Re: Why are new package versions depending on libc6 in unstable?

[Jason Gunthorpe <jgg@debian.org>]

On Mon, 18 Nov 2002, Joey Hess wrote:

> glibc provides backwards compatability, but not forwards compatability.
> That is, a program built with an earlier version of libc6 will continue
> to work with later versions of libc6. But, a program built for a recent
> version of libc6 may not work with earlier versions. For example, it
> might end up built to use a version of a symbol that is not in earlier
> versions of libc6.

That may be, but there are still a surprising number of unique version
numbers being used in the shlibs for glibc:

wakko{jgg}~#apt-cache dump | grep "Depends: libc6" | sort -u
[..]
  Depends: libc6 2.2.1-2
  Depends: libc6 2.2.2-2
  Depends: libc6 2.2.2-4
  Depends: libc6 2.2.3-1
  Depends: libc6 2.2.3-7
  Depends: libc6 2.2.4-2
  Depends: libc6 2.2.4-4
  Depends: libc6 2.2.5-11.2
  Depends: libc6 2.2.5-13
  Depends: libc6 2.2.5-14.3
  Depends: libc6 2.2.5-15
  Depends: libc6 2.2.5-6
  Depends: libc6 2.3.1
  Depends: libc6 2.3.1-1
  Depends: libc6 2.3.1-3
[..]

I don't know for certain, but I find it hard to belive that so many
minor debian versions are changing binary compatibility in any way at
all.

Jason