Update mTCP even more regularly

[boeckmann]

Current repo version of mTCP is from 2013. The mTCP author (Mike Brutman) does not like this and requests to either update it more regularly or remove the package from the distribution. Does anything speak against updating this? If not I will do it in the next few days.

[mateuszviste]

I'm not in favor of removing outdated GPL packages from the distribution, but I'm definitely all for updating them to the latest and greatest versions 😊. Thanks for taking this on, Bernd!

[mbbrutman]

I'm happy to ping somebody when a new version is available. I just didn't expect to see one that was over 10 years out of date.

How would you like to proceed? (I have no major updates available now, so the version from January 2025 should be good for a while.)

[mateuszviste]

Hi Mike, thanks for dropping by! :-)

I'm happy to ping somebody when a new version is available. I just didn't expect to see one that was over 10 years out of date.

Yeah, we are lagging behind on many packages, and mostly focus on updating the packages we use ourselves or packages that users request. We do not have anyone actively updating/managing the packages repository, so it is very much possible there are more dinosaurs hiding out there.

How would you like to proceed? (I have no major updates available now, so the version from January 2025 should be good for a while.)

Cool, Bernd will surely take the January version then.

BTW mTCP is a collection of networking tools, each roughly 80-100K large, and each with its own documentation. You distribute them all in a large-ish bundle, which is understandable as it certainly makes it easier for you, but do you think it would make sense to split them into different distribution packages, like mt-ftpcl, mt-ftpsr, mt-ping, mt-netdr, etc...? Assumption here is that users might not need all the programs, and updates might not affect every component. A break out would also boost visibility: currently it is not obvious for a SvarDOS user that the "mtcp" package contains things like a working ping program, an SNTP client, an FTP server, etc. Splitting them with each having its own description would make their functionality more discoverable ("mt-ftpsr - lightweith FTP server based on the mTCP stack, 8088 compatible").

On a related note - if by any chance you'd be interested in generating the SvarDOS packages yourself, we'd be more than happy to provide all the necessary guidelines. We could also share a script that would convert your flat archive into a working .svp package so you would not have to make any guesses. We can also offer SVN access to the SvarDOS repo so you can manage updates directly. Totally optional, of course, but if it ever sounds appealing, just say the word.

[boeckmann]

Updated mTCP to version 2025-01-10

[mbbrutman]

Thank you - I'll work with you to keep it from falling behind again.