[Bf-committers] Proposal for 2.36 release

[Jean-Luc Peuriere]

Le 22 nov. 04, à 10:22, Ted Schundler a écrit :

> While shorter releases isn't a bad idea, I don't know that it's a
> solution to the issue at hand.
>
Shorter release cycle means more frequents CVS freezes of at least 15 
days.
4-6 releases/year seems good for me. Many commercial apps release a 
major
version only every other year, with sometimes an interim version in 
between

Also for major improvements, you are reducing the launch window, which 
is
not good.

Or we need to spawn 2 CVS, stable and devel, which is possible with 
tools
like subversion, but a pain with CVS to keep in sync.

Now the quality level of blender is still very good. What does not work,
is the beta phase. Posts in builds forum at b.o leads to users playing
with features and builds at various level of patching, not testing the
quality of the official builds which are, btw, loosely identified.

> I think Bart's on the right track with official release candidate
> versions - publicized and posted on b3d.o, Elysiun, etc., not buried
> in the b.o forums. For a normal user, trying out a beta or test
> version is sort of shaky business (if they even find it). But a
> Release Candidate means it's effectively ready to go. And if it's
> listed on an official download page, it looks a lot safer to try out.

Separate officials builds from users and experimental builds is good,
I agree. Now advertising on many forums will only lead to more users
playing with the app, not testing it.

from real life experience, to get good tests results, you need a 
support,
which can take the form of a completed regression suite,
plus a form with questions about day to day use but the most important
is real testers, not casual users.. In my view, the test
builds should be available to registered users which agree to run the
regression suite and complete the form. To be not a pain, most of the
suite should be an automated process.
>
If such a place is created, I as platform manager can engage myself to
provide builds regularly (on a weekly or bi-weekly basis), not only
in B-con4 condition.

> To be safe with the official release, rather than release when it
> seems good, wait for X there being no new significant bug reports for
> X days or something. Then that RC becomes the release.

I agree on that, but that's what we have done here, and get no bad 
report
until RC became Release. either X was way too short, or users were only
playing. I think later is the true answer, that's why you need 
committed testers.


-- 
Jean-Luc (lukep)
insane Mac user since 89