Re: testing or stable
On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 02:12:02 +0800
Bret Busby <bret.busby@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> My understanding, and, I stand to be corrected in this belief,
> follows, below.
>
> Sid = "experimental" - the name Sid is permanent for the experimental
> version, and is so named, because the character Sid, in Toy Story, the
> origin of the names of the Debian version names, was known for being
> one of those boys who delighted in breaking things, and, as,
> apparently (I have never tried the "experimental" version of Debian),
> the experimental version is one where the user has to be prepared for
> the version breaking the user's system, the name Sid stays permanently
> as the version name for the "experimental" Debian version.
You have the derivation of the name correct, but Experimental isn't
Sid. It isn't really a working distribution at all, it is pretty much a
test bed. Normal people aren't expected to try to use it.
>
> The next more stable version, is the "unstable" Debian version, which,
> I believe, has a version name, that bubbles down, as a new "stable"
> version of Debian is released.
It is unstable which is permanently Sid. Sid is also permanently a
(nearly) working distribution, one that is always intended to be fully
functional. I've used it as my main workstation for at least ten years,
during which I've only reinstalled three times.
>
> The next more stable version, is the "testing" version, which, I
> understand, can be quite testing, and, has a version name, that is
> bubbled down from the "unstable" version, when a new "stable" version
> of Debian is released, and, which name, itself, bubbles down, when a
> next new "stable" version of Debian, is released.
Testing is somewhat less error-prone than Sid, but packages in Sid
which do not break badly are transferred to Testing after about ten
days (before the freeze occurs), so it has its ups and downs. It
becomes progressively less buggy during the freeze.
--
Joe
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