Which is the best debian-testing based rolling-release distro?
 

I have some experience of working in linux and I can use the command line also. I want to move to debian testing since it has largest number of applications available, it is rolling release (so that I do not lead to reinstall every now and then) and it has updates which are intermediate between very old/stable and very new/untested. On this I intend to install LXDE desktop. There are a number of debian-testing based distributions available, such as anti-X, linux mint debian edition (LMDE) and crunchbang linux. Which one should I choose? Or should I directly install debian-testing? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Best?
 

Best anything is a question loaded for failure. Best for what?

It is difficult to beat the Debian distro. If all you want is a rolling, Debian based, desktop distribution there are several options. Only select one if you have tested and tried it and are sure it does the things YOU want. Loading a bot directly from Debian is a better answer for me, but I tend to more server level 'stuff'.

I recommend Debian Unstable/Sid for "rolling release Debian." No need to use a derivative distro in my opinion; LXDE is very well supported by the parent distro.

Basically, I would say Debian, because all the derivatives are based on it, so Debian is naturally going to be the first released.

Debian Testing is not a rolling release. Additions and changes are made until about half a year before it becomes the next Stable release. (Where it is now.) After that point, nothing is added. The purpose is to work out any bugs before it is released as Stable. The reason Debian is a stable system, is because it is not a rolling release. (New packages and new versions of existing packages added immediately. Bugs and all.)

Interesting idea. A system is either stable or it is not stable. "Intermediate" means only a little unstable. Debian is the wrong place to look for such a thing.

I think it is cyclically-rolling release as you explain and from the refs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling...Debian-related

Anyway, I got myself debian-testing-lxde iso and tried to install it on an external usb drive (sdb). I was shocked when it installed grub2 on sda. I thought it would install grub2 on mbr of sdb and there was no prior notice or confirmation asked.

Also, although I was installing from CD, it tried to setup network so as to arrange for packages from the net. I could not configure the network properly, so I ended up with only the base system installed (not lxde desktop).

Most likely these problems are due to my ignorance/inexperience in this area but please help me sort these out. Thanks for your help.

I managed to sort out both above problems and I now have LXDE desktop on debian testing. But I wanted to have a true rolling-release distro so that there would be no need to reinstall but only upgrade to maintain the system. Should I go in for Linux mint debian edition (LMDE) which is truly rolling-release (http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2010/12/29...dition-review/) or can my make my present setup a rolling-release one? After all, LMDE is also based on debian testing (according to above review). Your comments will be very helpful. Thanks.

With any and all 'rolling release' distros/versions there is a chance of breakage. I would not be installing a rolling release distro just to avoid reinstalling....its quite possible that you'll have to do more reinstalling with a rolling release if/when something breaks. Or spend just as much time as you would reinstalling, if not more, asking forums 'how do I fix XXXXX' when an update/upgrade breaks something.

LMDE used to use debian testing repos, now its got its own repos. I'd use debian testing over LMDE.

I wanted to clarify one point. Can one changes the /etc/apt/sources.list file at any time in a debian based distro and update/upgrade? Can I change from debian testing to unstable repositories at any time? Will it cause problems?

Yes you can, and maybe it will, depends on what packages you have installed and your definition of "problems". :)

LMDE is NOT a rolling release and is even less so now than Debian Testing because of how it has its own repository setup. If you want a true rollong release from Debian you will never find it. Sid (unstable) is the closest thing to a true rolling release from Debian as you will ever get but when Testing goes into freeze Sid also slows down.

Debian Testing is the Alpha/Beta/Release Candidate for the next Stable release, I don't really consider it a "rolling release" and it has the greatest risk of breakage of the Debian repos in my opinion/experience. (Although right now it is really quite stable due to the pending Stable release; after that, packages will come flooding in from Unstable and things get weird for a while.)

My personal preference is Stable. There is also no "need to reinstall but only upgrade to maintain the system" with Stable, because upgrading to the next Stable when it comes out does not require a reinstall. This is true of almost all distros, which is why I've never really bought into the "rolling release" concept personally. :)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Considering everything, I have decided to stick with debian for now. As I mentioned above, there was a problem during the installation. I have basic install + lxde desktop. However, I think not all packages from cdrom were installed. The /etc/apt/sources.list file has only one line:
How can I know whether all packages from cdrom were installed and how can I install all remaining packages?

Also, I think I would need to change the source.list to following, before I can install anything from the internet:
I will then probably need to run "apt-get update" and "apt-get upgrade" commands.

Please advise.

^--- No, you never mix stable and testing repos.

If you don't have an active internet connection when you install then the debian installer will assume you want to use local CD-ROM, that's why your sources.list looks like that.

Here is a debian source list generator you might find helpful: http://debgen.simplylinux.ch/

That's pretty much the standard sources list when you install of a CD, if you installed of a dvd the cd would be dvd. If you had used a dvd instead of a cd you would have installed the full system without having to connect to the internet. The cd pretty much just provides the basic Desktop Environment.

Anyway just adjust your sources.list and run in that order, then install any new packages you want to install.

Snowpine is spot on don't mix stable with anything else unless it is backports for stable.

This page suggested that I include stable lines as well:
http://www.mayin.org/ajayshah/COMPUT...rinciples.html
I think they have made a mistake there.

What is the advantage of adding deb-src repos?

That person is giving bad advice. Stable should never be mixed with Testing or Unstable. It can break the system.

