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They rarely have a modern enough package to be worthwhile. When you control the package pipeline, you have the ability to dictate how modern or conservative you

They rarely have a modern enough package to be worthwhile. When you control the package pipeline, you have the ability to dictate how modern or conservative your software is. The problem is that most programming languages (especially Python and Ruby) are ecosystems unto themselves and often move at a much faster pace than any stable distro (or LTS) could keep up with. That's why we have gems and pip. Cf. Ubuntu LTS MongoDB default is like 1.2 or something. This is why I switched to using 10gen's repo.

smacktoward 15y ago
Perhaps, but that's a completely different argument than the one TFA is making. Besides, in the Ubuntu case anyway, LTS is supposed to be old. The whole point of LTS releases is to let slow-moving institutions/enterprises sit on ancient packages for 3-5 years without having to worry about backporting security updates. If you want recent versions of packages LTS is precisely the wrong place for you to be.
- heretohelp 15y ago
  LTS is the default distro for a lot of server and VPS providers. Often the latest VM images will be rather...unstable, even putting aside the instability of the distro itself.
- shuzchen 15y ago
  I would disagree with this. LTS (I'm referring to Ubuntu LTS as well as RHEL) is still a good fit because there are 9001 other packages your system relies on for day-to-day operations, and I'd rather mess with those as least often as possible. If you don't use a LTS then you'll have to do whole system upgrades every few years - or else you stop getting security backports. I'd much rather micromanage the dozen highly visible packages that are immediately relevant to my app. Also, even if you're not on an LTS, doesn't mean you have the latest/greatest available. The python community moves at it's own pace, so there's still a chance that you'll be stuck with the just-before-latest-stable version.
  - sliverstorm 15y ago
    there's still a chance that you'll be stuck with the just-before-latest-stable version. Is that so bad? Does python really change that much from release to release?
    - heretohelp 15y ago
      You don't really want to be on anything earlier than 2.7 right now.
      - steviesteveo65 15y ago
        Well, depending on your program.
        heretohelp 15y ago
        Nope. http://docs.python.org/dev/whatsnew/2.7.html http://docs.python.org/dev/whatsnew/2.7.html
    - shuzchen 15y ago
      Not entirely, but if your reason to using a non-LTS is to get the latest versions of your stack, then you've just made a really bad choice. As I've said, you're either giving up security updates or are left to test and upgrade your entire system every ~two years in exchange for no guarantee you're on the latest of anything. That tradeoff doesn't make sense no matter what way you look at it.

smacktoward 15y ago

Perhaps, but that's a completely different argument than the one TFA is making. Besides, in the Ubuntu case anyway, LTS is supposed to be old. The whole point of LTS releases is to let slow-moving institutions/enterprises sit on ancient packages for 3-5 years without having to worry about backporting security updates. If you want recent versions of packages LTS is precisely the wrong place for you to be.

heretohelp 15y ago
LTS is the default distro for a lot of server and VPS providers. Often the latest VM images will be rather...unstable, even putting aside the instability of the distro itself.
shuzchen 15y ago
I would disagree with this. LTS (I'm referring to Ubuntu LTS as well as RHEL) is still a good fit because there are 9001 other packages your system relies on for day-to-day operations, and I'd rather mess with those as least often as possible. If you don't use a LTS then you'll have to do whole system upgrades every few years - or else you stop getting security backports. I'd much rather micromanage the dozen highly visible packages that are immediately relevant to my app. Also, even if you're not on an LTS, doesn't mean you have the latest/greatest available. The python community moves at it's own pace, so there's still a chance that you'll be stuck with the just-before-latest-stable version.
- sliverstorm 15y ago
  there's still a chance that you'll be stuck with the just-before-latest-stable version. Is that so bad? Does python really change that much from release to release?
  - heretohelp 15y ago
    You don't really want to be on anything earlier than 2.7 right now.
    - steviesteveo65 15y ago
      Well, depending on your program.
      - heretohelp 15y ago
        Nope. http://docs.python.org/dev/whatsnew/2.7.html http://docs.python.org/dev/whatsnew/2.7.html
  - shuzchen 15y ago
    Not entirely, but if your reason to using a non-LTS is to get the latest versions of your stack, then you've just made a really bad choice. As I've said, you're either giving up security updates or are left to test and upgrade your entire system every ~two years in exchange for no guarantee you're on the latest of anything. That tradeoff doesn't make sense no matter what way you look at it.