Repo mix-and-match hit parade

[dasein]

As of the date of this posting, one of the most common questions/problems involves people wanting to, or trying to, install packages across Debian's various releases, or worse, across "Debian-based" distros.

The smartest folks ask first, something along the lines of, "Can I mix Debian Stable with <something else>?"

Answer: This is a very risky thing to attempt, and is generally regarded as a bad idea for all but the most advanced Debian users.

Backporting (recompiling and repackaging) is the only safe way to install packages from Debian Sid or Debian Testing on a Debian stable system. Do not install such packages without backporting. Attempting to "mix" releases, especially by updating your sources.list file, is a sure way to break your system. Recovery in these cases usually involves restore from backup.
(Emphasis added)

Freedom-hating naysayer(s). What could possibly go wrong?

Et tu, StackExchange?? http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions ... ith-debian

But for the benefit of those who are clever enough to learn from others' mistakes, rather than insisting on repeating them:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=109734
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=111774
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=112395
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=113303
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=117551
Update(s):
Another one bites the dust: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=114861
And another: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=115107
Here's an oldie but a goodie: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=80521
And yet another... viewtopic.php?f=17&t=115381 (When will folks learn??)
Here's a creative excuse: "Ooops. I 'forgot' not to mix repos.": viewtopic.php?f=6&t=117551
"I installed a package from Ubuntu and it wrecked my system": viewtopic.php?t=118013#p556389
"I have a critical need for package X, but wanted to run Stable": viewtopic.php?f=6&t=118829
"If only there were information warning people not to do this!!": viewtopic.php?f=10&t=120632
A personal favorite: "I'm not smart enough to learn from the mistakes of others. Or my own mistakes, for that matter": viewtopic.php?t=123786
"Everything worked fine--until it didn't": viewtopic.php?f=6&t=123878&start=15#p587113
"Wheezy installed TAILS on my system" (Bad Wheezy, no biscuit): viewtopic.php?f=17&t=127706
"Maybe if I don't admit to mixing repos, no one will be able to figure it out": viewtopic.php?t=123923 and also viewtopic.php?f=30&t=125113 and ALSO viewtopic.php?f=10&t=125122 and ALSO viewtopic.php?f=10&t=125149 not to mention viewtopic.php?f=6&t=125856 plus viewtopic.php?f=30&t=126017 AND viewtopic.php?f=7&t=126352 (this last one even includes "what gave it away?" )
Here's a novel approach: bork your system twice in two weeks, all the while swearing up and down you've done nothing to it.

(Call it a hunch, but I don't think the "hope no one notices" strategy is working.)

Most. Epic. Fail. Ever.: "My mix of six different releases (plus two derivative distros) isn't broken. It just keeps mutating!" viewtopic.php?f=5&t=124248


(I may add more as time and happenstance permit. )

And for the curious and intellectually motivated, a decent enough overview of the technical reason why. You may not like it, but that's the way it is.

Addendum: This may also prove helpful: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=115107&p=543317#p543317

[keithpeter]

After reading

https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debi ... ng.en.html

I decided to try unstable (code name sid) on the test laptop. No mixing and matching.

I emphasise that I have a recycled laptop that has been purchased solely for trying out distributions and configurations. The laptop has a separate /home and / partition so reinstalling is easy. I do the full 'jwz backup' thing when I do real work on this machine (not often )

I did a fresh installation using wired connection / stable netinstall, advanced installer tasksel enable base only -> upgrade to testing -> upgrade to unstable to minimise the total download. No point upgrading Gnome desktop packages twice. At that point I cleaned out the sources.list file and I now have...

Code: Select all

keith@moka:~$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ sid main non-free contrib
deb-src http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ sid main non-free contrib

No 'updates' because Sid is all updates. No 'security' because you are relying on patches from the upstream maintainers, security team do Stable.

I then installed xorg gm3 and gnome to bring a usable desktop together with laptop-mode-tools and some other stuff.

Issues so far: Some bug alerts around VLC when installing minitube, but is working. At present the eclipse IDE can't be installed from repos so I just used the tar.gz package from eclipse.org. The gnome-flashback-session package results in a desktop session where menus never disappear. Googling tells me that the flashback session has issues with Gnome versions above 3.8, so I've removed flashback and will just wait that one out. Might see what bugs have been logged. There is one package db5.1-util that is currently held back. Leaving a dist-upgrade for a few days while I see what is going on with that. Nautilus would not start on first login. Google suggested that I delete the appropriate config file from my home partition (which dates from Wheezy install) and that solved the problem.

If people don't want to do the sort of 'housekeeping' and research I've outlined above, well, the evidence points to installing Stable doesn't it?

[vbrummond]

How did I miss this thread? Bravo.

[edbarx]

Since my first days of using Debian back in 2006, I never felt the need to mix repos. I knew it was highly discouraged and took that advice. The result? Eight years of Debian use with a brisk dependable system.

Why do people assume that independent developers can create binary compatible code without some form of agreement? This is like expecting a spare part from a manufacturer to fit instead of another 'similar' part from a different manufacturer!


Software development is not a magical cult!

[Amarildo]

Aparently a Debian developer (maintainer, really) is recommending to Mix Stable with Jessie and upgrading libc6 to the Testing version
http://steamcommunity.com/app/221410/di ... 8974232862

I loved saying the following

We're discussing this on a thread about a user who borked his/her system because he/she mixed Stable with Jessie. "Unknown reasons" is the best you got? You're gonna tell me that "somehow", Debian Stable, one of the most stable Linux systems there are, broke itself, even though you Mr.Developer claim it's possible to mix Jessie/Stable without that happening?

