Table of Contents

Release Cycle

Introduction

At any time there are two official versions of Aqsis available for use, the stable version, and the development version. They are differentiated by the version numbering, and the release procedure. The numbering system is described below, the example illustrates the version 1.4.0.

Component Description Example
maj The major version number, this version number only changes with a big leap in functionality. 1
min The minor version number, this increases with each official release. It increases by 2 each time. Stable releases carry an even minor version number, development releases carry an odd one. 4
rel The release version number, this is incremented by one for each fix release of a stable version. 0

Stable Releases

When the development reaches a point where a new stable release is relevant, the following cycle is used to complete the release. The cycle is designed to minimize the possibility of a failed release, and allow a wide audience to preview and check the release before it becomes official. The cycle includes sufficient lockdown time (time when the SVN repository is locked to any new additional functionality) to ensure that the functionality agreed for release gets plenty of attention during the final stages of development.

Phase 1 (pre-alpha)

  • The final set of functionality for the new release is agreed upon between the developers involved.
  • SVN enters lockdown, no new functionality beyond that agreed is allowed into the trunk.
  • New builds of 1.x.0 (where x is odd, indicating a development release) will be made available for download daily.
  • Duration 3-4 weeks

Phase 2 (alpha)

  • The agreed new functionality is functionally complete, no changes to the mode of operation of new features from this point.
  • SVN is open only to very minor implementation changes (that do not affect the functional implementation), and bug fixes.
  • Users can reliably start testing the new features, safe in the knowledge that anything produced will be valid at release.
  • New builds of 1.x.0 (where x is odd, indicating a development release) will be made available for download daily.
  • Duration 3-4 weeks

Phase 3 (beta)

  • The agreed new functionality is complete.
  • SVN is open only to bug fixes.
  • New builds of 1.x.0 (where x is odd, indicating a development release) will be made available for download daily.
  • Duration 2-3 weeks

Phase 4 (release)

  • A new 1.x.0 (where x is even, equal to the previous stable release +2) is made available.
  • The development build min number is incremented by 2.
  • SVN is reopened to new functionality.

Development Releases

During development, releases will be made available periodically based on the work in progress code in the SVN trunk. These releases will always be tagged with the SVN repository revision number, as the rel number doesn't apply to development releases. This allows a user to accurately identify the version they are using when reporting bugs. For example, a development release of 1.3.0 might report 1.3.0 (revision 1839).


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