Hi Aaron, > Another interesting thing about RHN updates is that they do not stay > in sync with the source. For instance, if you pull PHP from RHN, you > will get php-4.2.2-8.0.7. However, php.net is distributing version
This is actually good (see below). Many Linux distributors do this. > 4.3.1. I have yet to understand their logic for releasing updates. > Any information about this would be appreciated. Typically, Red Hat will back port security patches from the current version of XYZ software to the version of XYZ software release with their distribution. Why do they do this? If they were to package the new version of XYZ software, it may have new bugs in addition to the security fix. These new bugs could introduce compatibility problems with the existing software on the system. So, in short, this is a very good practice in my opinion. From what I've seen, there are other Linux distributions (like Debian) that are very strict about following this policy of back-porting security fixes. Kudos to them. New features provided in the current version of XYZ software are usually left for new releases of the Linux distribution. (As always, there are generally exceptions.) Steve Bremer NEBCO, Inc.
