Is slackware-current worth it?
 

Would you recommend it over the stable version? If so, why?

If you want to help with finding bugs or are interested in having the latest version of certain software then go for -current. The downside is that you may find that you will have to fix some SlackBuilds from SBo yourself when using -current, since SBo only supports the stable versions (though you usually can get help from the SBo mailing list or LQ with that). You may also have to to rebuilt packages from SBo if an underlying dependency gets updated.
If that is not what you want, just go for the stable version.

I personally went with -current for quite some time, but at this point in time I prefer the stable version with just some selected packages updated by myself. I used to use -current to get those packages automatically updated, but usually upgrades in -current are rather slow and together with the SBo package situation I convinced myself to go with stable and do the upgrades I want (mostly related to the graphics stack) myself. So far I am satisfied with that.

One other issue you'll find with -Current is that if you prefer OEM drivers rather than the open source editions, you'll be constantly rebuilding stuff each kernel revision update. Plus as Tobi said SBo's only support the stable releases, so you'll be limited supportwise to experimental solutions or documented topics rather than official support vectors, and honestly it's bothersome to troubleshoot -Current because packages keep changing.

My advice, and I suggest you consider it, stay with the stable releases only if your using a production level machine, you have sensitive files on your PC, or you want support properly when something breaks.

Gonna stay with the stable release then, I guess

Most of my Slackware boxes follow stable. As mentioned above when you follow -current some of your applications may break and need to be re-built with your own slackbuild scripts.
I do have one slackware-current box as I like to track changes in our distro and help (in a small way) to report bugs. It is very rare, but, slackware-current will break on occasion.

Well, I plan to stay with Slackware, unless my the urge to distro hop attacks again. Just thought that using current would be a way to maintain it "forever", since it is a rolling release. I think I will do a fresh install every slackware stable release then, it seems reasonable.

Slackware -current is not a rolling release. It is a development snapshot of what will become a future stable Slackware release.

So don't mix -current with production data and don't expect -current to be in a useable for any other purpose than testing the next generation of Slackware.

Ask not what the -current can do for you, ask what you can do for the -current.
~ J. R. "Bob" Dobbs

Praise Bob! :cool:

That is a little harsh and also inaccurate. I run my -current box on a day to day basis. I find slackware-current to be very reliable, stable. On occasion breakage will occur, but, it is for the most part usable.

I agree with jtsn. The fact that you run -current doesn't change its main purpose, and using it is not a good advice for a less experienced user, as he won't neither easily solve problems that could occur nor get a big benefit of it vs -stable.

Deeming Slackware-current fit for no more than a testing ground (implying an unstable crash-prone environment) does not do it any justice at all.
I run Slackware-current on all my desk/lap computers (except for my servers) all the time. I would not be able to get any work done if the whole shebang kept on crashing.
Slackware-current is not for the casual user, that is fact. If you are running Slackware-current, you should be able and are expected to be capable of solving any breakage that occurs with minimal hand-holding. It's not that Slackware itself becomes unusable but the software you are using on top of it stops working properly because of Slackware library updates. And already mentioned, every kernel update creates a bit of tension when you have to find out by trial and error whether the binary Nvidia drivers will work reliably for that new kernel.

Therefore I would never recommend Slackware-current to a non-experienced Slackware user. You do get a fantastically up to date system in return.

Eric

I run stable on production systems, and on my servers. I do have a box that runs -current ONLY...it's where I live & learn the Slackware world. I still consider myself a non-experienced user, mostly to prevent me from making bad decisions : ) But I have been using Slackware since 1993 off & on, but went 100% Slackware 1 1/2 years ago on my production systems...I have one machine running Windows Pro 8.1 for the other family members who prefer to run Windows on their laptops. It has an external 2 TB Hard Drive for backups. Eventually, everyone in the household will move to a Linux environment.

I like using -current to tinker and try things I wouldn't try on my production systems, for obvious reasons. But Alien Bob's advice is what I recommend as well. Enjoy learning and experimenting with -current, and be productive with stable.

I run current on all my desktops/laptops. I stay with a stable release on my servers and media box. Usually, I know I could run into problems when either a new kernel or xorg is release. If I see that on the ChangeLog, I usually either test it out on a virtual machine or one of the kids laptop that I don't mind blowing up. ;)

At the moment, I do not use the -current, since I see it as a time and hardware investment. I would love to run the -current some time in the near future though, because I'd like to be an active contributor within the Slackware community. IMHO, there is hardly a better way to do so than by running the dev version, so that I can test new packages, as well as the SlackBuilds I happen to maintain, and provide feedback to the core team.

Some people here have differing opinions, but me personally, I would not run -current on anything even close to "production". I believe that it is possible, especially for the low-concern tasks, but I am just too in love with the lull of the stable branch. Instead, I would have a clean -current system dedicated to testing and building.