Arch Linux

Rognon

Member

Registered: 2006-10-05

Posts: 40

Question regarding out-of-date packages

Hi there,
I'm not totally comfortable with the Arch packaging policies. I searched for an answer to my question but could not find one, so here it is : what should I do when I encounter out-of-date packages ? I usually edit the PKGBUILD to have latest version but should I keep this package to myself and wait that a more competent person than I update the package or should I submit it somewhere ?

Thanks,
Rognon

dtw

Forum Fellow

From: UK

Registered: 2004-08-03

Posts: 4,439

Website

Re: Question regarding out-of-date packages

The devs update the out of date pkgs, which are notified through the web interface linked from the home page. Providing your own is generally frowned upon and submitting them to the AUR will earn you the wrath of any passing TU.

By all means build and update your own pkgs locally as you see fit, that is, in fact, the whole idea of ABS.

bountykiller

Member

Registered: 2006-08-07

Posts: 19

Re: Question regarding out-of-date packages

Sorry if I come late in the discussion, I'm having exactly the same problem.
It's not the first time I update a package formy needs.
And seeing this thread in the forums make me things I'm not alone.
The problem is, that I will have to update my package when the maintener will update his one. (In fact, I will probably need to uninstall then reinstall because version numbers are the same.)
Also, this makes works being redundant, because several people will do the same job.
But men, I thought we were a community, helping each other by our own experience. Having to wait for a maintener to do his job makes me think...well, nothing good. Are arch devs that replied on themselves? At least, this is what your answer make me thinks about. Sorry, but I found this a bit stupid.
So what will I do?
For my part I will post them on the bugzilla, as a support request. Then you will have the choice to use my package as-is, make some changes before commiting or reject this one. I think it is far better to do that way. (finally, I'm just trying to help you)

tomk

Forum Fellow

From: Ireland

Registered: 2004-07-21

Posts: 9,839

Re: Question regarding out-of-date packages

Posting bugs for packages that are simply out-of-date is a waste of time. They are not bugs, but once they are in the tracker, someone has to spend some time dealing with them, time that could be better spent on other activities - like updating packages, for example.

We are indeed a community, one I enjoy being a part of, but there are different roles in the community, and the task of updating packages in the official repos falls to members of the dev team. I don't doubt in any way your ability to provide working PKGBUILDs, but I would hope you agree that we cannot simply open the repos to everyone.

it is generally agreed that the tools provided by the Arch Build System are straightforward and easy to use, and everyone is encouraged to update packages for their own use, if they need the update before the maintainer responsible finds time to do it.

Romashka

Forum Fellow

Registered: 2005-12-07

Posts: 1,054

Re: Question regarding out-of-date packages

Posting bugs for packages that are simply out-of-date is a waste of time. They are not bugs, but once they are in the tracker, someone has to spend some time dealing with them, time that could be better spent on other activities - like updating packages, for example.

I close most of them.
But it annoys me to repeat something like "Please do not post 'update needed' bugreports. Package is already flagged out-of-date. Developer will update it when time permits" each time.

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