[maemo-developers] Getting package with lower version into extras-testing

[From: Tim Teulings]

Hallo!

> Thanks Graham, I guess I´ll have to do it that way then. Only I still 
> don´t really understand why. I mean, why is it not ok to just upload a 
> package with a lower version number to extras-devel? I could then 
> promote the stable one into extras-testing and the unstable one could 
> remain in extras-devel.

People do updates with the application manager on extras-devel. If there is
a package with multiple version in the repository, application manager will
only show and allow update to the packages with the highest version number.
A repository togetehr with the application manager does not work like a
file system. Also if a device has already downloaded a package version with
higher number, placing an package with lower version number will not result
in an update on the device. So why should one upload a package nobody will
ever see or get? Depending on upload and download time different things
will happen on the device.

However you now clain that extras-devel is a staging repository for
extras-testing and extras where you want multiple packages version where
different package version go into different target repositories, so above
should be allowed. I would say: No. extras-testing is not a target
repository it is only a transitional repository where packages should be
placed because on wants them to get them into extras. So packages that are
placed into extras-testing should be of the kind "I think it is bug free,
you, too?" and not "I know it is buggy, just take a look at the future" (in
fact QA people will take a look at extras-testing and will test sofwtare
that is known to be unstable).

I would suggest to give "next stable version but currenttly still buggy" a
special new package name like myapp-unstable or myapp6 (where 5 is the
current version) (and keep this version in extras-devel). This was already
suggested and sound much cleaner.

-- 
Gruß...
    Tim