Have fun with "Eike" (eike@debian.org).

[edbarx]

Aparently a Debian developer (maintainer, really) is recommending to Mix Stable with Jessie and upgrading libc6 to the Testing version
http://steamcommunity.com/app/221410/di ... 8974232862

This is like claiming that if a ripe politician opposes privatisation, then privatisation must be intrinsically bad. Even senior medical professionals may have conflicting opinions, let alone software coders.

Thanks for the amusement, I needed it.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Another one bites the dust:

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=121942

[dasein]

Thanks for the contribution, h_o_a_s.

At least that poster was good-humored about learning the lesson.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=123847

[Head_on_a_Stick]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=123878

[GarryRicketson]

Here is a new one, this downloaded a install script, then proceeded to install from
a non Debian source, ......
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=123957#p587544

[millpond]

Keep in mind that the average Linux user may not have a clue that the Debian fork they are using may not be 'real' Debian.
A .deb is a .deb. Right?????

I *still* get zapped by Ubuntu programs masquerading as *Debian* releases. Fortunately, I have learned to deal with them, and none have caused any real grief, just annoyance. The last one couldnt even conceivably work in Debian without some major hacks to the code.

LMDE, until recently was a juxtaposition of Debian Testing, debian-multimedia, and forked packages. I am only here because the system somehow adopted Wheezy, which took me into the eye of Hurricane Jessie.

However, in fairness, the average person is clearly warned away from SID by virtually all the docs.
Unfortunately the web is full of sites advocating the latest versions of software, and even providing massive sources.list files.

Whats needed perhaps, are better tools for dealing with breakages, from r-sync like diff programs made standard in the distro to enable a Win type 'system restore' - particularly for the /lib directories, to tools that will strip a minor packages dependencies and allow it to be expunged from dpkg.
Also, whats really needed is a package blacklist, so we can k-line certain packages so that when doing a dist-upgrade we do not accidentally install something regrettable, that insists on taking half the system with it if removed.

[Randicus]

Keep in mind that the average Linux user may not have a clue ...

Correct. That is the result of Linux development over the last several years. Attract people with a point-and-click GUI that, supposedly, removes the need to learn anything new. Even though common sense says that a different operating system will be ... different. Imagine that!

Whats needed perhaps, are better tools for dealing with breakages

I am in the camp that disagrees with this approach. Debian has very easy to use package management tools. Making them even easier will not solve the problem. There needs to be a big sign at debian.org reading "Read the documentation before installing!" And perhaps a similar big sign added to this forum under the Debian Forum header. "Did you read the instructions before screwing up your system?"

[millpond]

Keep in mind that the average Linux user may not have a clue ...

Correct. That is the result of Linux development over the last several years. Attract people with a point-and-click GUI that, supposedly, removes the need to learn anything new. Even though common sense says that a different operating system will be ... different. Imagine that!

Whats needed perhaps, are better tools for dealing with breakages

I am in the camp that disagrees with this approach. Debian has very easy to use package management tools. Making them even easier will not solve the problem. There needs to be a big sign at debian.org reading "Read the documentation before installing!" And perhaps a similar big sign added to this forum under the Debian Forum header. "Did you read the instructions before screwing up your system?"

I have seen, and been a part, of some truly awesome ecommerce tools offered freely, that would save users thousands of dollars at the least, and greatly simplify things like ebay mass uploads. But they required reading docs to stitch together some basic steps. Nearly zero interest. One started to try it, but got hung up over a simple step, and went back to a commercial provider rather than spend 10 minutes to fix it. Another did not even get that far. And an amazing ecommerce database totally ignored becuase folks simply needed to read instructions to initialize it.

Other than attention deficit disorder, another problem is that there are people who READ the docs, and get tripped up, or confused.
Sometimes through no fault of their own.
I have seen software change repos.
Such channges brought me here from LMDE.

You've got repos called DEBIAN.multimedia.org and dotDEB which kind of lead folk to believe they are staying in the Debian ecosystem, and they will even have version specific packages. In another thread, at least one that directly overwrote debian libraries.

Sometimes, software for emerging technologies is in such constant flux that users really need to stay up-to-date. Personally I believe users should be advised to take these programs off the apt system and use the git system in /opt.

However, users should also be exposed to a novel engineering concept. IIWDFI. If it works, dont fix it. If you dont need, and dont plan to use features of the newest software, dont bother trying to 'upgrade it' - especially from outside the repo. The exception of course, is security updates.

Someone at PerlMonks one asked a developer why he hadnt maintained his CPAN package in over a decade. His reply was basically: It aint broke yet.

I have learned from bitter experience that upgrades are not always improvements.

[Randicus]

Other than attention deficit disorder, another problem is that there are people who READ the docs, and get tripped up, or confused.

Happens to me all the time, but usually with things a little more complex than which repositories to use and not use, and which installation ISO to download.

However, users should also be exposed to a novel engineering concept. IIWDFI. If it works, dont fix it. If you dont need, and dont plan to use features of the newest software, dont bother trying to 'upgrade it' - especially from outside the repo.

Wow. A very novel concept. If only the hordes of brain-dead technology zombies suffering from Shiny New Shit Syndrome could be be persuaded to learn such radical philosophies. But if that were to happen, the forum would be a very dull place.