openSUSE KDE 4 Repositories Explained

+1.Enough ranting, the anger/accusations is misplaced and way over the top.READ THIS SUMMARYIf all you want is a workable version of KDE, stick with what came withthe distro when you installed it. Everything else can break your systemat any time with no warning because it *will* always be changing.If you want the latest released version of just the applications (e.g.amarok, digikam) use just KDE:Backports.If you want the latest released version (including betas and RCs) of theKDE Desktop _and_ applications use KDE:KDE4:Factory:Desktop.If KDE makes a release when KDE:KDE4:Factory:Desktop is busy, the KDEteam may choose to create an additional repository (e.g. KDE:42, KDE:43)in order to package that latest release.Once KDE:KDE4:Factory:Desktop is free again, these additional temporaryrepositories *will disappear*.If you decide you absolutely must have the latest version and switch tothe version specific repos, be aware that they will disappear again in afew months.* That means if you absolutely must have the latest KDE at all times youWILL have to change your repositories occasionally, there is no wayaround that. Development for the next release, not current users takespriority in these repositories. To keep up with upstream you have toswitch from KKFD to KDE:{version} and back to KKFD every few months. Rustic . *If you want to keep it simple just stick with KKFD until it startsmoving again.That is all you should need to know. Normally the only availableversions of the KDE desktop you can expect to be available will be1) The version that was in the last released distro in STABLE2) The latest released version in FACTORY3) The bleeding edge in UNSTABLEAny other repository is temporary and there is no guarantee it willstill be there tomorrow, if you use one of them it is your job to keepalert of any changes to it. Just stick to the above and you’ll be fine.If you choose to use the temporary repositories because you *must* havethe latest version please don’t complain about the repository layout,the alternative is not to provide the extra repositories at all.END OF SUMMARYIf you must know the details:The layout for the KDE *desktop* package repositories is:STABLE (what was released in current openSUSE)what you’ve already got in 11.2 plus some extra fixes which arebeing currently tested e.g. for online updateFACTORY (going into next version of openSUSE)what is going into the next version of openSUSE and will most likelybe the latest released version from KDE (except very close to a openSUSEdistro release).UNSTABLE (absolutely bleeding edge straight from KDE trunk, doesn’t evenbuild half the time)not for normal usersAs you can see, there is not much reason to use STABLE (you’ve alreadygot it if you are running 11.2) or UNSTABLE (it will eat your children).As I said above, if KDE has a release whena) openSUSE Factory is in version freeze in preparation for a distroreleaseb) KKFD has already moved on to the next major beta release (e.g. itis now on KDE4.4 beta/rc)the KDE team may create a temporary version specific repository (e.g.KDE:42, KDE:43).The reason we have these is because people wanted for packages of thelatest released KDE, not because the KDE team is masochistic or sadistic.Now that FACTORY is moving again (release of 11.2) (and also KDE hassaid that there will not be another 4.3.x release) *these repositorieswill disappear*. aveda . Their purpose was to provide the latest releasedversion while FACTORY was busy, that reason is gone, there is no morereason to keep them hanging around.Meanwhile, applications which are released separately (amarok, digikam)have their own repositories because they are not related to the KDE*desktop*.1) KDE:Backports contains the newest released versions of these appsbuilt against the base distribution. No KDE upgrade needed to run these.2) KDE:KDE4:Community contains applications/utilities e.g. fromkde-look.org that people outside the SuSE KDE team package.3) KDE:KDE4:Playground contains experimental/bleeding edge/unstableversions of the apps in Community and Backports.Regards,TejasFWIW, all of this information could have been gotten by a thoroughreading of the wiki pages.P.S. I suggest that at some point the KDE4: prefix needs to be droppedfrom the repository names like it has been from Backports.