Re: sources.list directory specification
On 02/09/11 19:37, Dejan Ribič wrote:
Dne 02. 09. 2011 07:19, piše Scott Ferguson:
On 02/09/11 03:06, Tom H wrote:
On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 11:13 AM,<rlharris@hal-pc.org> wrote:
<snipped>
I'd be cautious about enabling backports, proposed, and, especially,
multimedia - except on a case-by-case basis (enable when needed,
install only what cannot be got from the standard repo, disable when
done).
Cheers
Hi,
well I've been using the backports and proposeds for awhile now and
everything works perfectly, besides Debian Backports are official part
of Debian as far as I know, so there is at least some QA involved, I think.
Cheers,
Dejan
Please don't be offended, it's not a criticism of your choices, or
implying that those (backports and proposed) repositories are full of
flakey packages. Multimedia is not flakey either *but* it will cause
problems unless you are careful.
Backports are (often) rebuilt to use libraries they were not designed
for (they are a compromise)[*1], Proposed is just that (in *testing* for
the point release). Most of the time you won't have problems, and if you
do, it'll usually be with backports. Backports *is* an official
repository - as are all repositories hosted by Debian - but QA testing
on backport packages is limited (and backports are there for
convenience, not as proposed fixes for problems), whereas proposed QA is
wider (but still requires your testing before being eligible for point
release).
Enabling those repositories on a constant basis means you have no idea
what will come down if you go:-
# apt-get update; apt-get upgrade (or dist-upgrade)
This can make live interesting, but it robs you of the control you
exercise when you enable selectively eg. I want the latest version of
Amarok because it has x, but everything else is to my satisfaction.
If you always enable proposed, and backports, and, have never had any
issues, then maybe you've not been running them for many years. My
experiences may just be a KDE4/qt/dbus/grub thing.
You may also be using the context of a hobby desktop, not a production
environment where any minor conflict can be considered a major issue
(people file service requests instead of working etc).
I'll stick to "enable when needed" as I don't believe "enable just in
case I need it" is a good idea in the long term, and I'm interested in
the long term :-)
Cheers
[*1]"It is recommended to select single backports which fit your needs,
and not to use all available backports."
http://backports-master.debian.org/
[*2]"..., packages in stable-proposed-updates aren't yet officially part
of Debian Stable and one should not assume is has the same quality and
stability (yet!). Those new versions of the packages needs to be
reviewed (by the stable release manager) and tested (by some users)
before entering stable."
http://wiki.debian.org/StableProposedUpdates
NOTE: stable is not the only branch that receives updates
--
"I'm just so sick of airports, sitting on planes on runways and the
planes won't take off.
Every time I read about a hijacking on the news I just think to myself
- just do it - let's see how far you get, I paid and didn't get off the
ground.
I've thought about that too - dreamed of it - putting a gun to the
pilot's head. That would feel so good.
"this is a hijacking"
"where do you want to go - Cuba?"
"No, I want to go where this plane was supposed to be five hours ago"
That's right, I'm hijacking this plane to it's scheduled destination."
— Bill Hicks
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