New debian-mentors Public .deb Repository Available

JohnKFisher writes "For anyone who has ever put together a .deb package, but didn't want to bother with the hassle of setting up their own repository, or trying to get your package added to the official one, the Public Package Repository is up and running. I wonder if this means someone can finally add a version of KDE not dating from late in the Carter administration."

Comments

KDE is current

[metalhed77]

If you use unstable KDE 3.1.1 is there by default. If you use stable, kde.org has a debian server up for 3.1.1 that you can use.

Re:KDE is current

[Phexro]

Actually, the Debian KDE packages are kept quite up-to-date. I just upgraded to 3.1.2 last night. While it's not officially in woody, I've had no problems.

deb http://download.kde.org/stable/latest/Debian woody main

Add the above line to /etc/apt/sources.list and be happy.

Re:KDE is current

[dzym]

Testing is far behind because of the way Debian is set up.

Stable has been tested up and down and left and right, release-critical bugs must be totally eliminated, etc. The very nature of the requirements mean that stable release are relatively far and few inbetween. Once a stable release has been created, the packages that release contain are not updated except when patching bugs and security fixes. However, a stable release does provide a stable point for 3rd party packagers to create packages for.

Unstable, of course, is the up-to-the-moment bleeding-edge packages, as official packagers turn them in so to speak. This is usually very current, except for special circumstances like the cpp 2.9x to cpp 3.x transition, for which you really should be blaming the gcc people, not Debian. But since the transition is now pretty much over, Unstable is back on track with the fast updates.

Testing, however, is the middle ground. Nobody builds packages for testing, because testing is where packages from Unstable filter down to, unless blocked by breakage that would otherwise have been solved in Unstable, but for which packages have not yet filtered down into Testing. This includes security fixes: they go into either stable, or unstable ... not testing. Most people should use either Stable or Unstable. Testing is not a good place to be.

VERY useful

[Taral]

This is a nice way of hosting packages when someone doesn't have the space to put up their own apt-repository. If it's searchable, that's a bonus.

It remains to be seen exactly what kinds of packages will end up here. At least it still requires a DD sponsor, so hopefully poorly-packaged/broken packages will not end up here...

Not Gentoo

[RiverTonic]

That's great news. Now it seems that I don't have to move to Gentoo to get some very recent packages.

FYI: This is also a good please to find your deb-packages.

Re:Debian: abandon ship?

[Anonymous Coward]

With hindsight, it's clear that trying to support too many architectures was a mistake.

That's no mistake, when you understand Debian's primary motivation: manifest destiny. Why eleven architectures? So that Debian can run on anything. Why does Debian have a text based installer? Because it can install on anything.

Suppose someone owns a toaster that they can't install Debian on. The problem becomes that of the Debian project to update their systems to support that machine. If Debian only had one architecture, adding more would be difficult since it would be adding shedloads of infrastructure.

Or suppose someone has a highly unusual installation, say an embedded 386 that most installers won't function on. When the user complains to the mailing list, it's the job of bootfloppies folk to make it right. Nobody wants to do their job twice, so they make certain the design is flexible from the first.

I'm disappointed by the amount of flak that the Debian developers take for their design decisions. Just because non-x86 architectures aren't important to you doesn't mean that they're not important.