Re: [boost] Should we provide hot fixes?

From: Christian Larsen (contact_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-08-26 11:19:40

Robert Ramey skrev:
> Christian Larsen wrote:
>> Christian Larsen skrev:
>> [SNIP]
>>> I.e. now testing should be performed on trunk and
>>> releases/boost_1_36. For the next major release it would be trunk and
>>> branches/boost_1_37.
>> That should of course have been branches/boost_1_36...
>>
>> Btw, regarding the argument that some developers don't want to
>> maintain multiple branches, there's no problem. They can keep
>> developing on trunk as always and their changes will automatically make 
>> into the next
>> major release, when that is branched off from trunk.
>>
> 
> Lets make it even simpler:
> 
> Maintain ONE branch called "ReleaseReady"

I didn't mean to offend anyone, sorry if I did.

> Make 1.36 is just a tag ("copy" in SVN parlance) on this branch.
> 
> So all I have to do is have ONE branch on my machine: "Release Ready"
> and I'm automatically upto date with all the latest - TESTED - changes
> which have been merged into ReleaseReady.

Yes, that's right. But still I don't see how that would make it possible 
to keep a stable interface, and make point releases of that. Unless all 
developers agree to only merge non-interface breaking changes into 
"ReleaseReady". Many users would appreciate bugfix-only releases, 
because they may not be able to/have the time or money/whatever reason 
to update to a new interface that often.

Anyway, I'm in no position to change anything; I just wanted to share my 
  point of view on how things could be done resulting in what many 
people would like: point releases with a stable interface and bugfixes, 
at little cost for developers and release managers.

I'll rest my case.

Best regards,
Christian