[98804] in RedHat Linux List
RE: 5.2... Worth the hassle???
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bruce Richardson)
Tue Nov 10 18:14:12 1998
From: Bruce Richardson <brichardson@lineone.net>
To: "'redhat-list@redhat.com'" <redhat-list@redhat.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 20:04:27 -0000
Resent-From: redhat-list@redhat.com
Reply-To: redhat-list@redhat.com
Frankly I think it's kernel numbers you should be watching, not Red Hat
release numbers. It's the _kernel_ that makes it Linux, everything is
window dressing. If your current layout works for you, keep it. Upgrade
only those particular features (core apps, the kernel) which have been
improved to offer things you _need_. If the developers have been doing
their jobs properly, nothing should break: you may have to recompile a lib
or two or (even upgrade specific libraries that the new-improved-feature
depends upon) but upgrading the whole system just because there's a new
release out is silly, unnecessary and reduces you to the same level that
Windows users are _forced_ to live at.
If you want to feel secure about upgrading your system, stick with rpms
(and srpms). The rpm model gives you all the insurance you need: if you
try add something new that depends on something component you don't have
(or you do have it but it's too old) rpm tells you _exactly_ what else you
need to install. Also, if you install something from an rpm and it does
break another component, it's easy to fix. For instance, I upgraded the tk
and gtk libs to see if tkmc would behave better. As a result, not only
would tkmc not work but neither would glint, linuxconf and half a dozen
other essentials. Now, I could probably have fixed this by installing the
srpms for those packages and compiling them to work with the new libraries.
However, I'm a Linux newbie and don't feel confident enough to play at
that level. So, I simply forced the uninstall of the new libraries
(despite the fact that tkmc etc. wouldn't work with those libs, the rpm
database listed them as _depending_ on the libs) and reinstalled the old
versions from the 5.1 CD. Bingo! Egg removed from face.
As another example, I upgraded from kernel 2.0.35-1 to 2.0.35-2 (to get
some modules that were mistakenly left out of the first one) and didn't
feel a thing (learned how to upgrade my /boot as a bonus)!
At the risk of repeating myself, Linux gives us the freedom to keep the
parts we know and trust and cherry-pick the best of the new stuff. In
2001, when millions of Windows users are struggling to make NT5/2000 do all
the things their old systems had done anyway, I'll be running machines with
90% of the same stuff they have today (because that's all they need!) and
laughing.
--
PLEASE read the Red Hat FAQ, Tips, Errata and the MAILING LIST ARCHIVES!
http://www.redhat.com http://archive.redhat.com
To unsubscribe: mail redhat-list-request@redhat.com with
"unsubscribe" as the Subject.
