[Squeakfoundation]re: release management (was "WeakMessageSends/Events for 3.4")

[Craig Latta]

Hi Rob--

> So when is 3.4 final scheduled for release? How about today?
> Just do it and if there are bugs, then patch it in the update stream.
> You are right that we can always play in 3.5.

	I recommend against that approach. Remember that "final" releases are,
currently, what newcomers are most likely to use first. I think each
final release should be at least as stable as the previous one. We
should come as close as is practical to "all scheduled features
implemented, with no known bugs".

	In the beta stage ("all scheduled features implemented, but there are
bugs"), we should only consider bugfixes. Given that we have a strong
interest in getting to a final release quickly, we should only consider
fixes to *critical* bugs (e.g., those which make the system unusable for
a newcomer). We shouldn't rely on patching the final release, because,
among other things, it annoys newcomers. It dilutes the meaning of
"final" and is bad PR. :)  I think patching a final release should be
extremely rare, done only to fix the most egregious problems (e.g., the
system won't start), and done completely seamlessly. Hopefully, the
gamma stage ("this will be the final release if no bugs are reported by
a deadline") catches anything that severe.


-C

p.s. I am, of course, rehashing
http://netjam.org/smalltalk/versions.html. :)

--
Craig Latta
improvisational musical informaticist
craig@netjam.org
www.netjam.org/resume
Smalltalkers do: [:it | All with: Class, (And love: it)]