[tex-live] Stable vs. Unstable/Testing Update Repositories?

[Manuel Pégourié-Gonnard]

Hi Claire,

C.M. Connelly a écrit :
> Space can be saved on the mirrors through hardlinking --
> packages that don't change can be linked; those that do are
> replaced by new versions, which will still be a fraction of the
> size of the whole.
> 
> Maintaining multiple releases is very doable, it just requires
> someone to decide to do it.  And, yes, obviously, I can do it
> myself.  I can maintain my own local mirror, point all my machines
> at it, and only migrate packages there after I've looked at the
> changes, maybe done some amount of testing and think they're safe.
> Similarly, on the server side I can juggle links to maintain
> multiple copies of our TeX Live install.
> 
> But having that process handled upstream would make those benefits
> available to everyone, and having it handled by the system's
> developers will mean that problems, when found, can be addressed
> quickly and competently.
> 
We're currently discussing the options internally for maintaining multiple
releases without doubling or so the space occupied by TeX Live on CTAN mirrors.
One of the options discussed is using links (though we were thinking symlinks
rather than hardlinks), if the CTAN admins think it can properly work with all
mirrors.

If you have personal experiences or useful references you'd like to share with
us, you're welcome.

Manuel.