We are currently working towards an IPS repository with the OpenCSW package set. What we have achieved so far is setting up the complete build environment for Solaris 11 connected to the buildfarm being able to produce packages in the SysV format for Solaris 11. The master mirror also has been equipped with a repository server which is not yet populated. The next step involves adding another backend to our buildsystem GAR to produce native IPS packages.
Archive for the ‘Announcements’ category
IPS repository in the works
February 17th, 2012Which catalog should I use?
January 15th, 2012In November 2011, we’ve announced a new catalog layout. For some users, the choice of the catalog might be unclear; “should I use the testing, or the unstable catalog?” (The stable catalog is dead.)
The short answer is: it’s best if you use both testing and unstable.
Let’s consider the alternative: using only one catalog on all machines. If you use unstable (also in production), you’ll keep getting a lot of updates, and chances are that some of them will be broken. On the other hand, if you use only the testing catalog, there will be less churn, but you won’t spot problems in packages while they’re in unstable and you will increase chances of a bad package push to testing.
If you run a site where you have production and development / testing machines, you can use the unstable catalog for the ones that have higher instability tolerance. If anything breaks in unstable, you’ll notice the problem but it won’t be an operational issue for you. If you get back to us with a report, we’ll fix the it, and the bug won’t make it into the testing catalog.
The pkg-get Tool is deprecated
December 30th, 2011We just released an updated version of CSWpkgget that deprecates the pkg-get tool and pulls in pkgutil. As many sites will have automation built around pkg-get, it is still possible to use the tool but steps will be required to do so. Going forward, pkgutil is the supported OpenCSW package management tool. All automation should be converted to use pkgutil.
The full announcement is in the CSW Users list archive. The announcement includes details on how to continue using pkg-get if required.
Solaris 9 is now best effort
November 4th, 2011As Solaris 9 has now entered the Vintage/Extended support phase, future package updates and new packages will be done on a best effort basis. Each maintainer will be able to decide whether supporting Solaris 9 is something they are willing or able to do.
We apologize if this causes you any inconvenience.
(the original announcement is on the users mailing list)
Release Branches Adjusted
November 1st, 2011We’ve added a good amount of automation to the package release workflow over the last few months. Along with this, the release branches that you might know from previous years (“stable”, “current”, and “unstable”) have been slightly adjusted. Time for everyone not yet familiar with the changes to catch up.
“unstable” is still the place for the most recent packages, that’s where we intially upload packages. “current” on the other hand now offers a middle ground. It points to “testing“, a branch which receives staggered package updates from “unstable”. Finally, “stable” is officially deprecated – which it de-facto was for quite some time now. You can still use it, but it is very old and won’t see updates. As a replacement for “stable” we’ve started to work on something called named releases. More on that in due time.
To sum it up in a picture
What’s next?
There’s still a bunch to do. Automating the “unstable” -> “testing” workflow, propagating the substantial backlog of updates from “unstable”, and getting a named release out of the door are among the main ones. In the meantime, the “Release Branches” page has been updated and the branches “unstable” and “testing” are your friends. Any questions? Let us know.
New signing key
September 4th, 2011After the change of the way packages get published, we’re announcing a new signing key. They key ID is 9306CC77, and it is available from our mirrors page and pgp.mit.edu.
A New Direction for OpenCSW
July 10th, 2011We just wrapped up a vote on the adoption of a new release process. The results were in favour of adopting the proposal.
The result of this is that we’re going to steer our internal release processes toward as much automation as possible. Although there are many details to sort out yet, we think that the new process will result in a much nicer work flow without sacrificing package quality.
OpenCSW Featured on FLOSS Weekly
April 29th, 2011Yesterday, Philip Brown and BenWalton had the privilege of representing OpenCSW on FLOSS Weekly with Randal Schwartz and Simon Phipps. The session (podcast audio and video) is now available for download. It was an interesting and enjoyable experience. I hope that more people will check us out after hearing the show. Thanks for having us Randal!
Tech talk in Dublin: Solaris packages with mGAR
February 15th, 2011There’s an upcoming talk on Friday, the 18th of February, in Dublin, Ireland. Dagobert Michelsen will give a presentation about creating Solaris packages with mGAR. There will also be a Q&A session and pub afterwards. The event is free.
OpenCSW new board composition
December 20th, 2010Hello Fellow Maintainers,
Last week, a new board was elected by the OpenCSW membership. The
results of this election saw Ihsan Dogan, Maciej Blizinski and Ben Walton
elected. After some discussion, the board roles have been assigned as
follows:
President: Ben Walton
Treasurer: Ihsan Dogan
Secretary: Maciej Blizinski
We are all excited about this new chapter in OpenCSW and look forward
to serving both the user and maintainer communities.
Thank you.
Ben, Maciej and Ihsan
