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apt preferrably stable system

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te36
Posts: 12
Joined: 2018-01-29 17:36

apt preferrably stable system

#1 Post by te36 »

/etc/apt/sources.list:

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian sid main contrib non-free

I can not figure out how to set up /etc/apt/preferences so i have a "mostly" stable system:

I would like to stick to only stable packages - unless i have a specific application for which i explicitly want to install the latest version - and the dependencies for that application also only from unstable if necessary, but otherwise prefer the stable version of a dependency.

But i am even confused whether unstable is the same as sid, and whether even the sources.list entries i have are not the best towards that goal.

Thanks

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Head_on_a_Stick
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Re: apt preferrably stable system

#2 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

te36 wrote:I would like to stick to only stable packages - unless i have a specific application for which i explicitly want to install the latest version
Please read https://backports.debian.org and https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian ... nkenDebian.
deadbang

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debiman
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Re: apt preferrably stable system

#3 Post by debiman »

especially that last one.
te36 wrote:I can not figure out how to (...) have a "mostly" stable system
"mostly" stable - precious!

te36
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Re: apt preferrably stable system

#4 Post by te36 »

debiman wrote:"mostly" stable - precious!
Yeah, wish-full thinking, thanks for the explanations.

"FrankenDebian" is the best scare word i have seen so far too ;-)

I come from Gentoo where you could bound min and max versions of dependencies and create multiple slots for different versions of dependencies, but i can see how thats non-sustainable, so the debian policy is probably for the best. Of course, it would be lovely if library developers could maintain the backward compatibility that the version numbers claim to indicate, but thats of course wishful thinking.

I guess i will have to learn how to create backports. For now i have just compiled the app i needed most into /usr/local.

Wheelerof4te
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Re: apt preferrably stable system

#5 Post by Wheelerof4te »

Wish dasein was here with his mega-thread of FrankenDebians :)
Those fine examples of utter failures won't ever be logged again.

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Head_on_a_Stick
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Re: apt preferrably stable system

#6 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

te36 wrote:I guess i will have to learn how to create backports
It's a lot easier than it sounds:

https://wiki.debian.org/SimpleBackportCreation

Should be a walk in the park if you're used to source-based distributions ;)
deadbang

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stevepusser
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Re: apt preferrably stable system

#7 Post by stevepusser »

GNOME 3 packages can be impracticable to backport, as well as the latest KDE ones without a backport of the whole desktop environment. You have a pretty good chance with other packages that aren't as tied into a DE. I do a lot of backporting myself, so can give you tips, or point you to already existing backports.
MX Linux packager and developer

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debiman
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Re: apt preferrably stable system

#8 Post by debiman »

Wheelerof4te wrote:Wish dasein was here with his mega-thread of FrankenDebians :)
Those fine examples of utter failures won't ever be logged again.
the thread is still there, you can post to it (but yes, dasein is missed).
te36 wrote:Yeah, wish-full thinking, thanks for the explanations.
you're welcome!
for being so reasonable, we won't denounce you to said thread :D
I hope the backport creation goes well!

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