[Python-Dev] Community buildbots (was Re: User's complaints)

[Andrew MacIntyre]

Anthony Baxter wrote:
> On Friday 14 July 2006 22:45, Jeremy Hylton wrote:
>> Maybe the basic question is right, but the emphasis needs to be
>> changed.  If we had a rule that said the final release was 90 days
>> after the last submission that wasn't to fix a regression, we'd ask
>> "Is this feature important enough to warrant delaying the release
>> until three months from now?"  I'm not sure what I think, but it
>> doesn't seem like an implausible policy.
> 
> I really really doubt that this would work. There's always pressure 
> for "just one more feature" - and as the release drags on, this would 
> increase, not decrease. Note that dragging the release process out 
> has it's own costs, as mentioned previously - either the trunk is in 
> some sort of near-frozen state for an extended period, or else we end 
> up in the double-applying-bugfixes state by forking much earlier. 
> 
> This approach would also make it extremely difficult to plan for 
> releases. I know that my free time varies across the course of the 
> year, and I need _some_ sort of plan for when the release will happen 
> so I can make sure I have the time free to spend on it. 

On the face of it, it seems to me that branching a new major release at
the 1st beta would be one way of managing this.  The trunk is not frozen
for an extended period, and any "features" and bug fixes could probably
be backported from the trunk on clearance from the RE with no more pain
than is currently endured.

One down side would be the possibility of a loss in emphasis in finishing
the job on the release to be.  I'm sure there are others...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew I MacIntyre                     "These thoughts are mine alone..."
E-mail: andymac at bullseye.apana.org.au  (pref) | Snail: PO Box 370
        andymac at pcug.org.au             (alt) |        Belconnen ACT 2616
Web:    http://www.andymac.org/               |        Australia