Re: pkgsrc-stable branch stories?

["Steven M. Bellovin" <smb%cs.columbia.edu@localhost>]

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 11:18:14 -0400, Johnny Lam <jlam%pkgsrc.org@localhost> 
wrote:

> I'm curious as to how many people are using the pkgsrc "stable" branches 
> (pkgsrc-YYYYQQ).  The pkgsrc developers spend quite a bit of time 
> creating and maintaining these branches, and I want to get a feel for 
> whether this is time well-spent.
> 
> I personally use the stable branch on production servers.  I find it 
> avoids the chaos of keeping up with rapidly changing PKGREVISIONs that 
> happen on pkgsrc HEAD at times.  I keep a sandbox handy for rebuilding 
> packages when there is a security update on the stable branch, and I 
> update all of my software to the newest stable branch every quarter.
> 
> Is anyone else using the pkgsrc stable branch?  If so, how do you use it?

I'll tell you something you don't want to hear -- I tried it, but I gave
up.  The problem is that security patches weren't pulled up quickly enough
to the branches.  On stable machines, those are my primary reason for
recompiling.



                --Steven M. Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb