[ILUG] "Sarge is now frozen! Wheeeeeee!!!"

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Bryan O'Donoghue (typedef at eircom.net):

> Can somebody say, what the default would be and more to the point,
> assuming (n) packages in Debian would have several versions, would there
> be some easy way I could say to apt to use the latest version of
> 'everything' in sarge ?
> 
> ie, don't install gcc-2.95, install 3.4 don't install Gnome 2.2 install
> Gnome 2.8 (not that I'd install Gnome) and so on, or would one be in a
> situation of having step through the Packages list and manually flag the
> fact that a 'newer' package is available then is currently installed and
> explicately install said package ?

Numerous "virtual packages" exist for those wishing to always track the 
very latest of some version (or some version series), like this one:

  Package: kernel-image-2.6-686
  Priority: optional
  Section: base
  Installed-Size: 32
  Maintainer: Debian kernel team <debian-kernel at lists.debian.org>
  Architecture: i386
  Source: kernel-latest-2.6-i386
  Version: 101
  Depends: kernel-image-2.6.8-2-686
  Filename:
  pool/main/k/kernel-latest-2.6-i386/kernel-image-2.6-686_101_i386.deb
  Size: 2092
  MD5sum: 95b0721262d772fe30c5a8e02024201f
  Description: Linux kernel image for version 2.6 on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/P4.
  This package will always depend on the latest 2.6 kernel image available
  for Pentium Pro/Celeron/Pentium II/Pentium III/Pentium 4.

Otherwise, the assumption is that moving from one kernel
kernel-image-2.6-686* revision to another is way too system-significant
to not put under admin control.  Ditto for the "gcc" virtual package,
etc.

Personally, I prefer the system to not blow away the existing Perl and
Python interpreters (e.g.) without asking me.