[394] in SIPB_Linux_Development
Slackware 1.1.2 and libc
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Erik Nygren)
Sat Feb 5 15:42:16 1994
To: linux-dev@MIT.EDU, autumn@MIT.EDU
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 94 15:41:57 EST
From: Erik Nygren <nygren@MIT.EDU>
Slackware 1.1.2 has been released and is now available. I am holding
back on transferring it into /mit/linux/slackware/Slackware.1.1.2
until a decision is reached about how to deal with 4.5.19 vs 4.4.4.
Here is an excerpt from the Slackware 1.1.2 release:
> This version contains the new libc 4.5.19, kernel 0.99.15, and gcc 2.5.8.
> It also sports the usual assortment of software upgrades and bug fixes.
> There are two sets of A and D series provided with this: The new ones which
> are found in ./a1 - ./a3 and ./d1 - ./d6, and a set based on libc 4.4.4 and
> gcc 2.4.5, which are found in ./lib444/a1 - ./lib444/a3 and ./lib444/d1 -
> ./lib444/d6. I'm upgrading my own machine to libc 4.5.19, so this will be
> the last support Slackware will offer for the older C libs. I don't know why
> you'd what to use those anyway, but some people seem real scared of the
> upgrade. :^)
Which libc's should athena-linux development be done under. Most people
are still using libc 4.4.4, so using the new 4.5.19 for building the packages
would make it so that lots of people couldn't use them without upgrading.
I am also not sure how good of in idea it would be for people to just
blindly install 4.5.19. I may be wrong because I haven't tried it myself,
but I've heard that some things built with libc 4.4.4 break under 4.5.x.
Another reason to hold back with the new Slackware until we reach a decision:
upgrading from old releases to newer releases is not really possible to
do unless you do it by hand. Slackware may be great for a static distribution,
but if you need to upgrade it, you're in trouble. Installing Slackware
on top of an existing system is a very bad idea and will cause you
lots of problems. I'm afraid that people may try to install over
existing versions and then start screaming a few weeks later when
things stop working.
--- Erik
___________________________________________________________________________
The most exciting phrase to hear in | Erik L. Nygren
science, the one that heralds new |
discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I've | VOICE: 617/225-9395
found it!) but "That's funny ..." |
-- Isaac Asimov | EMAIL: <nygren@mit.edu>
