Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2022 06:11:00 +0100 From: Steve O'Hara-Smith <steve@sohara.org> To: iio7@tutanota.com Cc: Freebsd Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Why do we have to wait for the next release for bug fixes? Message-ID: <20220412061100.cd71c9815f90ad3c9f7802d0@sohara.org> In-Reply-To: <N-R0gZ---3-2@tutanota.com> References: <N-R0gZ---3-2@tutanota.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Tue, 12 Apr 2022 06:27:28 +0200 (CEST) iio7@tutanota.com wrote: > Why are all bug fixes not errata'd so that users can update their systems > with freebsd-update without having to manually patch the kernel or > wait until next release of RELEASE, which can be quite a long wait. Every code change brings risk, releases are expected to be stable and reliable. These two facts drive the very common policy of being careful about what changes are permitted on release branches - security and important (sometimes that's a sliding scale depending on age of release) bug fixes are the usual policy for production quality software everywhere I've worked. Minor bugs with minimal impact, bugs with easy workarounds, risky intrusive code fixes these all wait for the next release as a simple matter of risk management. With FreeBSD development and bug fixing occurs in -current at the head of the tree, things that are suitable for backporting to the stable branch and thus going into the next release are marked to be merged after a soaking period in -current - these are mostly bug fixes and minor feature enhancements, large changes remain in -current where they can't destabilise the stable branch. A small set of the changes to the stable branch meet the criteria for patching the release, these criteria are chosen to maintain the reliability and security of the release branch and avoid surprises for sysadmins. The result is a set of choices depending on your needs. Production systems with strong reliability requirements should use releases and freebsd-update. This is because releases receive extensive testing and stabilisation (betas, RCs ...) to eliminate as many bugs as possible. Patches to release branches in freebsd-update also receive careful testing to maintain this quality - fortunately they are focused and do not require the entire panoply of release testing but even so the work involved is substantial. For early access to next release fixes and features you can compile the stable branch - this is a constantly moving target in the source repository, changes are limited, testing is minimal, slippery when wet YMMMV. For early access to the next main branch you can compile -current - changes are unlimited, all the rest applies even more so. -- Steve O'Hara-Smith <steve@sohara.org>
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20220412061100.cd71c9815f90ad3c9f7802d0>