Preparing for a point release

[Hal Murray]

devel at ntpsec.org said:
> Remember, Linux used to have stable-branch releases.  It no longer does
> because Linus noticed the same failure mode I did.  When you start
> cherry-picking onto a "safe" branch you increase the expected time to
> discovery of any bugs on your unstable branch.  This is not a good trade in
> the longer term. 

I think that depends on who your users are.

Releasing current HEAD rather than using branches turns all your users into 
testers.  Some people put a high value on stability.  If all you do is 
release HEAD, then some distros will have to dig out the critical bug fixes 
for their customers who value stability.

CentOS is still running Linux 3.10, and that's their main release.  CentOS 6 
is running 2.6.32 and Python 2.6 and is still supported.

In any case, we need a plan for how to get out a security bug fix ASAP when 
HEAD is far from stable.  (The plan might be cross that bridge when we get 
there, but we need to think about that case.)

-----------

In another thread, you asked me to work on release procedures.  I'm rounding 
that up to include overall project management - you need a context for 
how/when to do a release.

My first step for how to run a project would be to identify your customers so 
you can ask them what they want.  Right after that would be to make sure that 
they understand that they have to help with testing and hence are tangled up 
with the release process.


-- 
These are my opinions.  I hate spam.