Re: Recoding the configuration for live-build images (Was: Third status update about reproducible live-build ISO images in Jenkins)

[Chris Lamb]

Hey John,

> I'm very glad to see reproducible Debian releases being built!
> Congratulations!  Is this a feature that Debian values enough to put it
> in its major releases, or is it an offshoot?  11.0.0 just came out this
> month: was it reproducible?  Or if not, perhaps 12 will be?

Just to jump in here on behalf of Roland...   This is actually all
about various *live-build* images. That is, builds of the handful of
"live" ISO images that can be built using a tool of that name.

It has little to do with the official Debian installation media (ie.
ISOs that use the Debian Installer, also known as "d-i"), and nor does
it refer to the Debian distribution as a whole. Your queries about
whether the recent release of bullseye 11.0.0 was reproducible or not
made that bit worthy of a quick clarification.

(As a technical aside, Debian live images are constructed in such a
way that means that the underlying packages do not need to be
reproducible in the usual "source → binary" sense for the build of the
*live* image to be reproducible/nondeterministic. This is what makes a
statement such as "live image X of Debian Y is reproducible"
potentially misleading about whether Debian Y is itself reproducible —
alas, it's likely not.)

Finally, this is still all an unofficial effort at least at the
moment...  Still, really admire your keenness and am heartened by the
progress in the right direction. Hope the above helps.


Best wishes,

--
      o
    ⬋   ⬊      Chris Lamb
   o     o     reproducible-builds.org 💠
    ⬊   ⬋
      o