Given the choice of an official Debian site and a site by a someone-out-there, the Debian site is probably more trust-worthy.

Read that entire article and look at the date down the bottom. Even if he wasn't giving bad advice would you seriously follow what he put in there considering its age?

A bigger download, you get the source packages as well when you upgrade.

Thanks. I have omitted the deb-src lines in sources.list.

I have installed debian testing from lxde CD. I have subsequently also installed some other packages like gparted, synaptic etc and everything went off very smoothly. However, I am not clear that if I do "apt-get upgrade" will it get all the packages from the repository or updated only currently installed ones to latest version on repository? Also, if I do "apt-get dist-upgrade", will it get all the packages in debian-testing including xfce, gnome and kde packages also!?

I recommend to only ever use "apt-get dist-upgrade" for Debian Testing or Unstable. (never "apt-get upgrade")

(see "man apt-get" for more info)

Having the deb-src repos activated only gives you the possibility to download the sources, they will never be installed automatically.

Both, the upgrade and the dist-upgrade options, will only upgrade installed packages, with the exception that dist-upgrade will install newly added dependencies if needed. To make that clear, you don't want to install the whole repository and you will never be able to do so without breaking the system. Therefore neither apt-get nor any other package managing front-end has the option to install all packages.

Make it clear...
 

All pure debian distributions should be considered "rolling release", as Debian itself is "rolling release" if configured so. To claim it is not is to subvert the definitions of "rolling release". This does not conflict with the claims above that a "rolling release" has some risks.

To compare, the RedHat based world (Fedora, RHEL, CentOS, etc) have no supported upgrade path without a full install of the new version. These are NOT "rolling release". Debian can be upgraded IN PLACE between releases by meeting the pre-requisits and running "apt dist-upgrade".

Debian based distros come in pure and derived: pure can use the Debian repos and can be upgrade in place between versions using "apt dist-upgrade" once certain requirements have been met, the derived are based upon Debian packages - but how close the come to Debian behavior depends upon the distribution maintainer.

Having "freeze points" during which packages are only updated to resolve upgrade and compatability issues to prevent upgrade failures and ensure the user experience makes it a good distribution, but does not in itself mean it cannot be considered a "rolling release".

Other than that, there is much said by 'snowpine' that I agree with. A rolling release always gets a bit risky when a flood of package change is in progress.
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When advice is "old" it may no longer apply, but I would not throw it away without consideration. Some of the best advice is not time dependent.
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For Debian: I point my repos to testing or stable, not to the release (character) name. Not (generally) to both: while I have never broken a system by merging packages from different versions, I have observed that more than a few people have discovered problems with mixmatched repos only when their system broke on update. I cannot recommend it unless you are a serious SYSADMIN and know what you are doing. I generally use STABLE for servers, TESTING for desktop, and recommend a conservative approach if you hate doing a fresh installation. (Backups will save your life some day!)
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The OP current problem is with the repos list, but there are some nice utilities to create a new and efficient network repos list.
I always recommend installing with a wired network connection to ensure the package updates can succeed, which would avoid this issue. In this case you can also install from a netinst image, which is very small and pulls down only the latest packages directly from the repos rather than off disk. Alas, with some newer machines arriving with WIFI only the smart way is not always possible.
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Good luck all, please remember the holiday season approaches and you want your systems stable for the season.

I know, because the regular debs are installed.

"Any system that can be updated without re-installing is a rolling release."
Interesting.
Perhaps your definition of rolling is a little too liberal? I suppose if Debian was not a rolling release, many non-Debian people would not complain about "out-dated" packages. [The main feature of a rolling release is nothing but the latest. Hence, continuously rolling. No stopping (freezing) to work out bugs.]
But then you may be correct. Everyone else may be using the term rolling incorrectly.

My current sources.list is as follows:
Is it all right if I replace wheezy with testing in the security line? (I think I can, but just want to be sure since it is a security point).

Yes and to show you proof take a look here.

I don't use "apt-get upgrade" or "apt-get dist-upgrade" I've been running Sid for years. I find upgrading packages in groups works best for me. This way I'm not getting any surprises with conflicts and anything being removed when it shouldn't.

Seems like an interesting approach. Could you explain this in some more details for people like me who are new to Debian. How do you decide when to upgrade a group? Some basic lib files may not be part of any group (I am not sure on this)?

This is were using a GUI (Synaptic) is easier, well faster, than using the command line. I basically highlight a group of packages, sorted by version (so libs get updated with their binaries), and set them to update. If any of them conflict with something, I'll save them for later. Sometimes those that had conflicts with older packages don't conflict with the updated packages, and will install just fine. If I had run "apt-get dist-upgrade" those conflicting packages may have been uninstalled. Not good if they are important, such as updating a minor package conflicts with your desktop manager.

Go get Sparky rolling release. It's rock solid. I cant believe there has been no comments in YEARS other than that German WinBloze complaint :hattip:

Sparky rolling is a favorite of mine. For those who want something a bit more stable, MintDE is a Debian based rolling release of MINT that is remarkably satisfying.

I dual boot LMDE4. It's kinda-sorta"rolling" since the mint guys update a few packages now and again but not to the extent of Sparky.LMDE is a fine piece of work, for sure.I can't comprehend why someone would use Mints Uuugoongoogoo version, much less running Cinnamon on any other distro but a Mint.
I'll have to say Marie Linux did a pretty fair job of cinn on stable.It's very light so it's starting from scratch, which I like a lot.