On 09/28/12 12:42, Dan wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> In the Gentoo repositories, the only version of Maxima currently marked
> as stable for any architecture is 5.18.1. Does anyone know why, please?
It usually has nothing to do with the stability of Maxima.
In Gentoo, a new (version of a) package is always added as unstable. If
there are no "big" bugs filed against it for 30 days, the developer can
then request that it be marked stable. He will do this under two
circumstances:
1) He gets bored and feels like it.
2) Someone files a bug at bugs.gentoo.org requesting that the package
be stabilized.
In either case, it will then be up to the arch testers to install and
play with the package a bit. If everything goes according to plan, the
arch testers will mark the package stable.
At that stage, it's useful for users to comment "it works" or "it sucks"
on the bug, as this helps the arch testers (who may not be e.g.
mathematicians) do their job.
If you care, go ahead and file a stabilization request. These get filed
often, so if you look at the past 24 hours' bugs, you should be able to
find examples of the proper etiquette.