Re: Many packages missing from testing
> All this is IMHO. Warning rant ahead:
>
> 1) testing not for users. It is for debian maintainers putting the
> next stable release together.
>
> There is a mechanical aging process which lets packages come over
> from sid. A package could get updated, wait, and just when it's
> about to land in testing, it gets some new minor update. The
> package may work great the whole time, but it doesn't gets into
> testing for a long time. When sid is revving heavily, you might
> never get an update since some dependency somewhere is getting an
> update. I think that security is now doing updates for testing.
> They used to not do it and under that case testing was positively
> foolhardy.
>
> While it is usually solid, a breakage in testing can sometimes take
> ages to get fixed. This is the nature of testing. There is no
> manual override of the aging process.
>
> 2) Use "sarge" or "sid" instead. Sarge is stable and everything works
> and is included. Right now, it's not even superannuated. Sid gets
> quick updates. It might be broke once in a while, but it isn't
> broke for long. (Of course it might really blow up and clobber
> your system if, e.g., libc.so get hosed.)
>
> 3) Do not use "stable" in your apt sources since that could surprise
> you when we get a new stable. Stable releases are rare enough that
> manually changing /etc/apt/sources.list is not a problem. Hence,
> the fixed name is better.
>
> 3) If you want to use "testing", put "etch" into your apt sources. Of
> course, I could be extra perverse and argue that if you are a user
> who would be surprised you have no business running testing anyhow.
>
I just totally agree with you. A little difference, I switch my
production machines (stable) to testing somewhere during the "frozen"
time (of course using testing real name. I prefer having a manual
control on the oldstable->newstable update. I am around since ham and
this worked without problems for me.
My desktops use unstable.
The problem is always the same: Newbies don't understand the sense of
the word "unstable" as used by Debian.
In fact they lack understanding what a distribution is, and therefore
what a stable (or unstable) distribution is.
Michel.
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