I have always wondered why it is necessary to issue a new version of Fedora
(or any other OS every 6 months). Why cannot an OS be like a river, constantly
flowing and always being the latest edition, with a simple yum update. Cannot
programs clean up after themselves, leaving no cruft, so that this would be
possible? That way, one could jump on the infinite Fedora flow at any time and
always have the latest version of all programs. What forces the necessity to
stop a particular version and recreate all the software and redo all of the
old mistakes that were already fixed and issue a new version?

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Words by kwhiskerz [Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 04:36:21PM -0600]:
> I have always wondered why it is necessary to issue a new version of Fedora
> (or any other OS every 6 months). Why cannot an OS be like a river, constantly
> flowing and always being the latest edition, with a simple yum update. Cannot
> programs clean up after themselves, leaving no cruft, so that this would be
> possible? That way, one could jump on the infinite Fedora flow at any time and
> always have the latest version of all programs. What forces the necessity to
> stop a particular version and recreate all the software and redo all of the
> old mistakes that were already fixed and issue a new version?
>

They are like you imagine. Versions are more like checkpoints for new
installers.

--
Jose Celestino | http://japc.uncovering.org/files/japc-pgpkey.asc
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kwhiskerz wrote:
I have always wondered why it is necessary to issue a new version of Fedora
(or any other OS every 6 months). Why cannot an OS be like a river, constantly
flowing and always being the latest edition, with a simple yum update. Cannot
programs clean up after themselves, leaving no cruft, so that this would be
possible? That way, one could jump on the infinite Fedora flow at any time and
always have the latest version of all programs. What forces the necessity to
stop a particular version and recreate all the software and redo all of the
old mistakes that were already fixed and issue a new version?


Some changes require changing several major packages at the same
time. But the fixes from the last version are carried forward. It is
just that the new combination introduces new bugs. A lot of the time
these do not show up until a lot of people are using the software in
different ways, and in different combinations. Using different
hardware also shows up problems.


Troubleshooting problems would also be a nightmare when you do not
know what version of different programs and libraries the user is using.


Mikkel
--

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons,
for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup!

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On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 16:36 -0600, kwhiskerz wrote:
> I have always wondered why it is necessary to issue a new version of Fedora
> (or any other OS every 6 months). Why cannot an OS be like a river, constantly
> flowing and always being the latest edition, with a simple yum update.

This is called rawhide. Please keep your arms and legs inside the
vehicle at all times. Fedora is not responsible for any injuries which
occur while riding rawhide. Rawhide is not for everyone. Pregnant women,
or women who may be pregnant (or that one guy who was pregnant) should
consult their physician before riding rawhide. Individuals with any of
the following medical conditions should probably not ride rawhide: high
blood pressure, ringworm, psoriasis, tetter, elephantitis, amathophobia,
or rheumatoid arthritis. Rawhide may eat you, your children, your
neighbor, your neighbor's cat, and/or your leftovers from yesterday
dinner. Rawhide may date your sister once, then never call her again. If
you don't have a sister, it may date your friend's sister, then never
call her again. If none of your friends have sisters, it may date the
sister of someone you have never met and then never call her again. Yum
sessions which last for 3 or more hours while using Rawhide are not
normal, please seek bugzilla. Rawhide may conflict with other software
repositories. Rawhide is not approved by the FDA to treat any specific
condition. Rawhide will not be brought to you by Xerox in 4 parts
without commercial interruptions. Rawhide will not show you pictures of
Bush blowing a bugle and leading a charge by Dick Chaney, John Ashcroft,
and John McCain to eat baklava confiscated from an Iraqi village.
Rawhide will not make you more attractive to the opposite sex (try
beer). Rawhide will break. Rawhide will make you cry. And it still won't
call your sister (or your friend's sister, or some random person's
sister).

> Cannot programs clean up after themselves, leaving no cruft, so that this would be
> possible?

This is called utopia. Let me know when you find it.

> That way, one could jump on the infinite Fedora flow at any time and
> always have the latest version of all programs. What forces the necessity to
> stop a particular version and recreate all the software and redo all of the
> old mistakes that were already fixed and issue a new version?

Well, I think it is hasty to say that we're "redoing all of the old
mistakes". We fix bugs, increment versions, and occasionally, freeze our
state to fix the bugs we've found and send patches back up the river
(upstream). If you want to drink from the fire hose, rawhide is where
this happens. If you just want to get on at a set point where we know
things "mostly work (tm)", that is what the point releases are for.

~spot

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