Freexian 

If you are already using Debian in your organization, and are running current Debian stable or older releases, you might be aware of the Long Term Support available for them.

But do you know why it is equally important to support Debian unstable development?

#debian #debianUnstable #debianSid

Nov 5, 2024 at 12:03pmWeb
Show threadFreexian Dec 31, 2024

Here's why we think unstable development is important.

1. It is good to ensure new software packages that you depend on to be included in unstable since it eventually becomes parts of a Debian Stable release. This is especially true for packages for versions that receive better support from upstream during the stable release cycle. As an example - Xen 4.19 was uploaded to unstable since it would get support for a longer period. It would replace 4.17 in testing. (https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1089033).

#1089033 - xen: Please package xen version 4.19 - Debian Bug report logs

Show threadFreexian Dec 31, 2024
2. Like @manut commented, it's good to be aware of the changes to be expected from the newer packages early and ensure your software will run great on the newer stack.
Show threadManuel Traut 🐧Nov 5, 2024
@freexian we use sid for development to be able to contribute and detect relevant changes early. backporting the important things to stable is no big pain ;)
Show threadSindarina, Edge Case DetectiveDec 29, 2024
@freexian Did you follow up on this with an actual explanation/answer? I can't seem to find it 😄
Show threadFreexian Dec 31, 2024

@sindarina Thanks for your interest on this topic. Our intention was to initiate a discussion on Debian unstable development and it's importance. Honestly, we are still expecting this topic to get some traction and more people to chime in 🙂

We have replied to the original post with our answer.

Show threadSindarina, Edge Case DetectiveDec 31, 2024
@freexian Thanks for the work you do, and Happy New Year 🙂
Show threadFreexian Dec 31, 2024
@sindarina Thank you! Happy New Year to you too 🙂
Show threadRaphaël HertzogJan 3, 2025

@sindarina With @freexian 's LTS/ELTS offer, we aim to provide security support for up to 10 years, alas it's a challenge that cannot always be met for all packages... in particular for packages that were a bit left aside during their time in unstable/testing (for example when a maintainer disappears).

To avoid releasing Debian with outdated software versions, and ensure all the packages used by corporate users are in their best shape and can be supported for as long as possible, we believe that pro-active monitoring of unstable is required. Freexian is going to propose something in this direction in 2025.

Recent case where we helped to avoid this: https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts/2024/12/msg00004.html

Bug#1089033: xen: Please package xen version 4.19

Show threadSindarina, Edge Case DetectiveJan 3, 2025
@rhertzog @freexian Ahh, yes, future legacy support, I like it 😄
Show threadAndrewJan 1, 2025

@freexian When I was on a project at work which used Debian, I modified our integration testing to run against the release we used, testing and I think unstable.

This meant we could either fix or report issues with plenty of time. And we had the confidence that our software worked on the next release of Debian when it came out. This reduced the effort needed drastically.