[gizmo686]

I wonder if there is a way to build this process more into the package management system. Maybe have to sets of repositories, a 'stable' repository that would behave like current, non-rolling repositories, and a 'rolling' repository that would get new versions of software once they've been tested. By default, software would install from the stable repositories, but you can do something like 'apt-get make_rolling python', and get the rolling release version of python. Such a system should then be able to handle dependencies that would need to be made rolling as well.

This clearly means more work for the maintainers, but only because the PPA method is so clearly a hack that there is no expectation that it must just work.

[sciurus]

This is similar to what the backports repository provides, After you add the repository, apt does not install anything from it by default. Instead, you have to tell it to, e.g. apt-get -t squeeze-backports install "package"

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuBackports

http://backports-master.debian.org/

[qznc]

Apt supports this. However, no distribution officially supports that scheme.

http://wiki.debian.org/AptPreferences

http://serverfault.com/questions/22414/how-can-i-run-debian-...

http://blog.drewwithers.com/2011/06/mixing-debian-stable-and...

Debian stable + backports is probably closest. Unfortunatelly, there are few backports. Partially, because few people use it and partially because upstream rarely cares for Debian stable.

[sp332]

Can't you do this with Synaptic? Include apt lines for multiple versions, then select "prefer versions from Oneiric". That lets you force a version for specific packages while not updating the whole system.