Re: slang1 (<< 1.3) weirdness
Nathan,
>>>>> "NO" == Nathan Olsen <nolsen@csulb.edu> writes:
NO> Um, a bug report? Let's keep this in perspective. Potato
NO> is the *unstable* Debian tree (use at your own risk,
NO> etc.). From what I can tell, the volunteers on the PowerPC
NO> team are doing a phenomenal job. Especially since, well,
NO> like I said -- they're volunteers. Sure, it's annoying
NO> that the packages aren't always compatable, but that's
NO> just because no one has gotten around to recompiling them
NO> yet. That's less of a bug and more of a "feature" of using
NO> unstable software. This will happen less frequently as
NO> they get closer to release.
Yes, a bug report. Packages that don't work with one another are
broken, and need to be fixed. Bug reports don't mean that the
maintainer is a jerk, or that they don't know how to do their job,
volunteer or otherwise, but that there's a problem they might not
be aware of that needs to be looked at. Maybe it's something
that's already been fixed in a later version that hasn't been
built for PowerPC yet, maybe it's some oddity that only shows up
on a PowerPC machine. If the maintainer doesn't know about a
problem, they can't fix it. Personally, I would like to see the
official release actually be stable, not just claim it is because
no one's done any testing.
Bug reports also serve two more useful roles:
1. They provide non-programmers (or programmers who aren't
Debian maintainers) with a way that they can contribute to
the Debian project. Writing a good bug report can require
the author to spend a considerable amount of time tracking
down the problem, not to mention the time spent responding to
the maintainer's or original programmer's e-mail queries.
2. They provide users with a resource that they can use to
diagnose and, perhaps, fix, their own problems. If you can
search the bug-tracking system for your problem, and discover
that someone else has already reported it, you might be able
to discover a solution or workaround, or, if the problem
still hasn't been solved, contribute your own unique
experiences to help the maintainer or developer figure out
what's happening and come up with a solution or workaround.
If maintainers are talking to each other about problems and fixing
them quietly, that's great. But it would be even better if they
(and everyone else) reported problems to the bug-tracking system
so that everyone who uses the system can benefit from that
communication.
NO> What I suggest is looking through the list of Debian ftp
NO> mirrors on the web site and look for one that hasn't been
NO> updated in a month or two. You should be able to find an
NO> older version of slang there that will work with The Gimp.
Aha. Good idea, but still pretty much pot luck. I actually have
a pair of CDs we burned when I originally installed the system
(back at the beginning of July) that I use as emergency backups.
I still think that it would be a good idea to have several
versions of a package available, perhaps with separate ``tested''
and ``untested'' directories. From what Wichert said in his
Slashdot interview, that might be easier to do with the pool
approach (i.e., you could have several versions of the package,
with package lists pointing you to different versions depending on
how those lists are defined) .
Also, I *haven't* updated slang1. After getting burned a couple
of times early on by trusting the apt-get upgrade to provide me
with a working system, I put a whole slew of packages on hold and
only update individual packages when I think they might add
valuable features to my system. I discovered the slang1 problem
when trying to do just that (update the auctex package), and after
investigating the problem, decided to file the bug reports to
alert the maintainers of affected packages to the problem.
Finally, while potato is ``unstable'', the release date is very
close (even though it seems to retreat every time we get too
close) and it should be pretty stable by now. Potato is also the
only Debian distribution available for the PowerPC, which means
that it's not possible for someone to run a ``stable''
distribution to avoid problems. Furthermore, the PowerPC Port
page <http://www.debian.org/ports/powerpc/> says
Debian/PowerPC is considered to be stable as of February, 1998,
and is currently being consolidated for release. More than 90%
of the Debian packages are available, with the remaining
packages being processed. Debian/PowerPC will be officially
released with the next version of Debian (2.2; code-named
potato).
The main port page <http://www.debian.org/ports/> says
Motorola/IBM PowerPC (``powerpc'')
This port runs stable since Feb. 1998 on many of the Apple
Macintosh 'PowerMac', CHRP and PReP computers. The
boot-floppies are 'in work'. Debian/PowerPC will be official
released with Debian 2.2 ('potato').
All of the big problems (except, perhaps, the boot floppies) have
been worked out -- those that remain are mostly annoyances like
the slang1 problem. Once these small problems are dealt with, the
PowerPC port will be stable, and will be suitable for release.
I'm happy to help get us there anyway I can.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Behind the counter a boy with a shaven head stared vacantly into space,
a dozen spikes of microsoft protruding from the socket behind his ear.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
C.M. Connelly c@eskimo.com SHC, DS
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
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