[Python-Dev] Re: Bug fix releases

[Tim Peters]

[Don Tuttle]
> But there is the CVS. And there are those like myself  who are CVS
> impaired.  Right now there are Fredric's SRE

Which you already have.

> and _tkinter on steroids updates,

AFAICT, PythonWare makes uiToolkit for Tkinter available only to their
PythonWorks Pro customers, so we couldn't distribute that regardless.

> and Mark's improved COM support.

Also outside PythonLabs' cherubic little hands.

> I'd love to have these.

And while Guido may love to give them to you, they're not his to give.  It's
also curious that none of these have to do with bugfixes, they're all
"shinier feature" things -- exactly what Aahz is telling us users *don't*
want between major releases.  Good thing I don't believe anything you read
<wink>.

> (Alright I've got /F's. He compiled 'em.  But Mark's is still in the
> damn CVS.)  I've prodded ActiveState to issue Python updates and
> they've indicated they would--they just haven't decided when.
>
> I don't think it has to be as formal as an official  pep or separate
> development track.  Just whenever our fearless dictator sees that there's
> enough good stuff in the CVS, let him decree that a new build
> shall be made.

None of the stuff above is in our SourceForge CVS tree.  So you've made an
excellent case that there's nothing whatsoever we can do for you <wink>.

If we could, barking a decree is easy but isn't enough to make a release
*happen*.  I put in at least 80 hours during the week of a release, and I'm
only looking out for Windows (+ masses of general patches and bugfixes and
email panics, etc).  The other PythonLabs guys aren't on vacation either.

Somebody has to step up and do *work*.  But, historically, nobody volunteers.
If you look at Misc/HISTORY, you may be surprised to discover that the most
recent "pure bugfix release" was in November of 1994(!  and despite what it
was *called*, it snuck some new Tkinter features anyway).

> Of course we've gotta sell the idea to the dictator.

That's easy -- he's always been in favor of bugfix releases, but provided
somebody else volunteers the work to produce them.

> Nobody's lost their head trying to do that (gulp) have they?

I try not to think too much about that we don't hear much about Jim Hugunin
anywore <wink>.

OTOH, the PSU