From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Nov 8 19:05:55 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 52B3B16A658 for ; Mon, 8 Nov 2004 19:05:50 +0000 (GMT) Received: from uni09mr.unity.ncsu.edu (uni09mr.unity.ncsu.edu [152.1.1.172]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9DE1043D49 for ; Mon, 8 Nov 2004 19:05:49 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from agerber@ncsu.edu) Received: from [152.7.237.157] (nom5168it.nomadic.ncsu.edu [152.7.237.157]) id iA8J5fLc004389; Mon, 8 Nov 2004 14:05:41 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <418FC384.9040801@ncsu.edu> Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2004 14:05:40 -0500 From: Alan Gerber User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 0.8 (X11/20041103) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Bart Silverstrim , TM4526@aol.com References: <7b.37acb873.2ec10b32@aol.com> In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-PMX-Version: 4.7.0.111621, Antispam-Engine: 2.0.2.0, Antispam-Data: 2004.11.8.0 X-Spam-Status: No, Hits=7% X-Spam-Level: IIIIIII cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: difference between releases X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2004 19:05:55 -0000 Bart Silverstrim wrote: > > On Nov 8, 2004, at 12:47 PM, TM4526@aol.com wrote: > >> In a message dated 11/8/04 11:54:37 AM Eastern Standard Time, >> jerrymc@clunix.cl.msu.edu writes: >> >>> on the "release", which should be a known, completed code base. >>> >>> All part of the experience I suppose. >> >> >>> The whole world is in beta. Get over it. >> >> Only the open-source world. > > > When did Windows go open source? :-) > > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to > "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" > > In conventional terms, yes, FreeBSD releases are something like snapshots, so you're right in that respect. However, these "snapshots"/releases are not really as much of a piece of beta software as you make it out to be. Many people download, use, and test the release prior to its actual release in order to cut down on the number of bugs in that particular release. That is the reason for the src and ports (and even doc, to a certain extent) trees freezing in the days/weeks prior to a release -- so that nothing new happens except for bugfixes and bugfixes for bugfixes and so on as necessary. This probably gives you the best set of testing you can reasonably ask for in a code base that is always being updated. So what it comes down to is that releases are snapshots of a particular CVS branch at a particular point in time that gets special attention in terms of use and testing. -- Alan Gerber