[SOLVED] So, the Slackware Team surrended in the front of RUST, and there is NO more modern Firefox packages for us?
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No thanks, from what I remember of using 'aoss' it was always a bit flakey because of how it made use of LD_LIBRARY_PATH which upset some programs. 'apulse' seems to be very much the same sort of thing and though it might work it all seems a bit hackish to me and I'd rather just use Chrome which doesn't require me to dick around.
Waiting for a technology to mature before incorporating it into Slackware is not "surrendering"; it is simply prudent.
Slackware is stable and reliable. There are reasons for that, a certain relationship of cause and effect. Don't assume the Slackware team is full of dolts. If their decisions make no sense to you, consider that they might know something you don't.
I always kept up to date on Firefox in my 32 bit 14.0 install (that I still sometimes use and BTW ALSA oddly still works for me... go figure) but I decided to stick with ESR for 14.2 Multilib. Recently Firefox began to leak memory like a sieve even causing a complete loopy lockup that even Ctrl-Alt-Backspace wouldn't stop and that is so completely rare I don't even remember the last time that happened... maybe 5-6 years ago?
So I did as I always do/did on 14.0 - went to ftp mozilla and downloaded and extracted the tar.gz for the latest and then copied it to /usr/lib64/firefox-55 and for testing just changed the symlink to point to it instead of ESR and gave it a shot. TLDR, for me anyway, it is simply better and doesn't leak. I'll probably keep it but if I decide to go back to ESR it's two quick little commands away.
So, the Slackware Team surrended in the front of RUST, and there is NO more modern Firefox packages for us?
I may be off base here, but isn't the whole point of Slackware (and GNU/Linux in general) to have choice? Don't like the version included by default? Add your own. Compile from source. Write a SlackBuild. Share it with the rest of the community. If you lack the knowledge/skills and the desire to learn, maybe try Ubuntu, instead.
Waiting for a technology to mature before incorporating it into Slackware is not "surrendering"; it is simply prudent.
Slackware is stable and reliable. There are reasons for that, a certain relationship of cause and effect. Don't assume the Slackware team is full of dolts. If their decisions make no sense to you, consider that they might know something you don't.
Oh, it is about prudence, plain and simple? Prudence about a compiler not used by any other software from Slackware?
Then, let's return back to repackaging the Firefox official binaries, as well plain and simple!
I for one, I believe that make no sense to stuck with some memory eating pig, just to be prudent with some new kid in the block, when we can just use the improved versions without headaches about viability of RUST compiler, anyway NOT used by any other software from Slackware.
Last edited by Darth Vader; 08-12-2017 at 06:10 PM.
RUST is a programming language, just like is C/C++, and looks that it to be very efficient in some particular niches, as demonstrated by the dramatic improvements of Firefox, after adopting some pieces written in RUST.
Oh, and BTW, the RUSTC (aka the RUST compiler) manage to compile itself. At least the version 1.19.0.
The bad thing is that RUSTC is written in RUST, then you need a RUST compiler to compile it, distributed as binaries by the project.
After this bootstrapping, the RUSTC compile itself, like any honorable compiler. Read: if you have the RUST compiler on system, you can compile a (superior) version.
But, I guess our BDFL is a bit dissapointed that RUSTC is not written in C/C++, then compilable with GCC...
Last edited by Darth Vader; 08-12-2017 at 05:20 PM.
I may be off base here, but isn't the whole point of Slackware (and GNU/Linux in general) to have choice? Don't like the version included by default? Add your own. Compile from source. Write a SlackBuild. Share it with the rest of the community. If you lack the knowledge/skills and the desire to learn, maybe try Ubuntu, instead.
I have both the knowledge and skills to follow the Firefox builds all the way, trust me!
BUT, guess what? I believe that not all Slackware users share my own abilities (and my hardware).
That's WHY I believe also that Slackware, by definition a binary packages shipping distribution, should ship the best versions, if possible. By default.
That is nice of you Darth Vader. What I don't understand is why are you using Current when so many updates make you unhappy? The older versions of Slackware are still supported and don't contain the offending updates.
Plasma 6 LTS isn't released yet. They are still working on Plasma 5. There is no Qt 6.
I am not against the updates. Like you see, even with this thread, I push for an update...
BUT, as you suspect, I like to use the Slackware Linux, not some ugly Plasmaware Linux...
I know is egoistically, but also I appreciate well when my drivers works fine, too.
Last edited by Darth Vader; 08-12-2017 at 05:27 PM.
Slackware, by definition a binary packages shipping distribution, should ship the best versions, if possible. By default.
