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Re: Status of Sarge Release Issues (Updated for May)



On Tue, 2003-05-06 at 00:17, Chris Cheney wrote:
> I have read that Linus is planning to have 2.6 released before July and
> have 2.7 open for commits by Kernel Summit time (July).

Yes, but it may take another year for Linux 2.6 to stabilize,
especially on non-i386 architectures.  The fact that Linus
labels a kernel with an even minor number does not indicate
that it is ready for universal use; it indicates that Linus
wants it more widely tested.  Remember the early 2.4 releases.
Equally as important, many Debian developers have little
experience with the new kernel.

If the point of releasing is to create something stable and
reliable for non-expert users then the latest Linux 2.4 should
be shipped as the standard kernel.  Then we will have a whole
release cycle to work out any problems created by Linux 2.6
novelties such as the new module loader and sysfs.

One might reply that Debian should make a special effort to
get Linux 2.6 in the box so as not to reinforce its 
reputation as a laggard.  But IMHO Debian would be better
off not making such special efforts. Instead, on the contrary,
it should reduce the number of things it tries to accomplish
per release so that the release cycle is shortened, so that 
not getting a favorite bit of software into a release is
less painful.  (In saying this I do not mean to criticize
the way the current release is being handled.)

-- 
Thomas Hood <jdthood0@yahoo.co.uk>



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