[mythtv] Packaging prereleases/CVS? (was: Next release?)

[Tim Harvey]

Axel,

I for one would love to have access to your private packaged releases.
Just this week I decided to reinstall my system using FC1 and when I got
to the point of needing to sync with CVS to fix a bug, I was trying to
figure out a way that I could somehow 'not' do a 'make install' but
package it instead so that I could easily move back and forth between it
and released packages that you have provided everyone.  Needless to say,
I'm pretty ignorant about spec files and what not and haven't taken the
time to figure it all out.

I ended up biting the bullet and doing make installs to test my patch
that I was working on.  Now I kind of wish I had a clean and simple way
to get rid of everything.  I guess I can go through and do it all by
hand.  Is it typical that a 'released' package goes in /usr/* and
something hand-built goes in /usr/local/*?  I wasn't quite sure why your
released packages used one tree, and the source put it elsewhere.

Thank you so much for all the packages you maintain!  I don't quite
understand how you have the time to do it all but I have used them
several times now in my tinking with MythTV!

Tim

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mythtv-dev-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-dev-bounces at mythtv.org]
> On Behalf Of Axel Thimm
> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 11:57 AM
> To: Development of mythtv
> Subject: [mythtv] Packaging prereleases/CVS? (was: Next release?)
> 
> Hi,
> 
> On Thu, Jan 15, 2004 at 08:36:11PM -0500, Isaac Richards wrote:
> > Anyone have any problems with an 0.14 release in 2 weeks or so?
I've
> got a
> > couple things I'd like to get done before a release, but everything
else
> is
> > looking pretty good to me..
> 
> would it make sense to rethink about publishing packages of
> prereleased versions, CVS or otherwise? (I know it has been the policy
> of mythtv development to discourage this, and if this is still the
> case, it should continue to be honoured.)
> 
> For instance with the concurrent developement of ivtv users often have
> to go with CVS of one or another project. Since packaged CVS versions
> can be easily replaced by the previous released package, people
> running into problems can undo them quite easily (iff they have saved
> their database).
> 
> Currently I am building CVS rpms at a private location sharing them
> with a dozen other people.
> 
> Pros are:
> o more testing of CVS/prerelease bits
> o packaging itself gets also tested
> o faster (concurrent) packagages after a release
> o codevelopment/testing with sibling projects like ivtv
> 
> Cons are:
> o false bug reports if CVS tree is packaged at the wrong time
> o scattered bug reports
> 
> Many projects have unstable/bleeding edge/beta packaged stages for the
> adventurous to lay their hand upon. What do you think?
> --
> Axel.Thimm at physik.fu-berlin.de