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Slint64-14.2.1 beta is available for testing.

Posted: 13. Aug 2017, 12:28
by DidierSpaier
A beta ISO for Slint64-14.2.1 is available here.

Slint version 14.2.1 includes a new desktop: LXDE associated with an FVWM window manager instead of Openbox, and provides a few new and upgraded packages, some removals and bug fixes as well as a few added packages, mostly needed as dependencies of others.

Big change "under the hood": all packages that previously came from a Salix or an extra-14.2 repository have been rebuilt and are now stored in a Slint repository, some upgraded.

This change, not directly visible for the user, will bring more flexibility when adding repositories of third-party packages to slapt-getrc, the user being able to choose which ones will have priority over others, and will allow to deal with security issues more easily.

slap-getrc includes a source for AlienBOB's sbrepos[1], that you can just enable to use it. Read the instructions in slapt-get as well as the WARNINGS in this README.

This results in many added, removed and rebuilt packages in a big batch of updates on the occasion of the 14.2.1 release.

All these updates are listed in the ChangeLog, see under 10 and 12 August 2017

Packages upgraded:
fbterm 3.7 => 3.8
geany 1.28 => 1.31
geany-plugins 1.28 => 1.31
grub 2.00 => 2.02
lxpanel 0.9.2 => O.9.3
inkscape 0.91 => 0.92.2
libreoffice 5.1.4 => 5.3.4
mlterm 3.7.2 => 3.8.2
pandoc 1.17.0.1 => 1.19.2

All Slackware patches are applied up to and including the updates dated Fri Aug 11 23:02:43 UTC 2017 in Slackware's Stable ChangeLog for x86_64.

Once this new version will have been tested enough, the updates will be brought to Slint-14.2 repository, allowing current Slint users to upgrade without re-installing.

I will provide instructions so that this upgrade be as painless as possible, as upgrading won't be optional: this way I won't have to maintain two separate repositories in the long term. I took care not to make any change that would have needed installing packages not available in the Slackware and Slint repositories.

On the other hand, new users won't have to first apply all patches applicable to Slackware 14.2 on day of release.

How-to test:
  • Install.
  • Edit as root /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc, replacing:

    Code: Select all

    SOURCE=http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-14.2/:PREFERRED
    by:

    Code: Select all

    SOURCE=http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-testing/:PREFERRED
Test reports are welcome in this thread, especially but not limited to tests of the upgraded packages. And of course, I'd like to know what you think of LXDE with FVWM.

I would like to thank all people who helped me bring up this new version.

I take this occasion to announce that Dimitris Tzemos aka djemos is now a member of the Slint team. I look forward to learn a lot from him. As a reminder, Dimitris is the maintainer of the Slackel distribution since 2005. He is also a member of the Salix team, so that's good for synergy among distributions based on Slackware.

Of course other volunteers are welcome to join Slint! This of course includes members of the Salix team. Some of them have already been very helpful, so thanks.

Have fun,
Didier

[1]To be picky I should have written "on AlienBOB's sbrepos" as Eric provides many others, using hard links to save space. I used the same technique to provide the lxde set of packages. This will allow current Slint users to install only the new or upgraded packages in this set (others were already shipped) just typing "slapt-get --install-set lxde".

Re: Slint64-14.2.1 is available for testing.

Posted: 14. Aug 2017, 00:22
by ChuangTzu
nice work Didier!

Dimitris joining Slint, that's some news. :mrgreen:

Hmmm, are the projects "merging"?