Wary: upgrade glibc/gcc?

I am working on a recompile in T2 of the packages for the next major version jump of Wary, to "5.2".

Originally, I was thinking that glibc and gcc should stay at the same versions for the life of the Wary project, to help to ensure that packages stay working in later releases of Wary.

But, I'm not quite sure.

Glibc is currently version 2.10.1, latest in T2 is 2.13.

Gcc is currently 4.3.4, latest in T2 is 4.6.1.

The big question is, would bumping either of these packages to the latest version, break anything, in particular break any of the current collection of packages in the Wary repository?

I will send a pm to tempestuous, as I think that he know a lot about this topic.

Bumping glibc, and the libstdc++ in gcc, can break packages, especially libsdtc++. Yes, perhaps I should leave them at the current versions.

---

Comments

glibc and kernel
Username: tempestuous
What I know about glibc, and to a lesser extent GCC, is that it affects kernel compatibility ie. kernel modules compiled [u]after[/u] a glibc/gcc upgrade will most likely be totally incompatibile with the existing kernel and modules. This is no problem if you intend to "lock off" your kernel and kernel modules, but any later kernel module additions would need to be compiled in the pre-upgrade environment. The most sensible/flexible solution is to proceed with a glibc upgrade if it helps, but immediately make a new kernel and modules under this new environment. Regarding the impact on libsdtc++, sorry, I don't know.

modular systems
Username: maxerro
"For the sake of user-friendliness no, but for the sake of shear experimentation YES - if you can make it in a breeze you can offer it for closed testing. Otherwise it's not worth the hassle. libstdc++ is (almost) never an issue on its own. Upgrading requires a whole new engine.

Keep current glibc/gcc
Username: BarryK
"Ok, I'll leave them at the current versions.

glibc/eglibc
Username: technosaurus
"Glibc and eglibc will allow you to provide backwards compatibility to a specific version iirc. The reason most build kits have refrained from jumping to glibc v2.14 is that gnu decided to _almost_ completely drop support for RPC (can't compile new package with it, but it is still technically there for backwards compatibility) eglibc doesn't usually do that sort of stuff, so if you are thinking of upgrading past v2.13, its probably a better choice. If it matters, I do know that glibc prior to 2.12 have a "cprog" function that is an incorrect implementation and that gcc 4.6+ will add its own version to its libs... possible bloat if it ends up in every binary You'd be in pretty good company with glibc 2.13 (or eglibc if you prefer the Debian crowd)

Remove or hide Fido
Username: Terryphi
"Slightly off topic but relevant to the next build of Wary: Fido seems to cause some confusion for new users. Will you consider removing it or at least hiding it from new users? More advanced users who want to try it can be instructed what to do.

Re fido
Username: BarryK
"But, the window at first shutdown that offer 'administrator' or 'fido' has red letters stating do not choose fido. Are people just ignoring that?

Supporting alternate userIDs
Username: GCMartin
"@Terryphi is sharing an observation that I have also. Seems that there are several approaches, depending on which PUP you are using to the "new" notion of additional userIDs in Puppyland, The problem areas are[list][*]new user understanding as this does NOT resemble anything coming from a Windows environment. [*]Non-savvy Linux users who are jumpting to Puppy Plaftform [*]Inconsistencies across the PUP distros (spot/rido/Admisistrator/root/etc_ and these implementations [*]The problems that the community now has when trying to support the user community via the forum for some problems which are encountered are due to rights and userIDs.[/list]Hope this helps

Supporting alternate userIDs
Username: GCMartin
"Pleaae delete the prior post by me. I tried but the system would NOT allow me to. My post should read as follows: [b]@Terryphi [/b]is sharing an observation that I have also. Seems that there are several approaches, depending on which PUP you are using to the "new" notion of additional userIDs in Puppyland, The problem areas are[list][*]new user understanding as this does NOT resemble anything coming from a Windows environment. [*]Lack of understanding on the use of te userID and the steps necessary for users to get what they want/need. [*]Non-savvy Linux users who are jumping to Puppy Plaftform [*]ID inconsistencies across the PUP distros (spot/fido/Admisistrator/root/etc) [*]The problems that the community now has when trying to support the user community via the forum for some problems which are encountered are due to rights and userIDs.[/list]Hope this helps

WARY upgrade
Username: GCMartin
"I [url=http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=549353#549353][b]opened this thread[/b] on a general Puppy-WARY problem here to appeal to the community for help. Hopefully they may be able to address this. But, it will require your assistance to review and add. Hope this helps

autotools
Username: BarryK
"Right now, my old laptop is running, doing a T2 compile. This is supposed to be upgraded packages for the future Wary 5.2. I upgraded autoconf, automake and m4, but I have had a rethink on that, and think it better if I roll those back. if upgraded, they can cause compatibility problems with source packages that have been pre-configured with 'autogen.sh' using Wary's current autotools. This first run through with T2 is discovering all sort of issues, and I will do another run when this one has finished.

Pmount endless loop
Username: gjuhasz
"I just recognized that if I put an empty CD into the CD rive, Pmount starts an endless loop trying handling it. No such problem in Lupu 5.2.5. Does this problem originate in some T2 packages?

T2 issues
Username: BarryK
"I have posted a bunch of "advisories" and questions to the T2 mail-list (2-3 Aug 2011): http://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.t2.devel No replies yet! Maybe one of our Puppy-developer-T2-experts would have a suggestion about how to fix libvpx. ...I think the top guy in this area is kirk (FatDog64 creator).

T2
Username: kirk
"Sorry, Haven't did a T2 build since libvpx came out. Hoping to avoid a T2 build this year :) I can only tell you what you already know. Run the script that puts you in the T2 build sandbox. Then try compiling the package with T2's configure options and working from there. Hopefully me and James will have fatdog64-520 final out soon, though I'm uploading beta7 this weekend.

Upgrade glibc/gcc?
Username: Terryphi
"I have posted a suggestion in the forum that it is time to consider upgrading glibc/gcc in Racy and Wary. http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=628234#628234

Tags: wary