Would it be possible to update the bash package?

Would it be possible to update the bash package?

[Matt]

Hi maintainers,

Would it be possible to get an updated version of the bash package? The
latest version available for cygwin is 4.4.12-3 which was released in 2017.
There's been at least one major version of bash (5.0) released since then
in January 2019 and 5.1 just came out in December 2020.

Jack

Re: Would it be possible to update the bash package?

[L A Walsh]

On 2021/02/27 18:06, Matt via Cygwin wrote:
> Hi maintainers,
>
> Would it be possible to get an updated version of the bash package? The
> latest version available for cygwin is 4.4.12-3 which was released in 2017.
> There's been at least one major version of bash (5.0) released since then
> in January 2019 and 5.1 just came out in December 2020.
> ----
    Is there something you are missing in 5.0?

I'm still at 4.3 and it seems to be working fine.  What features
are you looking for in 5.0 that you need it?

you could just build + install it yourself too.  It's not that hard
of a package to build.

Re: Would it be possible to update the bash package?

[Jack S]

On Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 10:03 PM L A Walsh wrote:

> What features are you looking for in 5.0 that you need it?
>

Bug fixes and security updates. Also I want to have version parity with my
servers.

Re: Would it be possible to update the bash package?

[L A Walsh]

On 2021/03/03 16:40, Jack S wrote:
> On Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 10:03 PM L A Walsh wrote:
> 
>     What features are you looking for in 5.0 that you need it?
> 
> 
> Bug fixes and security updates. Also I want to have version parity with 
> my servers.
----
	I don't recall any security vulnerabilities reported
in 4.3/4.4 that have been fixed, and there have been just as
many bugs introduced in 5.0 as fixed, as features and behaviors
changed.

	Really I don't see a compelling reason there should be
any hurry to update.  In my own testing, I've been unable to
build a version that doesn't crash/dump core on linux and don't
really think the 5.x series has had a thorough vetting such
that it would be regarded as being as stable as 4.3/4.4.

	The 5.x series is still new and I'm thinking if
5.x is offered, it should stay on the beta channel for a few
more major releases.  I certainly don't see 5.0 being more
Posix compatible than the 4.x series or more compatible with
existing shells.  I'm not sure cygwin should strive to be on
the bleeding edge as it is designed to be a Posix compatible
solution -- not necessarily something with all the latest
bleeding edge versions.

	It's not up to me what version ships with cygwin,
but if I wanted a newer version I'd build it myself and I'd
hope the bash maintainer for cygwin would upgrade to 5.x when
5.x is more mature, though I certainly see no problem and would
support 5.x being offered as in the  beta/test channel for a 
few releases. That seems like a perfect fit for a stable vs.
new structure.

	But that's just my opinion at the time...

-l

Re: Would it be possible to update the bash package?

[Christoph Reiter]

On Fri, Mar 5, 2021 at 5:50 PM L A Walsh <cygwin@tlinx.org> wrote:
>         Really I don't see a compelling reason there should be
> any hurry to update.  In my own testing, I've been unable to
> build a version that doesn't crash/dump core on linux and don't
> really think the 5.x series has had a thorough vetting such
> that it would be regarded as being as stable as 4.3/4.4.

fyi, we've been using bash 5.1 in MSYS2 for 2-3 months now without any issues.

regards

Re: Would it be possible to update the bash package?

[Zartaj Majeed]

Does bash 5.1 crash in cygwin? Please let us know so we can help - bash 4.4 is now over 5 years old

On 3/5/2021 2:23 PM, Christoph Reiter wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 5, 2021 at 5:50 PM L A Walsh <cygwin@tlinx.org> wrote:
>>          Really I don't see a compelling reason there should be
>> any hurry to update.  In my own testing, I've been unable to
>> build a version that doesn't crash/dump core on linux and don't
>> really think the 5.x series has had a thorough vetting such
>> that it would be regarded as being as stable as 4.3/4.4.
> 
> fyi, we've been using bash 5.1 in MSYS2 for 2-3 months now without any issues.
> 
> regards

Re: Would it be possible to update the bash package?

[Adam Dinwoodie]

On Sun, Mar 06, 2022 at 10:59:57AM -0500, Zartaj Majeed wrote:
> On 3/5/2021 2:23 PM, Christoph Reiter wrote:
> > On Fri, Mar 5, 2021 at 5:50 PM L A Walsh <cygwin@tlinx.org> wrote:
> > >          Really I don't see a compelling reason there should be
> > > any hurry to update.  In my own testing, I've been unable to
> > > build a version that doesn't crash/dump core on linux and don't
> > > really think the 5.x series has had a thorough vetting such
> > > that it would be regarded as being as stable as 4.3/4.4.
> > 
> > fyi, we've been using bash 5.1 in MSYS2 for 2-3 months now without any issues.
> > 
> > regards
> 
> Does bash 5.1 crash in cygwin? Please let us know so we can help - bash 4.4 is now over 5 years old

As far as I'm aware, nobody has checked.  We have the perennial OSS
project problem: someone has to do it.  Eric Blake is the maintainer for
Cygwin's bash package (as well as the clearly-related bash-completion
and bashdb packages), but I know hasn't had much time for Cygwin work
for a while.

If you want to help, I suspect the best starting point will be to
download the source packages for the current Cygwin Bash, bump the
version in the cygport file up to the latest and greatest upstream
version, try compiling, and see what breaks and what needs fixing.

Once you have it working, based on previous discussions (e.g. [0]) it
should be possible to add you as a co-maintainer or sole maintainer for
these packages.

[0]: https://cygwin.com/pipermail/cygwin-apps/2021-August/041444.html

There's more guidance at https://cygwin.com/packages.html, and in
particular in the "Adopting an orphaned package" at
https://cygwin.com/packaging-contributors-guide.html (these packages
aren't strictly orphaned, but the process is fundamentally the same).

HTH

Adam