Update to freetds stable 0.91?

Asked by Dan VerWeire

The Ubuntu freetds package has been using some variant of version 0.82 since Lucid. Would it be possible to get us up to the current stable release which looks like 0.91 (ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/ALPHA/freetds/stable/)?

I think there are some features missing in 0.82, like parsing certain options from a connection string like ClientCharset and many others. I help maintain node-odbc and some users ask why they can not set the ClientCharset in the connection string. I have traced it back to the version of freetds that is being used which does not parse this option.

Thanks,

Dan

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#1

If you report a bug stating the security and bug fixes. If they are significant it will be updated. Simply keeping up with latest stable is not a reason to update. You may find a PPA.

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Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said :
#2

Actually, keeping up with the latest stable version is a reason to update **for the development release of Ubuntu**, which is currently Precise Pangolin. https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/freetds indicates that 0.82-8 is the version currently in Precise. So you could file a bug report requesting that a newer version be packaged for Precise.

If there are security fixes, or major stability/usability fixes, then it might qualify to be updated in current stable release of Ubuntu (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/StableReleaseUpdates). However, the new version would not be packaged for stable releases of Ubuntu; instead, the fixes would be backported, so that a new Ubuntu-specific (or, more likely, Debian-specific) version would be provided, with the bugs fixed but without the functionality of the program otherwise altered or the interface changed. So, if there are security fixes that have not been incorporated into the Ubuntu versions, or serious stability/usability fixes that have not been incorporated into them, then you could request this.

Before filing a bug or bugs for this or anything else in Ubuntu, please read https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs carefully.

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Dan VerWeire (dverweire) said :
#3

Thank you for the replies. I guess I should have been more clear. I was only intending to ask if Precise Pangolin could have 0.91. I expect no backports or for anything to happen to any stable Ubuntu release.

I feel like updating to a stable package release after 1.5 years should be acceptable whether or not it's specifically for bug/security fixes.

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Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said :
#4

"I was only intending to ask if Precise Pangolin could have 0.91."

Since currently the version in Precise is considerably lower, I do recommend that you file a bug for this.

"I feel like updating to a stable package release after 1.5 years should be acceptable whether or not it's specifically for bug/security fixes."

Only already-released versions of Ubuntu have updates limited to those that fix security and/or serious stability/usability problems. The idea is that, within an Ubuntu release, major changes don't happen. This is one of the fundamental ideas behind Ubuntu; if that is not suitable for you for a specific package, you can use PPA's, backports, or install the package manually. If that is not suitable for you in general, and release-upgrading more often doesn't address the problem (remember, a new Ubuntu release comes out with new software every 6 months), then Ubuntu is, by its basic design, probably not the best GNU/Linux distribution for your needs.

On the other hand, if you're saying that a 1.5 year old new stable version should make it into new Ubuntu releases, well, yeah, it should. The question is probably just one of whether or not anyone will package it. Things that should happen don't happen unless and until someone is able, and chooses to, make them happen.

It will probably have to packaged in Debian first, but filing a bug asking it to be updated in Ubuntu can still have the affect of pushing toward that.

By the way, once the newer version is available in some Ubuntu release, it can then be provided in -backports for older releases (see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuBackports).

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Dan VerWeire (dverweire) said :
#5

Cool. Thank you very much for your response, Eliah.

"Since currently the version in Precise is considerably lower, I do recommend that you file a bug for this."

Will do. Thank you for your recommendation.

"On the other hand, if you're saying that a 1.5 year old new stable version should make it into new Ubuntu releases, well, yeah, it should. The question is probably just one of whether or not anyone will package it. Things that should happen don't happen unless and until someone is able, and chooses to, make them happen."

I think this is pretty much what I was saying. In other words, I feel like a project that has progressed for 1.5 years beyond the version in Ubuntu stable releases should be a candidate for Ubuntu development releases.

Anyway, I'll try to get the ball rolling so maybe Precise Pangolin or some subsequent release could have a newer freetds.

Thank you for your time.

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