[SOLVED] Slack-current change logs--changeless in Feb?
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I suppose this comes under the heading of idle curiosity...
I've noticed that the Slackware-current change logs have had
no entries since Jan 31, 2010. Since it is March now, this
has caused me to wonder if everything's alright with Pat V.
and the development of the next version of Slackware.
--Lawrence
Click here to see the post LQ members have rated as the most helpful post in this thread.
This is an example of just how stable Slackware is. I believe there are some fairly major changes being developed at the moment but that they will not hit current until they are ready.
It sounds like there's lots going on in private, but it would seem that the team want to keep us in the dark till they've finished (much like what happened with the 64bit version).
I can understand that some changes take bucket loads of time and effort, identifying build orders, bugs, and lots of other stuff like that, but I don't understand why they're also being so tight lipped about what they're working on.
If this trend towards secrecy continues then it sounds like the end of current as we've known it, and taken to the extreme we might end up only getting to see current when it hits 'beta'/'release candidate' stage like the other commercial distros do things.
I respect the teams choice to approach Slackware development however they want, it is their project after all, but this recent trend towards secrecy does make me a little uncomfortable about the future.
If this trend towards secrecy continues then it sounds like the end of current as we've known it, and taken to the extreme we might end up only getting to see current when it hits 'beta'/'release candidate' stage like the other commercial distros do things.
I disagree, it would be mad to allow major structural changes to be released until they are in a state that is at least able to be used. Then release it to current to catch the elusive bugs. As I understand it Slackware is not a community led project, but it is a well led project with a good community. I am happy to see it done this way.
Eric also mentions the behind-the-scenes work in this post here.
I wouldn't read too much into the "secrecy" of what they're working on. We know that KDE 4.4 has issues with inclusion in Slackware due to its new dependency on policykit. I'm assuming that they're working on how to get around that dependency that doesn't require introducing PAM or creating a new maintenance nightmare for every future version of Slackware with KDE >4.4.
Pat has historically communicated chiefly through changelog updates. The development team knows that they've got a lot more users running -current than ever before because of KDE 4.3. If we got daily or weekly snapshots of work-in-progress KDE 4.4 builds, as well as the other packages they're modifying to make it work, -current would probably stay broken. So, we haven't gotten many changelog updates and therefore not a lot of communication from Pat.
I realize that -current comes with no guarantees on stability, but I appreciate that they're not pushing out half-finished updates just so we can see what's going on. The 1-31-10 stopping point has been very stable for me. I was worried about when would be a good time to burn a DVD of -current with Eric's mirror-slackware-current script, and early February turned out to work well.
You misunderstand me Samac. I don't want to see the changes before they're ready. I'm quite happy to wait however long it takes, but I wouldn't mind knowing what they're working on at a 'headline' level, so I can make sure I'm prepared for when the changes finally show up.
Are they working on KDE4.4 with policykit/consolekit? Is it a new X11 version that's taking up the time, a new gcc/libc, update to the latest kernel, a brand new package-manager with dependencies? (YIKES!!) Are they adding SELinux and creating a policy for it? Stuff like that.
OK GazL that would be quite good as, after all, Slackware is too damn stable and we need something to discuss at great length of the forum. Maybe someone should start a sweepstake thread and then the cat population of Oldham would have to worry again.
Are they working on KDE4.4 with policykit/consolekit?
Nope
Quote:
Originally Posted by GazL
Is it a new X11 version that's taking up the time, a new gcc/libc, update to the latest kernel, a brand new package-manager with dependencies? (YIKES!!) Are they adding SELinux and creating a policy for it? Stuff like that.
I'll give that 5 out of 10 since you didn't mention Gnome3 or a graphical installer =)
hehe. Yep, I pretty much knew it wasn't 4.4 as it's already been hinted in several places that 4.3.5 will be the KDE for the next release, which is fine by me.
I thought about adding Gnome to that list, but I thought it was already getting far too silly as it was. I also didn't include PAM as that would have just been ridiculous!
Mind you, I don't know what I'm worried about. I normally just run 'stable' anyway.
I suppose this comes under the heading of idle curiosity...
I've noticed that the Slackware-current change logs have had
no entries since Jan 31, 2010.
I think its quite reasonable to be extra cautious with large updates in current furthermore now that the branch seems to be picked up by many more users than in the past, mostly KDE users, who are "sacrificing stability" for the extra features the newer KDE versions provide.
When the new Slackware batch hatches, and all of you apply your patches, be extra careful if you are running Slackware64-current with multilib and/or my KDE 4.4.0 packages on top of Slackware-current.
There will be some package upgrades from my end to reflect the new state of -current. I'll post the details on my blog once the trigger has been pulled.
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