Re: m68k not a release arch for etch; status in testing, future plans?
On Tue, Sep 19, 2006 at 08:12:13AM -0500, Stephen R Marenka wrote:
> Roman Zippel has done some serious and great work fixing our toolchain
> over the past two months or so. We're down to about 16 packages blocking
> 146 or so and a total of 72 packages failed due to m68k-specific problems.
> The largest blocker is gjdoc with 60 packages, which moved from arch all
> and neatly exposed our java problems.
> If Roman keeps fixing bugs at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if we
> cleared that backlog before the end of the year. Although I doubt the
> toolchain is going to get revved everytime he fixes a bug, since it
> should be headed for freeze.
Moreover, there's the matter that this leaves no time for an archive-wide
check for toolchain /regressions/. As we enter the freeze, i386 and amd64
will most likely do whole-archive rebuilds as a consistency check; if m68k's
toolchain is changing right up to the end, this isn't even remotely
possible, leaving the security team to find these regressions on their own
when it comes time for a security update. :/
> I think we do need to have a discussion about ports that don't build the
> full archive, but otherwise can make a stable release and get security
> support. Certainly m68k and likely arm users won't be running all the
> latest bloatware and thus don't need to be building it (how long would
> it take to load openoffice under kde on my m68k mac or even the fastest
> ataris?). But drawing that line can be tricky because of dependencies.
> I don't think anyone who really cares about the issue has come up with a
> good way to frame the discussion or draw those lines yet.
I agree that subsetting the archive seems like the most sensible solution
for m68k, but all previous attempts have run aground on the interdependency
problem. Perhaps you could suggest a few guidelines you would like to see
used, as a starting point for such a discussion?
--
Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world.
vorlon@debian.org http://www.debian.org/
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