[FAQ] What version is Gentoo, and what do I need?

guero61 · l33t Joined: 14 Oct 2002 Posts: 811 Location: Behind you

Most upgrade systems in existence today have partitioned upgrades; that means that you cannot simply update to the latest version of software on a running machine. This is due largely to profit -- companies depending on upgrade fees do not want to give that revenue up by making it simple for users to update on the fly.

So what version is my Gentoo, or what version do I need?
Since Gentoo is user-supported, there is no profit scheme; everything is supported for free by willing users. As a result, Gentoo has a fluid update system -- if you keep up to date with the portage tree, you have the most recent software available to Gentoo developers (and generally the rest of the world).

So what are all these revision numbers for, then?
A boot and installation CD must be as stable as possible. As a result, the developers put together a set of software and work on it until it is as compatible with itself and stable as possible. This is what is known as a release. The versions used by Gentoo for releases are only for versioning the install CD, nothing else.
Caveat: Due to major version and compatibility changes in core packages like gcc and glibc, it is still highly recommended you start with the most current install CD possible.

Bottom line:
Version numbers mean nothing once you've got your system installed. They only mean where you started from. Someone could install from the first publicly available ISO and still get the most up-to-date Gentoo, albeit with some major difficulties due to compiler incompatibilities and such.

pjp · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 2:08 am Post subject:

Thanks for getting this one rolling.

Couple of points. First, there are issues when it comes to gcc and glibc versions (anything else?). Second, the base versions of RH, Mandrake (most base linucies?) are free via download, no?
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guero61 · l33t Joined: 14 Oct 2002 Posts: 811 Location: Behind you

Yes, but it is money in the end that drives the partitioned upgrade scheme. There are the users that refuse to pay for any distro/upgrade of Linux and will keep downloading the ISO's. However, there are those that require support so it Just Works (TM), and to continue to be supported, they must upgrade (paying for it, of course). Not necessarily to the latest version, but close to it.

[edit]
Addressed the gcc/glibc compatibility issues, I think.
[/edit]

guero61 · l33t Joined: 14 Oct 2002 Posts: 811 Location: Behind you

Any other comments/revisions/questions?

funsize · Posted: Tue May 06, 2003 9:16 pm Post subject:

You might include a little more info on the 1.2 -> 1.4 "upgrade path" (i.e. upgrade to gcc glibc). I think more details would be good here, including perhaps some links to other resources on the topic. (I had those links around here somewhere...aha!)

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/new-upgrade-to-gentoo-1.4.xml

(might be some other stuff in forums/lists, but a quick search yields little to speak of)
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pjp · Posted: Tue May 06, 2003 10:01 pm Post subject:

Just some notes/links for gcc. Haven't gone through the threads very well... some might be more related to the actual upgrade process. I'm hoping generic info can be pulled out. Will do some more searching for glibc and whatnot later on.