What exactly is the point of rolling release? My pc (well, the cpu) is 15 years old, I dont need bleeding edge updates. Or is it for security ?

  • Strit@lemmy.linuxuserspace.show
    14·
    3 days ago

    I use a rolling release for mainly 3 reasons.

    1. Faster access to new (shiny) software/applications. Flatpak and the like could solve this for LTS distros.
    2. Security updates come faster and smoother.
    3. Less chance of an update breaking things. Lots of small and frequent updates, instead of rare and large update packs/stacks.
    • nous@programming.devEnglish
      81·
      3 days ago

      Less chance of an update breaking things. Lots of small and frequent updates, instead of rare and large update packs/stacks.

      I would say a rolling distro update has a higher chance of it breaking something. Each one might bring in a new major version of something that has breaking changes in it. But that breakage is typically easier to fix and less of a problem.

      Point release distros tend to bundle up all their breakages between major versions so breaks loads of things at once. And that IMO can be more of a hassle then dealing with them one at a time as they come out.

      I tended to find I needed to reinstall point release distros instead of upgrading them as it was less hassle. Which is still more disruptive then fixing small issues over time as the crop up.

      • LeFantome@programming.dev
        1·
        2 days ago

        I would say

        Is this based on experience? Or are you guessing?

        I ask because my lived experience is that rolling releases break less in practice

        Before I used rolling releases, I spent more time dealing with bugs in old versions than I do fixing breakages in my rolling disto.

        And non-rolling “upgrades” were always fraught with peril whereas I update my rolling release without any concern at all.

        • nous@programming.devEnglish
          1·
          11 hours ago

          Upgrades is any security or big fix as well. Those tend to be quite safe in point release distros. Upgrading to a new point release version is has all the same problems the rolling release had over the same period all bundle in one messy upgrade (which makes them a huge pain to deal with as they often compound). But between those, the patch upgrades tend to be quite smooth.

          I would say the over a longer time period rolling release break in bigger way less often. But they tend to have more but smaller breakages that are easy to trivial to fix.

      • Strit@lemmy.linuxuserspace.show
        2·
        3 days ago

        Good point. Yes. Small breakage means it’s easier to fix. Although, the years I’ve run my rolling release system, I’ve had it break maybe one of two times. Easily fixed. Both of those was because there was a change that needed a manual intervention, which I did not read about until after, so those were my own fault.