Hello, Leo, On May 1, 2021, Leo Famulari <l...@famulari.name> wrote:
> it's not "source code" in the GNU sense, which is the "preferred form > of the work for making changes in it": That's not accurate. Linux-libre sources, whether obtained from a git repository or from a tarball, are just as suitable for kernel development as any other snapshot. There is an alternate understanding of source code form taking shape in some communities that suggests that a version control repository is somehow more "source"ish than any of the versions held in it. No doubt the additional versions in it may be useful in some cases, but it does not follow that other versions and their relationship are part of "source code" in the GNU sense. In the GNU sense, any individual snapshot or release meets the definition of source code. > Not to mention that cloning a 1 GB Git repo is rather expensive compared > to downloading a tarball You don't have to clone anything. If all you want is a tarball, use 'git archive --remote'. > As you say, these tarballs are not available for very long. *nod*, that's why we switched to a git repo, and extract the tarballs from it. Back when we made the switch, I wrote extensive documentation and recipes as to the possibilities of getting to the GNU Linux-libre sources from it, how to verify signatures, etc. It was to be assessed by then maintainers of Guix recipes to build GNU Linux-libre before publishing, but it doesn't look like I ever got feedback on them, and they hvae been unpublished so far. Is it correct to assume that they have never reached you? Would you like to have a look and let me know whether they make sense to you? I'd be glad to dig them up and share them with you, if so, and to take your feedback towards making them available to the public at large. Thanks, -- Alexandre Oliva, happy hacker https://FSFLA.org/blogs/lxo/ Free Software Activist GNU Toolchain Engineer Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice but very few check the facts. Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>