[php-maint] Bug#750682: Bug#750682: Bug#750682: [php5] Experimental warning in NEWS.Debian

[Filipus Klutiero]

I didn't say the message is wrong. In fact, upstream uses a similar message even for release candidates. As I wrote, I didn't know from what angle this should be approached. It is certainly unacceptable for Debian 8 to ship a PHP version not ready for production. Either:

 1. We consider beta3 ready for production, in which case the entry is very misleading.
 2. We consider beta3 unfit for production, in which case a different version must reach testing.

I consider it excessively aggressive to replace mature PHP versions with betas, but that doesn't mean I consider betas unfit for release. I didn't test beta3 enough to say which angle is best, that's your call.

It's rather true that testing should not be used in production, but that doesn't mean one can push anything to testing. One may upload a seriously broken package to unstable, but not knowingly. By uploading a version to unstable, you're stating that you deem it fit, although it's OK if testing later disproves that.

By the way, there is no need to have such entries in the first place. People don't install from experimental by accident - if they do, they're responsible for making appropriate use. It was already clear from the version's alpha denomination that it was unfit for production. Adding an explicit mention in the changelog would have been more than enough.

On 2014-06-05 13:20, Ondřej Surý wrote:
> I am curious where the bug is here...
>
> The message is very much still true and will be/should be removed when
> upstream reach RC phase.
>
> This should not be used in production (and that also holds for Debian
> testing - it should
> not be used for production).
>
> I will not close the bug just for the sake of avoiding duplicate bug
> reports,
> but I see no bug here.
>
> O.
>
> On Thu, Jun 5, 2014, at 18:48, Thijs Kinkhorst wrote:
>> severity 750682 normal
>> tags 750682 pending
>> thanks
>>
>> On Thu, June 5, 2014 18:36, Filipus Klutiero wrote:
>>> Package: php5
>>> Version: 5.6.0~beta3+dfsg-2
>>> Severity: serious
>>>
>>> NEWS.Debian contains the following entry:
>>>> php5 (5.6.0~alpha1+dfsg-1) experimental; urgency=medium
>>>>
>>>> * THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT PREVIEW - DO NOT USE IT IN PRODUCTION!
>>>> * PHP 5.6.0alpha1 comes with new features such as (incomplete list) :
>>>> + constant scalar expressions,
>>>> + variadic functions,
>>>> + argument unpacking,
>>>> + support for large(>2GiB) file uploads,
>>>> + SSL/TLS improvements,
>>>> + a new command line debugger called phpdbg.
>>>>
>>>> -- Ondřej Surý <ondrej at debian.org> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 11:02:20 +0100
>>> I'm not sure from what angle this should be taken. On one hand, although
>>> the version which reached testing is no longer alpha, it's still very
>>> early. The current release's announcement had a similar disclaimer:
>>> http://php.net/archive/2014.php#id2014-05-15-1
>>>
>>> On the other hand, we have a history of aggressive PHP packaging. Even the
>>> last major version was packaged at RC stage. As far as I know/remember,
>>> that went rather well, so we might be as lucky. Alpha versions have been
>>> packaged since January.
>> Thanks. This message was already removed in git so it won't display on
>> jessie upgrades after the next upload.
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Thijs
>>
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>


-- 
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com

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