[maemo-developers] Application Manager and Extras-devel: Dealing with unstable software

[From: Graham Cobb]

On Wednesday 26 November 2008 18:34:17 gary liquid wrote:
> i don't think I follow with this extremely limited -devel testing cycle
> route, especially since *anyone* (even seasoned professionals) who connect
> to -devel at this point for however short a period run the overriding risk
> of screwing up their system.

I don't agree.  I, personally, run with extras-devel enabled all the time.  
But then I don't ever click on "Upgrade All" and I don't say "oh, a shiny new 
version of Canola -- must upgrade". However, when I install something new it 
often comes from extras-devel, and I do upgrade things sometimes (because I 
want the upgrade, or it has been around a while, or I suspect that it might 
interact in some important way with one of my apps).

For beta releases, I announce them on ITT and I tell beta testers to 
temporarily set up extras-devel in order to load the upgrade, and then 
disable it again.

Basically, I hope and expect developers to run with extras-devel enabled -- it 
helps us all if we are each keeping reasonably up to date with each others 
apps (and, hopefully, finding interaction problems before our users do).

And I expect power users to have extras-devel configured (because they have 
participated in someone's beta test) but disabled (so they don't pick up 
stuff by mistake).

Graham