[Qgis-user] recommmendations for packaging: 3.10 LTR vs 3.14

[Greg Troxel]

I am one of the maintainers of the qgis package in pgksrc, a portable
multi-os packaging system.  We were behind, having 3.8, and with the qt
5.15 issues, I spent the time to update to 3.10.7 which builds and runs
mostly fine on NetBSD.  (I also maintain other geo things in pkgsrc.)

For background, pkgsrc has stable releases every quarter, but is
otherwise just moving forward.  So in GNU/Linux terms it's like a
rolling release; imagine Ubuntu with no concept of LTS and each NN.M
being totallly desupported as soon as the next one comes out, and 3
months instead of 6.  (For us, the base os is separate.)

pkgsrc tends to having one version of a package, but does sometimes have
multiple.  My question is about the 3.10 LTR and whether that is
intended only for LTS distributions restricted to micro updates only, or
if it's also aimed at users.

Specifically, pkgsrc has three options:

  Just have 3.10 (updated with new micros of course).
    - users can't run 3.14

  Update to 3.14, do micro updates, and generally update to each new
  branch (perhaps immediately, perhaps holding back until a .1 or it's
  really clearly ok -- the usual ".0 is scary" lore).
    - users can't run 3.10

  Have qgis310 and qgis314 both, so that people who want each can run
  them.  Add new branches when they happen, drop old ones when not
  supported.
    - more complicated
    - more packaging work

If 3.14 can edit projects written by 3.10 and keep them in 3.10 format,
and for most users there is no reason to hold off on ugprading, I am
inclined to just update.  If significant numbers of actual users tend to
want to stay on 3.10 for years (vs their LTS distributions wanting it),
then that pushes me toward versioned packages and having both.  (Either
way I may poll pkgsrc users.)

Thanks,
Greg