[Pkg-postgresql-public] Dropping postgresql 8.3 for squeeze

[Gerfried Fuchs]

* Dimitri Fontaine <dfontaine at hi-media.com> [2009-12-30 15:05:37 CET]:
> Gerfried Fuchs <rhonda at deb.at> writes:
> >  This is the whole point of this thread: You won't be able to build and
> > run it just fine in Debian because the package won't be there anymore at
> > a certain point in time.
> 
> The point of this thread is to *change* that, because it's no service to
> our users.

 I see your point and don't object to it in principle. It's just that
manpower is lacking, including being able to do upstream work on the
packages when upstream cease their support on it. As long as that's the
case you can argument what you like, it just won't happen because it
can't happen.

> I beg to differ: debian lacks a deprecation policy for packages in
> stable, so that we can ship 8.3 in squeeze and have happy users.

 The policy for packages in stable is that the maintainers believe that
they will last for the lifetime of the stable release. This isn't the
case here.

> >  That's on a completely different area, and you know that. That's on the
> > area of wether the postgres maintenance team is willing to bear the
> > burden of shipping more than one major versions of postgres itself and
> > has nothing to do with the extensions (only indirect, but you can't run
> > an extension for a server that's not there, that's the point).
> 
> Please let's ship all currently upstream maintained releases. All the
> needed technical support for that is there. We need a policy for
> deprecating software in stable, and maybe some more hands to help
> packaging. I'm in.

 The postgres list isn't the one to bark against for changes to release
policies. If you want to potentially throw stuff into a stable release
that won't receive upstream support (and especially, when there *is*
versions there that will receive upstream support), you will have to
discuss that with the release team. Taking debian-release again into Cc.

> >  The stable users will never have prefix-1.1.0 because that's a new
> > upstream version that won't get accepted into stable. If the bug fix is
> > relevant enough though it can and should be backported to the 1.0.0
> > version from stable where postgres 8.3 is available. There is no need to
> > have postgres 8.3 in unstable around for that.
> 
> The bugfix is relevant. Not a security bug, but a "can't use it anymore"
> bug. Brainfart. As it requires users to rebuild their index, the bugfix
> for 1.0.0 calls a version 1.1.0. That's still a bugfix.

 If the bugfix is relevant and if there are no other changes I don't
think that the release team will object to add 1.1.0 into stable. That
still is no point for 8.3 in unstable.

> Did you read the mail where I explain that PostgreSQL users will *NOT*
> want to upgrade their major version at the time they upgrade their
> debian release? Why do you insist on letting them out of support?

 They are not let out of support. lenny will be supported a year longer
than squeeze is out. Last time I checked upgrading from lenny to squeeze
will not remove postgresql-8.3, so they can (and do) postpone the
postgres upgrade to a later time. There is nothing hindering you to run
postgres8.3 on a squeeze system, with the packages from lenny.

> You do realise that people tend to use debian on production servers
> running proprietary software atop the FLOSS stack?

 Not sure what you want to buy with that argument, but again: Lack of
manpower won't make any change possible in this area.

 Thanks,
Rhonda