[Pkg-phototools-devel] Upgrading ligbphoto2-dev on a Pi??

[wferi at niif.hu]

Greig Sheridan <gs at gisyd.com> writes:

>> If the memory isn't too tight, it should be possible to rebuild natively.
>
> My challenge is that I can't find how to build a 'development headers'
> version.

"Building a Debian package" means building a source package, which can
result in several binary packages.  For example, as
https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/libgphoto2 shows, the libgphoto2 source
package produces five "binaries", one of which contains the "development
headers".  This is a subset of the build artifacts, not a "version".

> I've tried this script<https://github.com/gonzalo/gphoto2-updater> and
> "Install libgphoto2 and gphoto2 from source on Raspberry Pi
> <https://hyfrmn.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/install-libgphoto2-and-gphoto2-from-source-on-raspberry-pi/>"
> to roll my own build, but those seem to leave me with a vanilla
> version, where I still need development headers for my downstream
> compatibility.

These recipes should install the development header files as well, but
they do so without informing the package system of your OS.

>> Debian "unstable" get more or less regular uploads when new upstream
>> versions are released.  These are migrated to "testing" a couple of
>> days later (typically).  A new Debian release means that "testing" is
>> renamed to "stable", so the version in the Debian stable release is
>> frozen.
>
> When bullseye becomes the latest stable release for the Pi, past
> performance suggests it will only have one build of libgphoto-dev for
> its entire lifespan as the stable release.

Basically yes, Debian bullseye contains libgphoto version 2.5.27.  The
only possible changes are fixes for serious errors (unlikely).

> That's the problem I've hit with buster, and I expect will hit again
> in 12-18 months when new cameras have been added to the libgphoto
> project, but without any updated builds of libgphoto-dev (or I can
> figure out how to DIY) it will be trapped in February 2021 with the
> functionality from v2.5.27.

Yes.  This is what stable OS releases do.  Some other options are:

1. using Debian unstable or testing (reasonable for development only);
2. asking for a backport when the situation becomes unbearable (see
   https://backports.debian.org/);
3. rebuilding the unstable packages as necessary (that is, making your
   own backports);
4. building libgphoto from source and using it without any packaging
   whatsoever;
5. using some other distribution with a release cadence more suitable
   for your purposes.
-- 
Regards,
Feri