Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 13:43:14 -0700 From: Doug Barton <DougB@gorean.org> To: Brennan W Stehling <brennan@offwhite.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 5.0 already? Message-ID: <391DBE62.1FCEA39D@gorean.org> References: <Pine.BSF.4.10.10005130321480.46652-100000@home.offwhite.net>
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Brennan W Stehling wrote:
>
> This makes more sense. I have only been running FreeBSD systems for about
> 2 years now and when I started it seemed like development from 2.2.x to
> 3.x and up was very much geared towards fixing bugs and producing a solid
> system.
Then your entire perception of the development process is flawed. The
move to 3.x entailed the aout -> elf move, and numerous pieces were
broken during that process. The major version number bumps happen as a
result of major architectural differences that produce code on one
system that won't run on a previous system. One of the things learned in
the 2.2.8 -> 3.0 move was that it's better to have shorter cycles
between major architectural changes (about a year). There are numerous
reasons for this, but chief among them in my mind is the fact that long
cycles discourage people from adopting the new code.
> It appears that things have accelerated in the last year. With a
> longer term view it may look different.
Your perception about this (to a certain extent) is correct. See above.
> With Linux, they have moved slowly with version numbers and have added a
> few features here and there. (I do not follow that closely) So that
> seemed to be more conservative.
Version numbers are nothing but marketing for the most part. Linux
development is significantly more "bleeding edge" then freebsd's, and
always has been.
> And when I tried 4.0 STABLE I had major problems which encouraged me to
> run back to 3.4 STABLE where I feel STABLE. Perhaps it was the upgrade
> routine that was flawed and not the system and the kernel. I would have
> to wipe my system and start with a nice 4.0 cdrom, but I think I will wait
> for a 4.1R cd before I do that.
Your problems were caused solely because you ignored the advice of many
capable and knowledgeable people to not attempt a source upgrade. There
are a lot of people for whom the best path is to back up their data,
wipe the disk and install the new system. There is nothing wrong with
that.
> > On Sat, May 13, 2000 at 03:10:32AM -0500, Brennan W Stehling wrote:
> > > I did not mean to start anything. It just seems to be getting ahead of
> > > the game developing 5.0 when there is no 4.1 or 4.2 yet. I realize it is
> > > a development version, but the fundamental reasons are not documented in
> > > anything I have read.
I feel the need to repeat here that once a new branch goes -Stable
(like 4.0 did recently) a development branch is immediately (or close
too) split off so that new work can begin again that may or may not be
compatible with the work in the previous branch. The older branches then
go into "maintenance" mode, so there will be very little if any new
functionality added to the 3.x branch.
Doug
--
"Live free or die"
- State motto of my ancestral homeland, New Hampshire
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