Re: Binary compatibility policy for security updates and point releases
* Jakob Leben:
> Well, there are use cases that are not so simple. For example: I might
> deploy Debian 9.1 on an embedded machine sold to a client on the other side
> of the world. I have a system for updating my own software which is also
> deployed on that machine, but not the rest of the Debian system. Now, if
> ABI might change between 9.2, then I have no guarantee that if I test my
> software update with 9.2, it will be work as expected on the client's
> machine with Debian 9.1.
Why do you care about ABI breakage in particular? What about
regressions in functionality?
Practically speaking, you will have to run your own testing (probably
focusing on functionality). ABI testing is rather hard, and while
there are quite a few tools for it, interpreting the results still
needs expert knowledge. Sometimes we waive test failures, believing
they do not matter, when it fact they do. Only testing will find out.
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