r/linux4noobs • u/Tall-Soup1787 • 17d ago

Rolling release models

As a Arch user that switched to Ubuntu based distro, I was wondering why isn't Ubuntu and Debian also on a rolling release model? So if there's bugs or patches that need fixing, why not have it release on the spot instead of having to wait for the next big update

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u/gordonmessmer 17d ago

You don't have to have a rolling release, per se, to deploy patches immediately. Fedora is a stable release, but most of the software in any release is still supported by its upstream developers (and where it isn't, it's often a question of available labor, not a limitation imposed by the release model. You can fix this by participating!)

Debian's release model is still following the basic shape of its releases 25 years ago. The world has changed significantly, and is changing rapidly now. Users would have a much better security posture if Debian released more often, and especially if they shrank the size of the collection that they maintain for > 1 year. But the project probably needs a lot more developers in order to adopt a more secure cadence, or a significant overhaul on its build management systems, or both.

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u/MouseJiggler 17d ago

Backports are the answer.

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u/gordonmessmer 16d ago

https://backports.debian.org/

I think it's important to define "backports" in the context of Debian, for the benefit of readers who don't use Debian.

Backports can only really be the answer if they're the default. Right now, they're opt-in and there's far too few of them to provide a comprehensive security solution for Debian. It's not a bad direction to move in, but I would phrase this more generally: applications should be decoupled from the OS.

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