[svlug] Debian stable/unstable hybrid?

[Chris Wesley]

On Tue, 10 Sep 2002, Wayne Earl wrote:

> I have a Debian GNU/Linux system running the latest stable. I have a
> need to use a version of MySQL greater than 3.23.50 (I need
> autoextending InnoDB tables), but stable only has 3.23.49. Unstable
> has 3.23.52, but I do not wish to upgrade the entire box to
> unstable. What would be a good way to use the newer MySQL without
> upgrading the entire box to unstable?

I know that apt can be can be configured to help you do exactly that.
I'm a bit of a novice with playing with apt's preferences, but check this
out in the apt-get manpage.

 -t
 --target-release
 --default-release

  This option controls the default input to the policy engine, it
  creates a default pin at priority 990 using the specified
  release string.  The preferences file may further override this
  setting. In short, this option lets you have simple control
  over which  distribution packages will be retrieved from. Some
  common examples might be -t '2.1*' or -t unstable.  Configuration Item:
  APT::Default-Release

Also, check out the manpage for apt_preferences.  I know you can set apt's
preferences (in /etc/apt/preferences, which probably doesn't exist if you
haven't played with it before) for any particular packages such that
they're retrieved from a different distribution than the one you're
running.

If I figure out a specific configuration that explicitly addresses what
you want to do, I'll write back.  I just wanted to give you an idea to toy
with for the time being :)  Maybe you'll be quicker on the uptake than I.

	g.luck,
        ~Chris