[oi-dev] OI 2023.10 release notes (Python and Perl)

[Marcel Telka]

Hi,

I just opened the OpenIndiana Release 2023.10 announcement[1] and I
found the following paragraph there:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Python packages are now imported into the package manager by script and
usually very up to date. Generally if you need to install a python based
app, then the package manager offers the latest versions. If you need
specific versions try to use the C bindings from the openindiana.org
repos and only install pure python software via pip and virtualenvs.
There are plans to make this happen for ruby and perl as well.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I've no idea who wrote that but the first and last sentences there are
misleading.

Python packages are not imported into the package manager by script.
Scripts are used just to check if there are new versions available and
to prepare changesets with the package update (or rebuild).  Everything
beyond that is just a manual work: the changeset check for correctness
and completeness is done manually, the PR submission is done manually,
and the PR merge is done manually as well.

Also, if automatic changeset creation fails then manual work is needed
to get the integration fixed.  Roughly half of new Python PRs needs
this.  Because of that we are not fully up-to-date with Python and
its related packages yet.

The other misleading in the announcement is a claim that there are plans
to do the same for Perl.  No, there are no such plans and never will be.

Why?

Because it makes no sense to plan something that is already done. :-)

Since summer 2022 (yes, for more than a year now) everything related to
Perl in OpenIndiana is always[2] up to date.  The rate of failed
automatic integrations[3] is far less for Perl than for Python.
Actually, such failures are rare.

Any questions?


Regards.


PS: If you are interested to help in this area then you are very
welcome.  Just let me know.  Especially Python developers and testers
are needed to help with some annoying bugs in upstream Python projects,
but not only that.  Thank you.


[1] https://www.openindiana.org/announcements/openindiana-hipster-2023-10-announcement/
[2] all updates for CPAN modules or Perl itself are in almost all cases
    published to our IPS repo in less than 48 hours after they are released.
[3] automatic changeset creations

-- 
+-------------------------------------------+
| Marcel Telka   e-mail:   marcel at telka.sk  |
|                homepage: http://telka.sk/ |
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