> In nixpkgs we attempt to address this situation for the python ecosystem by providing one version of each package (with few exceptions) per release. But in return, we put in work to make sure those versions actually work with each other - generally by getting the projects' test suites integrated into the build system. The idea is that an app built to depend on nixpkgs packages should be able to expect to do dependency upgrades as a "jump" every 6 months when there's a new nixpkgs release, but otherwise be able to depend on a stable suite of packages that still receives security updates & backports.
Is this different from any other Linux distribution?
- most Linux distributions don't reach very far into e.g. the python ecosystem (python packages that exist are generally there to support packaged applications)
- nixpkgs isn't linux specific - most packages work on macos, and nixpkgs happily works on top of other distributions.
Is this different from any other Linux distribution?