18.04.1 - probably not the question you expect ;-)

Development Discussion
#1

Hi, I’m not asking when 18.04.1 will be released (Jul 26) or whether I should wait until then to install Ubuntu MATE (up to you). Also, apologies in advance if this isn’t the correct place for this question.
What I’m wondering is this: Presumably there is time between final code freeze and publishing of the ISOs, so at what point can I assume that my currently installed Ubuntu MATE is 100% at 18.04.1 level? Is 100% of Ubuntu MATE (or any other desktop flavour) delivered in the form of “packages”, and if so, approximately when will 100% of the packages available for install via “apt upgrade” be at the 18.04.1 level?
I’m not looking for anything exact, more just wondering whether the update I did today (Jul 15) is close to the final 18.04.1 level or will I only get 18.04.1 packages on Jul 26.
Just curious

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#2

Hi @stone1343. Here’s my impression but I welcome any corrections. Things have been changing over the years.

The /etc/lsb-release file should contain the level the o/s is. Right now my old LTS says:

~$ cat /etc/lsb-release 
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=16.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=xenial
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS"
~$

This file comes in one of the core system packages. This install was done in May 2016 with the first 16.04 ISO and has only been updated via Synaptic.

But it gets a little more complex because the 16.04.4 ISO may differ for a planned reason - kernel level for “Hardware Enablement” (hwe). The 16.04.4 ISO installs a later kernel by using main kernel packages with the “hwe” designation. Normal updates will not switch kernels on you and this is how it goes:

  1. A new install may benefit from a newer kernel because of newer hardware.
  2. Current installations should simply be left alone in kernel version.

By “left alone” I don’t mean security updates are ignored… quite the opposite. The older kernel is maintained with its own patches because it’s an LTS. No issue there.

As for 18.04.1 I don’t know for sure but it’s likley too early to see a major kernel version update… perhaps that will start in 18.04.2 or 18.04.3.

Just my 2 cents.

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#3

If you just keep updating 18.04 you’ll have 18.04.1 when it’s made available you should not have to reinstall. Just keep upgrading and keep up to date.
Enjoy :slight_smile:

#4

An interesting coincidence. 16.04.4 just updated to 16.04.5. The updating package is base-files.

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