[Biopython-dev] ubuntu

[Bartek Wilczynski]

2010/9/14 Tiago Antão <tiagoantao at gmail.com>

> Hi,
>
> Hi Tiago,



> Just a comment following from an email in the user list from Bartek.
> Should we nag people at Ubuntu/Debian to upgrade from 1.53 to
> something newer? See if they need help of some kind or such?
> I could volunteer to go and check what is happening and try to pull
> things a bit forward...
>

I'm not an expert on this, but as far as I know, this package is pulled more
or less directly from Debian and maintained by the Debian-med team (see
http://packages.debian.org/testing/python-biopython , especially the links
to maintainers on the right). The delay comes from the fact that every six
months, after making a release, ubuntu takes the biopython version from
debian testing and puts it into the line for the next release in six months.
This gives you effectively at least 6 months delay between the ubuntu
version and the current biopython trunk.  Lately, biopython makes at least
one release (sometimes two) every six months which means that the delay will
be at least one release number (more likely two, or more if somebody is not
upgrading their ubuntu every 6 months).

As far as I can tell, the guys at debian-med have the process of package
release fairly automated, but there are two delays:
- the delay in picking up new releases from biopython into debian testing.
currently this is 1.54, they haven't picked up the 1.55 yet, which means
about 1 month of delay
- the delay of ubuntu releasing policy (currently, the 1.54 is scheduled to
be in 10.10, we can expect, that 1.55 will make it into 11.4, by which time
there will probably be biopython 1.56)

There is also the ubuntu-backports system, which includes newer packages
back-ported to older releases, and it includes biopython, but this only
includes the packages already released for newer ubuntu versions.

In summary, we might try to minimize the first delay by tyrying to
synchronize a bit with ubuntu release cycle (I don't think we should be
totally dependent on their schedule, but it might be good to remember that
if we don't release in March or september, we will miss more than one ubuntu
release) and ask the debian-med team for how we can make sure that the new
release will make it into debian-testing as fast as possible.

cheers
B

> --
>
Bartek Wilczynski
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