Re: target system for libc5

[jfm2@club-internet.fr]

> 
> Is out-of-the-box RedHat 4.2 supposed to be the target system for the libc-5
> section of the archive?
> 

No.  The libc5 part is becauuse we want the project be useful to
people.  It is perfectly legitimate to include things who are newer
than the standard package in RedHat as long as we provide it.  In fact
I myself have included some replacements for RedHat 4.x and 5.0
packages when I felt we would better using something newer.

> If so, I've noticed a potential problem.
> RedHat 4.2 ships with libc.so.5.3.12, which is not what Roger has been using.
> Mostly it seems to be compatible, but there was a problem in using the gtk
> package - libgdk library uses the _IO_getc symbol which is not present until 
> version 5.4 . I'm not sure how many (if any) of the other packages are
> affected. 
> 
> 
> What's our policy when something like that comes up? Do we put in more 
> restrictive requires and point users to a more recent libarary version,
> or do we just use old libraries for building as necessary, as long as 
> they're not too broken?
> 

Here we have dilemma: libc 5.4 is rumored to have some
incompatibilities with 5.3.  However I used it for months without
running unto them.

Do we consider that the GIMP is important enough we go to libc 5.4?

In addition there is the problem that people upgrading to RH 5.x will
have problems with their libc5 apps if they don't downgrade to
libc5.3.12first.  The reason is that if you use libc 5.4 the libc5 RPM
is not upgraded and you don't get the libc5 compatible maiscellaneous
libraries who are part of it in the libc5 shipped with RH 5.x

The days of libc5 are running short: HJ Lu has stopped maintaining it,
Suse 5.3 will be able to run glibc packages and Caldera has announced
its 2.0 distrib for end of of this year.  Of course there will still
people using older distribs.

-- 
			Jean Francois Martinez

The worthy man is the one who would drink muddy water if such were the
water of truth.