What distribution isn't, by definition, a binary packages shipping distribution? (aside from maybe Gentoo/Funtoo)
"Best versions" is entirely subjective. In your use case, with your hardware, the new and shiny Firefox is better. Awesome, use it.
I imagine many users would say the same about the ESR release. Technology is inherently fickle; no one thing is going to work for everyone, but the ESR release is generally easier to maintain on multiple systems and is a slower moving target.
Now, in regards to the -current branch shipping bleeding edge Firefox binaries, that would make sense only if the Slackware devs decided to make that the new default and stop shipping the ESR release, as -current will eventually become the new Stable.
I feel confident that I understand your point/argument, but I'm sticking with my original rebuttal. If you want the new/shiny release, use it. If you really think it is the "best", share your build with the rest of the community. If it achieved wide-spread adoption, that just might convince the devs to adopt it as well in Stable, which would in turn provide the newer shinier in -current.
"Best versions" is entirely subjective. In your use case, with your hardware, the new and shiny Firefox is better. Awesome, use it.
Firstly, to note that we talk about a particular web browser, and is generally considered that for web browsers the latest versions are the best. Always. Even on Windows. Specially on Windows, where they auto-update with not questions asked, as you know.
Secondly, to note that we talk about slackware-current, which is not some rolling release variant of Slackware, but its very development tree, where happens naughty things like upgrading GLIBC and breaking everything, where the latest mightiest GCC7 is pushed and nothing compile, and so on...
It can break, man! It can break maybe every day! It is not for "users" but for "testers", and I for one, I will love to test the latest PV's take on Firefox 55.
AND, the ESR as argument is questionable, at least for me, as slackware-current used to push (in the latest of its iterations ,at least), always the latest Firefox, then on the next release to be picked the latest ESR.
Last edited by Darth Vader; 08-12-2017 at 06:13 PM.
Firstly, to note that we talk about a particular web browser, and is generally considered that for web browsers the latest versions are the best. Always. Even on Windows.
Secondly, to note that we talk about slackware-current, which is not some rolling release variant of Slackware, but its very development tree, where happens naughty things like upgrading GLIBC and breaking everything, where the latest mightiest GCC7 is pushed and nothing compile, and so on...
It can break, man! It can break maybe every day! It is not for for "users" but for "testers", and I for one, I will love to test the latest PV's take on Firefox 55.
AND, the ESR argument is questionable, at least for me, as slackware-current used to push, in the latest iterations, always the latest Firefox, then on the next release to be picked the latest ESR.
Fair enough.
If we didn't all have our own opinions/likes/needs, we'd all be the same person. That wouldn't be very fun.
P.S. To be honest, I think your choice of wording in the thread title and several posts just rubbed me the wrong way. It may be a language-barrier situation (Romanian?). But, that is no fault of your own. Reading back through the thread, I see that ultimately you appear to be doing exactly what I suggested, i.e. spreading the release in question to the community for those who wish to use it, and that is great.
Last edited by rainydayshirt; 08-12-2017 at 06:16 PM.
Reason: clarity
Firstly, to note that we talk about a particular web browser, and is generally considered that for web browsers the latest versions are the best. Always. Even on Windows. Specially on Windows, where they auto-update with not questions asked, as you know.
Secondly, to note that we talk about slackware-current, which is not some rolling release variant of Slackware, but its very development tree, where happens naughty things like upgrading GLIBC and breaking everything, where the latest mightiest GCC7 is pushed and nothing compile, and so on...
It can break, man! It can break maybe every day! It is not for "users" but for "testers", and I for one, I will love to test the latest PV's take on Firefox 55.
AND, the ESR as argument is questionable, at least for me, as slackware-current used to push (in the latest of its iterations ,at least), always the latest Firefox, then on the next release to be picked the latest ESR.
It is also worth noting that we don't know when Pat will intend to move -current to the next stable release. It might be before an ESR release that is built with rust is available. If he's shooting for a end of the year release, it's still 3ish months away from when Mozilla plans on releasing the ESR based on v59, which will be the first ESR using rust.
With -current, at some point you need to stay away from the bleeding edge and start looking to make sure everything you currently have is stable and then only upgrade what is necessary/safe.
Using an ESR version might be a moot point for you, but it isn't for everyone. Many people prefer to use something they know will have support for a long time.
Does Rust need to be installed to run Firefox, or just to build it?
If it's just a a build dependency, then I don't really see the problem. Just build the Firefox package with it on any other system, and don't bother including it in Slackware. It was never an expectation that a fresh Slackware install would be capable of rebuilding all of its packages.
As anything before, Patrick will determine if, how, and when it will be added, so just be patient and let him do the research. If you need a newer Firefox than the supplied one, you are free to unpack the official releases in the /opt directory at will.
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