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Are the two really the same though? I mean an application that breaks sucks, and you might have to roll back an update or wait for a patch. It is annoying and

Are the two really the same though? I mean an application that breaks sucks, and you might have to roll back an update or wait for a patch. It is annoying and you may lose some time. A security breach may be more rare, but it also might be much more damaging. You might lose your whole business or worse. The right answer is probably some subtle equation of both problems relative to one's specific circumstances (trade offs) but "it depends" never makes for a good internet argument so most people don't bother with the nuances.

cmurf 10y ago
Breakage on macOS, iOS, Android, is pretty rare. It's a bit more common on Windows but I'd still say it's rarish. On Linux distros it's just a matter of time before something breaks during an update, and rollback is not easy at all.
- davexunit 10y ago
  Rollback on current mainstream distros isn't really possible because their package managers are rather primitive. Newer system package managers like GNU Guix and Nix feature atomic updates and rollback so breakage is easily remedied. Their associated distros, GuixSD and NixOS, feature rollback for the entire OS. I made a bad configuration change the other day that kept me from logging in to my desktop environment, so I just rebooted and chose the previous generation of my system from the GRUB menu and was back in action.
  - jjnoakes 10y ago
    I pin older versions of packages all the time via yum.
    - davexunit 10y ago
      Not the same thing. Yum also doesn't provide atomic upgrades.
      - jjnoakes 10y ago
        While not identical to Guix or Nix, it certainly is analogous to rolling things back. If I upgrade a package from 1.0.1 to 1.0.2 and it breaks, I can pin it to 1.0.1 and continue on my merry way.
        davexunit 10y ago
        But without the rollback being atomic, there is potential for the rollback to fail and the system to be left in a broken state. Guix and Nix also can record many generations of the system and roll back to any one of them. Pinning packages with yum is very primitive and unsafe by comparison.
        jjnoakes 10y ago
        Yum typically upgrades packages through very minor version changes. Like a.b.c to a.b.c+1. Rolling back is not nearly dangerous as you are implying in a curated distribution.

cmurf 10y ago

Breakage on macOS, iOS, Android, is pretty rare. It's a bit more common on Windows but I'd still say it's rarish. On Linux distros it's just a matter of time before something breaks during an update, and rollback is not easy at all.

davexunit 10y ago
Rollback on current mainstream distros isn't really possible because their package managers are rather primitive. Newer system package managers like GNU Guix and Nix feature atomic updates and rollback so breakage is easily remedied. Their associated distros, GuixSD and NixOS, feature rollback for the entire OS. I made a bad configuration change the other day that kept me from logging in to my desktop environment, so I just rebooted and chose the previous generation of my system from the GRUB menu and was back in action.
- jjnoakes 10y ago
  I pin older versions of packages all the time via yum.
  - davexunit 10y ago
    Not the same thing. Yum also doesn't provide atomic upgrades.
    - jjnoakes 10y ago
      While not identical to Guix or Nix, it certainly is analogous to rolling things back. If I upgrade a package from 1.0.1 to 1.0.2 and it breaks, I can pin it to 1.0.1 and continue on my merry way.
      - davexunit 10y ago
        But without the rollback being atomic, there is potential for the rollback to fail and the system to be left in a broken state. Guix and Nix also can record many generations of the system and roll back to any one of them. Pinning packages with yum is very primitive and unsafe by comparison.
        jjnoakes 10y ago
        Yum typically upgrades packages through very minor version changes. Like a.b.c to a.b.c+1. Rolling back is not nearly dangerous as you are implying in a curated distribution.