On Mon, Mar 03, 2008 at 11:16:46AM +0100, J.B.C.Engelen@...1578... wrote:
J.B.C.Engelen@...1578... wrote:
I.o.w. I do not quite grasp what the release dates of linux
distros are for, other than that it is all nicely packaged on a CD or DVD; but I am sure most users would check internet for new updates anyway?
it has to do with what goes into the official repositories besides the DVD versions. Thus, users doing an "sudo apt-get install inkscape" or "yum install inkscape" will get the version in the official repository. To avoid dependency problems, only security patched updates get added to the repositories (usually in a separate security respository that is checked in your "update" program).
Nothing stops Inkscapers from having specific packages on it's own website, it's just more work for someone to be a maintainer for each version posted and all the dependent libraries that are not included in a user's installation won't be automatically installed (part of what makes a "great" package management system). Thus, it's much harder for first-time users to install.
Sorry to get off-topic here but... so the whole official repository is updated *only* a couple of times (say 3) per year with program updates that are not security patches?
Correct, although it's 2 times per year, not 3.
Speaking only for Ubuntu (but I suspect Fedora is similar), in theory the updates can include not only security patches but also high priority, targeted patches for specific crash or data-loss bugs.
I found out all of this the hard way with 0.45.1. They would not accept 0.45.1 for Feisty. I had to submit each individual patch included in 0.45.1, one-by-one, each with a justification, test case for reproduction, and analysis of regression potential. In the end I think I only managed to get a small portion of the patches from 0.45.1 accepted.
Ubuntu also has a "backports" repository, which users in-the-know can enable to get new releases of things. I've no idea if 0.45.1 made it in for that.
I find that hard to believe with the updates I was getting. Perhaps I installed a more progressive repository... (because it did install all dependencies automatically etc.) ? How do Linux users get 0.46.1 ? Manually?
I assume that the vast majority of Linux users just use whatever is included in their distro. The distros make it so easy to use the packaged software that unless you're an extremely hard core user, you're not likely to be in the habit of downloading one-off releases of software.
For Ubuntu, Hardy will be having a 8.04.1 release, and perhaps our 0.46.1 would be included then. Otherwise, Ubuntu users would not see it until 8.10 this fall. I don't know how Fedora works, but imagine it would be similar.
0.45.1 (released slightly after Feisty was released) was essentially unavailable to Ubuntu users until Gutsy was released 6 months later. This was particularly upsetting to me, because ironically I'd invested a considerable amount of time coordinating 0.45.1 in order to benefit Ubuntu, yet it turned out that every operating system *except* Ubuntu ended up including it.
If we were very strict and regular in how we handle patch updates for 0.46.1 (such as requiring test cases or steps to reproduce, regression analysis, and so forth), we may be able to get 0.46.1 accepted as a Stable Release Update in Ubuntu, but the chances of that are essentially nil. However, if there are individual crash or data-loss bugs we feel MUST be fixed in Linux, yes we can get those included given a sufficient amount of paperwork, justification, testing, etc. etc. to assure that there will not be any chance of regressions of any sort.
In other words, in practice the updates are essentially just going to be security updates - anything else is not going to be worth the time effort invested.
Bryce