[IronPython] Proposed Release Schedule for 2.7

[Jeff Hardy]

I'd like to propose the following release schedule for IronPython 2.7:

Beta 2 - February 6
RC1 - February 20
RC2 - February 27
RTM - March 6

The need for a Beta 3 release could push those dates back by up to two
weeks. Also, I may reevaluate based on the rate of bugs being fixed -
if lots of fixes are coming in, delaying the release may be
worthwhile. Obviously, any showstoppers would have an affect as while,
but I don't believe there are any of those at the moment. The only
current blocker for release is that the test suite does not pass 100%.
That will need to be sorted prior to RTM.

It's an aggressive schedule, but I think IronPython has gone too long
without a release. I'm expecting there to be 2.7.x releases every 4-6
weeks if there are sufficient contributions (like new modules).

I want to get the 2.x series behind us so that work can begin on
3.2/3.3. Compatibility with 3.x is going to be much better than 2.x,
and with most Python stuff needing porting effort anyway getting
IronPython support will be easier. That's going to require some work
in the innards, and I'm not sure too many people are familiar with
those parts or IronPython yet.

I've already updated the version numbers to Beta 2 and fixed the
installer bugs that prevented Beta 1 from installing over Alpha 1. At
this point, the bugs that get fixed will probably be the ones that
have patches, or at least solid repros, attached to them.

If you've got a bug that you think *must* be fixed, bring it up here.

Does anyone else think this is doable?

- Jeff