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FreeTDS released 0.95 in June 2015 and 1.0 in May 2016, yet all I find for packages are various compiles of 0.91. Is there a problem with versions 0.95 and/or 1.0 that preclude any of debian-dom from using a recent driver?

Edit:

This is different than questions/answers about basic version-lag (e.g., Why don't the Ubuntu repositories have the latest versions of software?). That link discusses individual ubuntu releases, but the last release to FreeTDS was two full Ubuntu releases ago. The last version change in the freetds package was over four Ubuntu releases ago.

It appears that this package is being held back because (a) debian has not updated it, and (b) ubuntu has not. I understand version-lag and feature-freeze. That is not my question. There are definitely examples of second-order side-effects where upgrading a library cascades harshly through many applications that depend on it.

My question, restated: what incompatibilities are there in newer versions of FreeTDS that might be holding back a package update?

I'm expecting an answer along the lines of:

  1. v0.95 (and above) break applications X, Y, and Z, so it is being held back pending fixes.
  2. There are no known problems. There has been no perceived need to upgrade it. The maintainers have not been concerned enough with TDS versions above 7.1 (e.g., SQL Server > 2000 and Azure use 7.2-7.4, with a few key features supported) to put in the effort.

I'm not concerned with #2, it's perfectly understandable (with an easy workaround: compile it manually and do not rely on package management). I'm nervous about #1, where I may be bitten in the future.

r2evans
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  • @bodhi.zazen, thanks for the suggestion. I think it is not a repeat (see my edit). – r2evans Jun 09 '17 at 18:25
  • Only the package maintainer(s) can answer your question of "why" if it's not related to Ubuntu's (and Debian's) release schedule. Please file a bug report on Launchpad to request to package and include a newer version of the software in question. Thanks. – David Foerster Jun 09 '17 at 20:12
  • It's already been submitted (only two months ago) with no answer. And part of "why" is certainly answerable only by the maintainer, my "reason #1" above is why I'm asking for help: the maintainer is only one person/team and may not have triggered it; if a problem has not been reported to them, then they may not know. So, I'm calling in a lifeline by "polling the audience". :-) – r2evans Jun 09 '17 at 20:18
  • Well contact the maintainer or you can always offer to maintain the package. If the maintainer does not respond contact the Debian maintainer. If they do not respond then there is a process for you to become package maintainer in Debian. – Panther Jun 12 '17 at 16:22
  • You are missing the (edited) point. I understand that the package maintainer has not (yet) had the time to update this. I find your latent hostility unnecessary: suggesting that I "take over" suggests that I am complaining about others' time to volunteer. My question is asking for experience of incompatibilities, and is not about unadvanced version (I admit the title is a little misleading). But the silence (and neither your comment nor the question closure) is clear enough to me: either you do not use the newer freetds or have seen no problems with newer versions. Thanks! – r2evans Jun 12 '17 at 16:39

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