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From: "Dr. Wayne Keen" <wayne DOT keen AT crc DOT com>
To: <aldi AT wubios DOT wustl DOT edu>, <cygwin AT cygwin DOT com>
Subject: What is the meaning of a new version for CYGWIN?
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 14:30:23 -0400
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My advice, as a fellow user of Cygwin, and nothing more is:
(1) If Cygwin is doing what you want, don't update unless you see some new
functionality you need.
(2) I you see an announcement on a new package that you really need, wait a
couple of days, keep
    an eye on the archives and then update.

When you want to update, go to the Cygwin website and get the setup program.
Setup can change
on even a daily basis, and you need to have the correct version to have
things go smoothly.  Now,
you only need to update, instead of a complete re-install.  Whether you
upgrade all components that Cygwin
want to update or just the stuff you want it up to you.  I tend to upgrade
everything, but that
is not the most conservative way to go.

If you run into some new problem with Cygwin, and you have not updated in a
while, go ahead and
update.  It may or may not fix the problem, but it is a lot easier to get
help form the overworked
Cygwin folks if you are telling them about the current version of the tool.

Make the archives one of your favorites and check in a couple of times a
day.  It is interesting
reading, and you can find out where problems or new tools are coming from.
Here is the archive
address:

http://cygwin.com/ml/cygwin/

Always page through there is you have a problem.  You would be suprised how
many people will pop up
in one day, each reporting the same problem, and obviously having not
checked the archives.
Even I would lose my sense of humor after the 17th report in one day.

My experience with Cygwin upgrades has been good.  Because of the high
number of tools within
Cygwin,  there are a lot of updates, and it is REMARKABLY seldom that an
upgrade breaks things
in light of the change volume.  The advice above is conservative, more so
than I am.  I have
several machines with Cygwin on them, and there are some of them that I am
quite aggressive
in updating, and I use them as pathfinders or pothole finders.  If you have
this luxury, i.e.
at least one machine that, if something goes wrong, tearing down and
starting over is no big
deal, then staying current can be a blast.

If Cygwin is critical to your job, the advice is standard, back it up on a
regular basis.

This is my thinking, your mileage may vary.

Good luck!

Wayne Keen


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