How to be on the bleeding edge

[ollehell]

Hi all,

I was wondering if I would be running the latest version of the OS and the installed apps using this method?

• enlarge the root-image
• point my repo to 16.04/dev
• do apt-get update and apt-get upgrade

Is there another way to be even more bleeding edge? I have read somewhere that people compile their own kernel for example.

Thanks in advance.

[advocatux]

@ollehell hi, if you're interested in having a broken device then yes, that could be a good way to achieve it

If you want to test and help with the latest & experimental UT development, my suggestion for you is to join the QA & testing group, and run the edge channel

[ollehell]

Hi,

that sounds tempting. How do I join that group then?

[ollehell]

Also, I don't understand why the device would start to malfunction like you said? What differs from a normal ubuntu install where you do apt-get upgrade all the time?

If I were to do what I said, I would of course leave the OTA-update path.

[trainailleur]

@ollehell said in How to be on the bleeding edge:

Also, I don't understand why the device would start to malfunction like you said? What differs from a normal ubuntu install where you do apt-get upgrade all the time?

I do not have a good understanding of the fundamental reasons (though I suspect it has to do with Canonical having pulled Ubuntu Touch code out of many packages), but at least for the time being, Ubuntu Touch depends on certain pinned or customized dependencies which can - and almost certianly will - break if you run an unqualified apt update. (I've tried it a few times over the past three or four OTAs, with no success at all, not that I expected any.)

So far, I have been safe installing a few packages not installed by default, and I've been safe upgrading them, but sooner or later I fully expect to run into a situation where something I install upgrades a dependency that breaks the OS.

[advocatux]

@ollehell I've PMed you

[advocatux]

What differs from a normal ubuntu install where you do apt-get upgrade all the time?

@ollehell the filesystem in our devices is read-only. You can use apt inside a Libertine container, or make the filesystem rw, of course (at your own risk).

[trainailleur]

@ollehell the filesystem in our devices is read-only. You can use apt inside a Libertine container, or make the filesystem rw, of course (at your own risk).

Indeed, I should have noted that the root filesystem has to be remounted in order to do anything meaningful with apt. Also, nothing about apt - or remounting root - is supported. You're pretty much on your own if you go down that road.

[ollehell]

@trainailleur thanks, that explains it. Interesting to hear about your experiences in doing it.

[ollehell]

@trainailleur I understand that and it wouldn't be a problem for me.