When I run opkg list-upgradable via CLI, various updates are presented. Excuse me for my ignorance, but where can I find a changelog for these updates?
In case of any misunderstandings, I require information about these updates, are they presented to fix spelling errors, bug fixes etc? Therefore, where can I find the information?
If you care about the details, you'll have to follow the source, using the base git repository and the corresponding package feeds. Changelogs are not available in the binary packages, nor accessible to the package manager.
Thank you for the prompt response. The Devil is always in the detail.
Upgrading packages (via the CLI opkg upgrade command or the LuCI Upgrade... button) can result in major problems. It is generally highly discouraged, unless you know what you are doing or if there is specific instruction to do so.
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Thank you for the clarification and presented URLs.
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In many case you should also check the upstream changelog.
To All,
Thank you for the prompt responses.
Personally, I would only upgrade user installed packages that aren't part of the core OpenWrt build to avoid issues.Sometimes you'll be fine, other times it could all end in tears. It's best to leave the core stuff alone until the next OpenWrt service release.
I have to confess that coming from 20 years on other Linux distros the admonition not to upgrade packages seems very strange.
I guess it's because most users' devices require flashing a firmware ?
Size constraints.
This is not a usual PC with unlimited disk space, but a router with just a few MB of flash.
Typically there is limited flash space. The ROM (= flashed firmware) + overlay fs (= all changes) structure enables the reset functionality, but on the other hand nothing in the original firmware actually gets deleted (as it just gets a delete mark).
You can selectively upgrade individual (user-space) packages, if you have a real reason to upgrade and you know that there is enough free flash space.
Size constraints also prevent sacrificing flash space for multiple concurrent versions of libraries, which easily blows the package dependency matrix. If I update package A that requires library B version 2 but there are still other packages using B.1...
(The package manager tool opkg is simplified and crude compared to the desktop distros.)
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I do wonder though, as more robust platforms become both more affordable and more common, like the PCEngines apu2 which I run, if it might make sense to provide for folks who have the hardware to do rolling updates without having to flash a very limited device.
Obviously this thread isn't the best place to discuss it, and even more obviously it's going to be a lot of work. I guess people have tried this, and it appears from some googling that non-other than Joey Hess is running some kind of OpenWRT/Debian hybrid, so if I were to dive into I guess I wouldn't be alone.
I'd appreciate if you happen to know the best corner of the forum to discuss such work?