Re: [boost] [next release] Any new libraries ready for the next release?

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-08-24 17:41:15

on Sun Aug 24 2008, Beman Dawes <bdawes-AT-acm.org> wrote:

> David Abrahams wrote:
>> on Sun Aug 17 2008, David Abrahams <dave-AT-boostpro.com> wrote:
>>
>>> on Sun Aug 17 2008, Beman Dawes <bdawes-AT-acm.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Eric Niebler wrote:
>>>>> Beman Dawes wrote:
>>>>>> Will any new libraries be ready to go in the next release?
>>>>>>
>>>>> I'm hoping to get proto in. Why do you ask?
>>>> To determine if the next release is 1.37.0 or 1.36.1, so I can bump
>>>> the version number.
>>>>
>>>> It isn't critical since the version number isn't essential until late
>>>> in the release cycle, 
>>> How does that work?  Does it mean any changes that would be
>>> inappropriate in a point release will be merged to release at the last
>>> minute?  I'm still getting used to the new system.
>>
>> I would really appreciate an answer to this question.  So far, it looks
>> to me like we either need to decide that as a policy we're simply not
>> going to do point releases, or we need a separate release branch for
>> each series (e.g. 1.36.x)
>
> I think we are simply not going to do point releases, until further notice.
>
> It isn't so much a matter of policy as a matter of resources. We've
> got enough resources to do quarterly releases. We don't have enough
> resources to do quarterly releases and point releases.
>
> At some point in the future we can reevaluate that. If we change over
> to CMake someday, perhaps testing will become so easy that a lot of
> resources are freed. Or maybe as we refine the quarterly release
> cycle, quarterly releases will become so automatic that we can divert
> resources to point releases occasionally. But not now.

That's fine with me, as long as we all understand that the new system
where there is a single "release" branch does not accomodate point
releases.  Should we decide to start making point releases, we'll have
to change the system again.

Anyway, maybe being able to tell people straight out that Boost doesn't
do point releases will help explain things to the many people who have
been asking how the current system can work.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
BoostPro Computing
http://www.boostpro.com