Re: linux-libre source tarballs

[Alexandre Oliva <lxoliva@fsfla.org>]

Hello, Leo,

On May  1, 2021, Leo Famulari <leo@famulari.name> wrote:

> it's not "source code" in the GNU sense, which is the "preferred form
> of the work for making changes in it":

That's not accurate.  Linux-libre sources, whether obtained from a git
repository or from a tarball, are just as suitable for kernel
development as any other snapshot.

There is an alternate understanding of source code form taking shape in
some communities that suggests that a version control repository is
somehow more "source"ish than any of the versions held in it.

No doubt the additional versions in it may be useful in some cases, but
it does not follow that other versions and their relationship are part
of "source code" in the GNU sense.

In the GNU sense, any individual snapshot or release meets the
definition of source code.

> Not to mention that cloning a 1 GB Git repo is rather expensive compared
> to downloading a tarball

You don't have to clone anything.  If all you want is a tarball, use
'git archive --remote'.

> As you say, these tarballs are not available for very long.

*nod*, that's why we switched to a git repo, and extract the tarballs
from it.

Back when we made the switch, I wrote extensive documentation and
recipes as to the possibilities of getting to the GNU Linux-libre
sources from it, how to verify signatures, etc.  It was to be assessed
by then maintainers of Guix recipes to build GNU Linux-libre before
publishing, but it doesn't look like I ever got feedback on them, and
they hvae been unpublished so far.

Is it correct to assume that they have never reached you?  Would you
like to have a look and let me know whether they make sense to you?  I'd
be glad to dig them up and share them with you, if so, and to take your
feedback towards making them available to the public at large.

Thanks,

-- 
Alexandre Oliva, happy hacker                https://FSFLA.org/blogs/lxo/
   Free Software Activist                       GNU Toolchain Engineer
Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice
but very few check the facts.  Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>