MX Linux Forum

Just a note that adding upstream Debian testing, sid, or experimental repositories to MX's stable base adds the very real possibility of breaking your system beyond repair. It's safer to download the deb from packages.debian.org and trying to install it with gdebi, since that will refuse to install incompatible packages, but our process of backporting them for our own repositories is the best method of all.

https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian

noted that, thank you, sir. :)

Stevo wrote:Just a note that adding upstream Debian testing, sid, or experimental repositories to MX's stable base adds the very real possibility of breaking your system beyond repair. It's safer to download the deb from packages.debian.org and trying to install it with gdebi, since that will refuse to install incompatible packages, but our process of backporting them for our own repositories is the best method of all.

https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian

one more curiosity, sir, is it possible not to break the system, if i limit the use of MX testing repo only for some specific end user applications, just to get their newest releases, in this case, blender, for example. the rest will still use MX stable repository.

MX Test Repo is NOT the same as Debian Testing.

In simple terms, Debian Testing and Sid (also called Unstable) Repos have packages that are built on different (newer) versions of the building blocks used in Debian Stretch (the current Debian Stable, which MX17 is on). Debian Testing and Sid are meant to be testing packages that will eventually make it to the next future version of Debian Stable in 1 or 2 years' time.

In contrast MX Test Repo is MX's own repo where the packages are actually compatible with Stretch. Debian Backports Repo is also compatible with Stretch. In these 2 repos, newer versions of packages from Debian Testing or Sid are adjusted so that the parts of the building blocks that will clash with Stretch are replaced with blocks that work with Stretch.

I think the very fact that you needed to ask your above question, shows that it might be safer for you for the moment, to use the MX Package Installer (MXPI) and install things from Stable, MX Test Repo or Debian Backports using the "Full Catalogue" Tab.

Learn to walk before you start running. Get more familiar with the system and Debian before jumping in. Unless of course you have a test partition to mess around with that you don't mind breaking if things go wrong.

thanks again for the insights, sir.

i am new to MX and debian.
blender 2.79 was added to MX test repo yesterday, so concluding from your explanation, i guess it is still safe to install it.

since this is a computer for client's daily production, i chose MX which is based on debian stable, to replace the previously installed sparky 5.1 (based on debian testing).

Yes. The reason we have an MX Testing repository is for those packages we have built to be safe for MX that work for the builder, but haven't had testing by others. Most are fine first try, but occasionally we find a missing dependency or other minor bug that we need to fix before moving it to the Main repo.

A good example of that was on the forums today. Cool-retro-term was built & put in the testing repo. A user installed it and found it wouldn't run from WhiskerMenu because his system was missing two required packages that had been present already on the builder's machine (so it worked fine for him), but which weren't brought in automatically by the package.
The package has been fixed to include those as dependencies and will be uploaded shortly.

Some packages never move out of testing because nobody gives any feedback on them - so if you install a package from MX Testing that works fine, please let us know!

certainly, sir, thank you so much for the insights. :)

Very good, one of the great linux drivers manual is: linux device drivers 3rd edtition pdf.
http://computersciencepdf.com/linux-dev ... d-edition/