[tlug] (no subject)

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Tribble Phillip J SrA 374 LRS/LGRTT writes:

 > Does anyone know how to upgrade from Debian Etch (Testing) to Debian
 > Etch (Stable) when it comes out? Is it a simple process of changing the
 > apt sources from testing to stable ? 

Yes.

In fact, you can do that right now.

This is a typical example of how Unix uses the file system to organize
things.  In the server tree, you have

debian-+-dists-+-sid----+... ALSO DEVELOPMENT MAINLINE
       .      /|
       .     / +-slink--+... installers and metadata
       .    /  |             pointing to pool files
           /   +-potato-+...
          /    |
         +     +-woody--+...
         |     |
         | +-->+-sarge--+...
         | |   |
         | | +>+-etch---+...
         | | | |
         | | +-+-testing     symlinks
         | |   |
         | +---+-stable
         |     |
         +-----+-unstable
               
where the arrows indicate symlinks as usual.  So "releasing" Etch is
just a matter of getting the tree into shape, doing some final checks,
creating the new release for testing ("sid" will never be released,
for reasons obvious to those who have seen the movie), and then moving
the symlinks.

Note that in fact all of the actual releases are more or less branches
from sid, at different points on the development mainline.  However,
that is in a different dimension ("time") from that displayed above
("space").