Re: On packaging old versions of libraries

[Mark H Weaver <mhw@netris.org>]

Hi Mike,

Mike Gerwitz <mtg@gnu.org> writes:

> There is a game my kids love playing named Secret Mayro
> Chronicles.  Unfortunately, it's been unmaintained since 2012, and it
> was removed from Debian because it is no longer compatible with newer
> versions of libraries they package.[0]  There is a maintained fork of
> the game, but it's quite different from the original (intentionally).
>
> I have the option of compiling it using old libraries (I would have to
> compile the old libraries' dependencies as well, as needed), upgrade the
> game by backporting changes from the fork (which I honestly doubt I have
> the time for right now, but I'll look into it), or run the game within a
> VM/container running an old Debian version.
>
> I'm going to look into what is required to backport, but if I decided to
> go the first route, I would probably use Guix.  Would such a
> contribution be accepted considering it packages older libraries, which
> would add some cruft?  At the least, I would have to compile CEGUI 0.7,
> but that might need older versions of libraries itself to compile.

I don't see a problem with adding an older version of CEGUI, but if
other older libraries will be needed as well, I think we'd need to look
at the details before making a decision.  The main issue is that it
potentially adds to our maintenance burden with regard to security
updates.  If these older libraries are still being competently
maintained (e.g. by upstream or by a reputable distro), or if the
libraries in question are not security sensitive, then it's probably
fine.

In many cases, a dependency on an older library can be fixed with a
small patch.  I don't expect that the dependence on CEGUI-0.7 could be
eliminated that way, but if CEGUI-0.7 depends on other older libraries,
perhaps CEGUI-0.7 can be patched to avoid that.

I would encourage you to investigate further and let us know which older
libraries would be needed, and then we can discuss it further.

     Regards,
       Mark