Re: How does the 64bits time_t transition work?

[Jeffrey Walton <noloader@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Mar 20, 2024 at 4:23 AM Brad Rogers <brad@fineby.me.uk> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 20 Mar 2024 08:22:16 +0100
> Detlef Vollmann <dv@vollmann.ch> wrote:
>
> >Is there a description anywhere how the 64bit time transition works?
>
> I'm far from an expert, but from what I've read, this transition is
> *huge*.  Possibly the largest that has ever occurred in Debian.  It's
> going to take time to get it done.  Lots, and lots, of time.  In the
> meanwhile, it means a good deal of disruption in Sid/unstable.
>
> You should already be aware that running sid comes with certain
> difficulties, and if you're not prepared/willing to deal with them then,
> in all likelihood, Sid isn't for you.

Some folks don't have a choice. To run Debian ports in a Debian
QEMU/Chroot, you have to run Unstable in the guest. You cannot run
Stable or Testing in the guest.

I guess the other choice is to forgo testing on various Debian
architectures. But that seems like a worse choice for everyone
involved. Personally, I would not feel good about this path. I don't
want Debian users and Debian packagers to experience problems I should
have caught during testing.

> Following Marco's advice would be a good first step, IMO.

I don't think this migration was planned well. Debian should have
created a temporary *-t64 port, and then released the appropriate
ISOs. Later, when things got stable, the *-t64 port could have been
merged back into the standard port all at once.

Jeff