David Foresman wrote:
> Even though I run cooker, I completely agree with this. I understand you
> don't want to provide updates for all previous versions of mandrake, but
> software like kde2.1, gnome 1.2, kernel 2.4, and xfree 4.0.2 should be
> provided to the most current STABLE version of the software.
I disagree. If anything (and I don't think MandrakeSoft have the
resources to do this) there should be a ``half-stable'' distribution.
Cooker is for stuff that'll probably break. The latest stable release
(7.2 here) is for stuff that's known to work well. What we're looking at
in Xfree86 4.0.2 is software which is *probably* more stable than the
Xfree in 7.2, given that it contains many bugfixes - but it is not
*certainly* more stable. Mandrake have to know for sure before
disturbing the 7.2 update set.
What I would dearly love to see is an even/odd system like the Linux
kernel, where 7.0, 7.2, 7.4 meant a very stable release, 7.1, 7.3, 7.5
meant a semi-stable release (for the adventurous only, no official
support at all) and Cooker meant freeforall, almost certainly has broken
things in it, don't touch unless testing or your really need to.
The idea would be that right now, Xfree86 4.0.2 would go into Cooker. If
nothing was evidently more broken than the previous semi-stable XFree86
(after maybe two weeks), then Xfree86 4.0.2 would be updated into the
7.3 distribution; as stable-release (7.4 or 8.0) time approaches, say in
the month before release, updates to 7.3 would stop except for bugfixes
and security fixes (meanwhile, rampant experimentation continues
unabated in Cooker, so the bleeding-edge flock continue to get their
fear fix). At release time, 7.3 would become the new release (7.4 or
8.0) and would be *moved* to the new semi-stable tree (7.5 or 8.1) and
shortly afterwards (a week? two days?) would cease to exist as 7.3, and
the process would resume with 7.5/8.1.
This would leave a trail of even-pointed releases requiring occasional
updates and security fixes for a few years, plus *one* semi-stable
release wanting frequent updates/fixes and less adventurous
improvements, plus no-holds-barred Cooker out there in no-man's-land.
