Re: Ensuring we don't break user systems

[Dan Partelly]

I pointed this out 4-5 weeks ago when trying GuixSD, on this very list. Thanks 
for reaffirming  the idea In all honesty the current model is very badly 
broken, and you should not wait for 1.0. I had no other Linux distro break up 
faster than GuixSD. A stable branch is not enough by itself,  (but is the mort 
important part) you need to ensure that all substitutes are built correctly, 
and atomically update all substitutes following a successful build of all 
packages. 

 You should not inflict  current model on your users , not  even for an 0.1



> On Jul 29, 2018, at 12:40, Julien Lepiller <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> Hi guix!
> 
> I recently had an idea about how we should organize ourworkflow for post 1.0. 
> The goal is to ensure that users can always update their system.
> 
> Currently, we push updatesto master and they may not build on other 
> architectures or break dependant packages. This is bad because a security 
> update might get blocked because an unrelated package now fails to build.
> 
> I'd like to propose the following policy:
> 
> We wouldcreate a new branch, stable, that would be used by guix pull. We 
> would continue to push to master or other branches.
> 
> Once hydra finds it can build at least as many packages in master than 
> stable, it would make master the new stable, hopefully once a day or so.
> 
> Security updates would be provided to users by a seéarate channel, to ensure 
> important updates are delivered immediately to users.
> 
> Another possibility is to use a patch management system like gerrit with a 
> similar policy.
> 
> WDYT?
>