#631732 scala: Different versions of Scala are binary-incompatible

Package:
scala
Source:
scala
Submitter:
Ken Bloom
Date:
2015-06-19 20:12:06 UTC
Severity:
normal
#631732#5
Date:
2011-06-26 16:08:32 UTC
From:
To:
Different versions of Scala are binary-incompatible with each other,
when the minor version number changes. (So Scala 2.8.0 is compatible
with Scala 2.8.1, and Scala 2.9.0 is compatible with Scala 2.9.0.1,
but Scala 2.9.x is incompatible with Scala 2.8.x).

Please package scala with a version number in the package name, so
that different versions of scala can be installed simultaneously, and
to avoid dependency conflicts (like how python and ruby have version
numbers in their package names). Please also add a version number to
the name of the jar file (i.e. scala-2.8.jar, scala-2.9.jar)
#631732#10
Date:
2011-06-26 16:27:49 UTC
From:
To:
That could be done *iff* we intend to support multiple versions of Scala
at the time. But, I'm not sure that it's the best thing to do right now.

Scala is moving fast. Old versions are not supported upstream. So, we
cannot keep them long time in the archive after a new release comes out.

You mentioned Python and Ruby but those have the concept of a "long term
stable release". So, they can support multiple versions of the same
interpreter/compiler at the same time *and* have upstream's support for
that. AFAIK, Scala doesn't have any equivalent for that.

But, sure, we can make those packages co-installable, and so on… but, it
seems overkill given the current state of affairs. If Scala gains a
concept of long term stable releases, then we will re-consider our policy.

Regards,
#631732#17
Date:
2011-06-26 17:28:04 UTC
From:
To:
I also think it would be nice to have separate scala_2_9 package.
Even if it couldn't be installable together with older versions of Scala (we
could declare, that it conflicts with older Scala packages).
Most of users would benefit anyway in my opinion.

You've said Scala is moving fast. Depends on what you compare it to -
actually Scala 2.9.0 was released 2011.5 and Scala 2.8.1 2010.11 - this is
half of a year, not that short in my opinion.
How much of manual work does it take to prepare Scala package - maybe
someone external could volunteer to do some of it?

Regards,
Przemysław Pokrywka
#631732#22
Date:
2015-06-19 20:08:57 UTC
From:
To:
I made some preliminary changes in scala/2.11.6-1 to support the
installation of several versions. There is now a 'scala' alternative and
the paths have been changed to avoid conflicts between different
versions (the Scala distribution is installed under
/usr/share/scala-2.11). When we start working on Scala 2.12 a package
'scala-2.11' will be uploaded, and the versionless 'scala' package will
become a mostly empty package depending on the default scala package
(scala-2.11 or scala-2.12). There is also a symlink /usr/share/scala
pointing to the default version of Scala.

Emmanuel Bourg
#631732#27
Date:
2015-06-19 20:08:57 UTC
From:
To:
I made some preliminary changes in scala/2.11.6-1 to support the
installation of several versions. There is now a 'scala' alternative and
the paths have been changed to avoid conflicts between different
versions (the Scala distribution is installed under
/usr/share/scala-2.11). When we start working on Scala 2.12 a package
'scala-2.11' will be uploaded, and the versionless 'scala' package will
become a mostly empty package depending on the default scala package
(scala-2.11 or scala-2.12). There is also a symlink /usr/share/scala
pointing to the default version of Scala.

Emmanuel Bourg