On Sat, 23 Jul 2005, Warren Togami wrote:
May I also suggest creating a category of packages where it is generally OK
to upgrade the version because:
1) There is no ABI to break because it is a leaf-node package, like ethereal.
2) Nobody expects ABI compat, like ethereal.
3) Or ABI/API is maintained, like gaim-1.x or spamassassin-3.x. Plugins
built against gaim-1.0 are supposed to continue work with any future
gaim-1.x.
Fedora Legacy can save time and effort by simply following the newer Fedora
Core releases on these packages when it is safe to upgrade versions. No
review necessary, but perhaps some testing and ACK votes to push.
Actually, whether or not it makes sense to upgrade or use a backport
depends on whether a backported patch is already available.
So far, for RHL73 and RHL9, we've had RHEL21 and RHEL3 patches which
usually fit very well. In some cases, FC1 and FC2 likewise, but these
may be trickier.
I think there is is significantly less need for testing for updates
which only apply a backported patch (which has come through from RHEL
QA process, or some equivalent QA).
On the other hand, I do believe we don't have resources to create
these backported patches ourselves. When such are not available,
upgrading the package should be considered. In particular I note that
we should apply such a policy even more to the FC1 and FC2 packages.
So, I think the good rules of thumb are:
1) if there is already QA'd patch backport, use that;
2) if not, consider upgrading the package to a version that:
a) has easier access to already QA'd patches or
b) has been maintained by official FC updates, so
RPM versioning with upgrades (e.g., FC2 -> FC3) doesn't
break.
In considering whether to upgrade, the considerations
you posted are likely useful to consider. IMHO, it's also
useful to consider what other distros (RHEL in particular)
have done. If they have upgraded, I don't see why we
shouldn't either.
--
Pekka Savola "You each name yourselves king, yet the
Netcore Oy kingdom bleeds."
Systems. Networks. Security. -- George R.R. Martin: A Clash of Kings
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