[Slackbuilds-users] Package versions

[Ryan S. Northrup]

On 01/19/2017 09:46 AM, Full Name wrote:
> It is not uncommon to have Slackbuilds packages that are several releases behind what one can get from distributions like (shudder) Fedora or (shudder!) Ubuntu.
It is not uncommon to have packages in Slackware itself that are several 
releases behind what one can get from other distributions. :)

Point being, there are distros out there that feature the 
latest-and-greatest software.  Slackware ain't one of them; it's a more 
conservative distro (not as severe as, say, Debian or Red Hat, but it's 
no Arch, either), and it's therefore unsurprising that SlackBuilds.org 
might fall into the same sort of realm.

That said, there ain't anything wrong with emailing a maintainer to let 
them know about newer software versions and ask about status (even 
better if you've tried building with the existing SlackBuild and 
verified that it still works with the new software version). Sometimes 
folks simply miss the announcements for new versions. Sometimes folks 
stop using that program and forget that they're still the maintainer.  
Sometimes there's a technical or even political reason why a certain 
version is on SBo instead of the latest and greatest.  It really depends 
on the SlackBuild.
> I expect that some will dismiss all this retorting "If Slackware is too difficult for you then use Ubuntu (or whatever) instead." Well, they may be right; I might have to end up doing so. However, before taking such a radical step, I'd rather appeal to the maintainers' sense of pride in what they are doing, while I will risk all the abuse and derogatory comments that such a thing might elicit from some. I love Slackware, I want to carry on using it, but I would like to have the most up-to-date Slackware packages across the board.
As a maintainer (albeit a rather new one), I'd by no means dismiss such 
"retorting".  I actually agree with it for the most part.

With that said, like the other Ryan mentioned, most SlackBuilds work 
fine with software versions newer than the ones for which they're 
advertised.  There are a few exceptions (like CouchDB, which totally 
switched up its build procedure, hence why I've yet to update it to the 
2.x series), but usually all it takes is to change the $VERSION variable 
in the SlackBuild to the one matching your desired software version.
>
> I hope nobody will be offended by this, for it is not my intent to offend anyone.
No offense taken :)

--
Ryan S. Northrup
northrup at yellowapple.us