Re: howdee + 3.7 pkg testing

["harold felton" <hfelton_lists_(_at_)_hotmail_(_dot_)_com>]

> From: Jacob Meuser <jakemsr_(_at_)_jakemsr_(_dot_)_com>
> To: misc_(_at_)_openbsd_(_dot_)_org
> Subject: Re: howdee + 3.7 pkg testing
> Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 02:54:04 -0700
>
> On Thu, Apr 21, 2005 at 12:34:32AM -0700, harold felton wrote:
> > howdee,
> >
> > fairly-new to obsd, finally have my system up,
> > but not really usable for much yet.  am reading
> > and searching as much as possible, but...
> >
> > i want to know how to test/report-issues with
> > the pkg-system, particularly in the upcoming 3.7
> > release since that is on-my-mind.  i have trouble
> > determining whether it is just user-error, or im
> > actually finding real-issues...  is there someplace
> > where people are discussing pkg-maintenance?
>
> ports_(_at_)_openbsd_(_dot_)_org

thanx - guess ill keep reading... had only been watching
list for a couple-days and traffic was low.  dont remember
noticing pkg discussion in archives.  maybe it really _IS_
a low-traffic situation and any "issues" are all user-error.  :)

> > (ive been watching ports-lists, but havent seen
> > much discussion there for a noob, like me.  also,
> > im currently biased towards pkgs, not ports yet.)
> >
> > background-details:
> > computer - p3-500, yada-yada-yada  [it works ok]
> > goal - obsd-current server, specifically samba/subversion/...
> >
> > current-status:
> > obsd-3.6 from cd installed-great, but no pkg for subversion
> > followed _3_6-stable for awhile, but ports were non-obvious.
> > snapshot-3.7 upgrade from ftp.crimelabs.net [2005-04-16-ish]
> >  worked fine, but pkg-system was out-of-date [04-05-ish]
> >  and i kept having problems installing things.
>
> 10 days difference is too far out of sync.  -current is a lot
> different than -stable.

yeah, thats what i eventually realized - but i guess i was just
surprised that a semi-automated system like i assume must
be active at a snapshot-following-ftp-site could get out-of-sync.
maybe i shouldve sent a msg to ftp-owner?

like i said, im a noob about this stuff.  my snapshot-following
seems like a miss-step from going straight to -current, but i
didnt want to do-that if the pkgs i wanted werent working.
it looks like they really will-be, so i should just download-source
again and get up-to-speed on -current for everything.

i forgot to mention that id tried a pkg_add *.tgz from the 3.6-cd
and had everything just-work. yet now i was thinking about really
trying to setup my server and didnt want ALL the pkgs sitting
there (even if they arent configured/running).  analogy: having
all the pkgs/ports there is like walking thru a huge-buffet.  you
want to eat everything, know you can only eat some things,
but want to try at least something new/related while there...
(and with obsd-philosophy, knowing i should only pick-up the
things thatre likely to taste-good and/or be-useful as fuel)

i guess a different type-of-question would be is my setting-up
a -current-following box for only some-pkgs (of interest to me)
a reasonable thing to be doing?  i know itll be useful (since _I_
will be using it), but id like to give-something-back somehow.

at this point, im totally confused about the differences btwn
a pkg, a port, and following the srcs directly.  i think im fairly
clear about the differences btwn -current, [-snapshot], -stable,
and -release.  im missing some key-piece about the how/where
the testing-that-must-occur to go from -current to -release is
accomplished [when/why are easy-questions.  who/what should
be fairly-easy, but im guessing theyre bundled with how/where].

i couldve added another goal - i want to eventually be able to
setup a pkg (or port?) for a wiki software (moin-moin or ...),
but i know im nowhere-near proficient-enough to make any
reasonable-stabs at it today.  hence my sub-goal of finding
(and fixing) pkg-errors, assuming they must exist.

anyways, thanx for reading my tome - since my system is basically
not in a supported-configuration (snapshot-only), then i guess
ill be spending my time getting up-to-speed on -current.  once
there, maybe my current-idea [pun] of pkg-testing will sort itself out.

thanx, h.
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