Ubuntu Is Heading Toward A Rolling Release

[craig10x]

Looks like main edition ubuntu will have the optional rolling release style model available by 16.04 LTS (if you prefer that and i sure do) and there will be two versions (regular and snappy)...At that time, we should also have a stable release of Unity 8 and mir as well...Next year looks pretty exciting for Ubuntu

We should know a lot more during and after the upcoming conference, but meanwhile, here's a neat article from softpedia about it:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubunt...l-480083.shtml

[monkeybrain20122]

I don't think snappy is "rolling" in the sense of Arch. If I understand correctly it allows you to install the latest and greatest user end software but the core is not upgraded (so stability of the core will not be compromised like in a true rolling release) Snappy will also allow multiple versions of the same software since each instance is isolated with its own libs. My questions are will the system become very big like Windows, and will the separation of /home and / still make sense? (or the / partition will be very small since all applications will be installed in /home without sudo since they are sandboxed) What about upgrading core components like kernel and video driver (which is possible with ppa now)?

[craig10x]

In the article, they do mention that core components can be upgraded as well (and in fact, if they cause any regressions, they can be rolled back which i believe is something you can't do with your average rolling release distro)...so, sounds to me like they are talking full rolling model...working in much the same was as you android phone gets new apps, and even the entire system can be upgraded as well...And the article says that they wouldn't really need to have the 6 month versions anymore, just updated isos periodically for snappy version of ubuntu for those who are installing "fresh" (much like the rolling releases already do)...

Logically, they would probably just have a regular LTS release every 2 years (as is already the case) and Snappy Rolling Ubuntu with new iso images every 6 months for those installing clean...and will considerable cut back on their work as they would no longer need to do the 6 month versions...They could concentrate on LTS and new features and changes for snappy...

[grahammechanical]

It is the core components that "roll" with each transactional update. And the system will detect update failures and roll back automatically. According to the graphic used by Mark the kernel will be a snap and so will the OS. They will be read only and they will get the transactional updates.

It is not "rolling" in the sense that I understand the Arch method to be a rolling release. But I do not mind. As for the apps they will be updated by the app developer and published in the app store just as it is done on the Ubuntu phone. So, it will indeed be possible to run more than one version of an app. As Mark put, a stable version and a development version. And of course it will all take up space.

PPAs will not be necessary because that kind of software can be published as a snap app. Now, flow charts are one thing but getting it all working is something else and it remains to be seen how it will all work out. But it does make for a very interesting next 12 months.

I cannot wait to install the first Ubuntu Snappy Personal ISO image and see it roll on.

Regards.

[mastablasta]

sounds interesting. but windows has this feature for decades... more or less stable core and upgrading only apps.

[Bucky Ball]

Hear it from the horses mouth at the pre-conference webcast by Mark Shuttleworth from last night. That gives a full explanation. This does not.

Snappy is a completely different approach so attempting to equate the way things work now with how they work (and are projected to continue working) in Snappy is like comparing apples and oranges.

From what I can see, Snap Apps are a great idea and concept, but there's a LONG way to go yet and it is shifting sands. It's like this: you can be (or this is the idea) on the Snappy stable tree where things will not be a lot different to what they are now, on the surface, for the average user, or you can be on the Snappy dev tree, which will be, in effect, a rolling release. So, for most users, nothing much will appear to change I wouldn't think.

For devs, learning curve and switch your brain a few degrees one way or the other. That's where things are really going to change/are changing. Convergence, apparently, is where it's at.

[craig10x]

@BuckyBall: actually, i watched the video, and it is a little confusing the way Mark presented it...because i heard him say that you can download 2 kinds of snaps in your snappy (and have both as a matter of fact which you can switch in the command line) stable and developments snaps...If so, while it is true if you download only development snaps, you would essentially be on development as you guys who test have now...but if you only downloaded the stable snaps, that doesn't mean nothing much would change, because you would still get core changes, new apps, features, kernels, etc if you only downloaded the stable snaps, as they become stable, so that would still be a rolling model, it's just it would take a bit longer to get the new stuff...but you would still get it AUTOMATICALLY and wouldn't be installing a new ubuntu every 6 months just to get them

So, in essence, it sounds like what you would have is either: rolling stable or rolling development (or you could play with both if you like on the same install just by entering a terminal command to switch them)...
Stable snappy rolling would get updated like your android phone does, when the new item is READY, you get it automatically in your downloads...we don't have that now on the 6 month versions...It would still save the bother of having to upgrade every 6 months...You'd get everything development does, just not quite as soon...

[Bucky Ball]

@BuckyBall: actually, i watched the video, and it is a little confusing the way Mark presented it...because i heard him say that you can download 2 kinds of snaps in your snappy (and have both as a matter of fact which you can switch in the command line) stable and developments snaps...If so, while it is true if you download only development snaps, you would essentially be on development as you guys who test have now...but if you only downloaded the stable snaps, that doesn't mean nothing much would change, because you would still get core changes, new apps, features, kernels, etc if you only downloaded the stable snaps, as they become stable, so that would still be a rolling model, it's just it would take a bit longer to get the new stuff...but you would still get it AUTOMATICALLY and wouldn't be installing a new ubuntu every 6 months just to get them

So, in essence, it sounds like what you would have is either: rolling stable or rolling development (or you could play with both if you like on the same install just by entering a terminal command to switch them)...
Stable snappy rolling would get updated like your android phone does, when the new item is READY, you get it automatically in your downloads...we don't have that now on the 6 month versions...It would still save the bother of having to upgrade every 6 months...You'd get everything development does, just not quite as soon...

That's it. Quite true. Good explanation.

You can snap on what you like to what you like. Even different versions of the same program. For instance, a stable Libreoffice and a testing one. They're self-contained so you can have a stable and test the testing. Much easier for testing apps purposes than devoting an entire install or VM.

[d-cosner]

Is Snappy all that much different than Red Hat's idea of containers? It just kind of sounds like a way to expand on it.

From an announcement today for the new Red Hat test images.

The new images for RHEL 6.7 Beta include a number of bug fixes and new features, such as base images to facilitate moving services from traditional environments into application containers.

[d-cosner]

Ubuntu Snappy as it is right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiMsrbJoecE