software.  Yes, there are some ways around that -- PPA's,
> GetDeb, etc.  But they are just that -- workaround solutions.  I do
> disagree that it should be a problem.  APT (as was well pointed out) can
> resolve dependency issues very well.  All that seems (to my limited
> visibility) to be done is to test the newer app on each current
> distribution of Ubuntu prior to releasing to the repository.
> 
> The conundrum for LTS users is that we like not having to do complete
> upgrades every six months, but there are going to be times when a newer
> version of an app is needed -- bug fix, feature that is important,
> better performance, or some sort of external requirement.
> 
> Thanks,
> Dave

No. Or at least this is not the rationale behind LTS as I understand it.
The rationale is having a _stable_ release, i.e. one that do mot change
every two days :) This is a must in some production systems. Just as an
example, recent Net Snmp version introduced a binary incompatibility for
64 bit systems, where you could have locally developed libraries stop
working. If on a critical 64bits system the net-snmp library where
changed only because it is upgraded upstream then the system could stop
doing its job, and this is definitely *not* a god thing. In this
specific case, and in other similar ones, the answer «you should know
what you do when you upgrade" is wrong. The binary incompatibility was
discovered _weeks_ after the release of net snmp.

When a new Ubuntu (or any other distribution, of course) release is
produced, there is a "freeze" status, in which the versions of shipped
software are not changed any more and everything is checked (or should
be) for problems and problems are solved. The complete bunch is released
(or again should be released) only when no more problem remain.

Doing an upgrade on a production system requires checking that your own
software, the one you developed and installed, the add-on and
configuration of installed software etc, that all this still works with
the new releases. This is not simply "a bother", its (often) a
nightmare! More to the point, is a *costly* process, thus people using
Ubuntu in production systems (like myself) like to have this done only
every some years rather than every six month and still have a system
that *works as expected*.

T.H.

-- 
Leo "TheHobbit" Cacciari
Aliae nationes servitutem pati possunt populi romani est propria libertas