Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 10:05:26 -0500 From: Karl Denninger <karl@denninger.net> To: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: ARRRRGH! Guys, who's breaking -STABLE's GMIRROR code?! Message-ID: <20060910150526.GA31323@FS.denninger.net> In-Reply-To: <200609100159.k8A1xAIn089481@drugs.dv.isc.org> References: <20060909182831.GA32004@FS.denninger.net> <200609100159.k8A1xAIn089481@drugs.dv.isc.org>
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On Sun, Sep 10, 2006 at 11:59:10AM +1000, Mark Andrews wrote: > > > Yeah, -STABLE is what you should run if you want stable code, right? > > No. STABLE means STABLE API. > > If you want stable code you run releases. Between releases > stable can become unstable. Think of stable as permanent > BETA code. Changes have passed the first level of testing > in current which is permanent ALPHA code. > > Most of the time beta code is perfectly fine to run but > occasionally things will go wrong. The point of BETA code > is to catch those errors that escape detection in the ALPHA > stage before they make it into a release. That is done by > having a wider diversity of clients run the BETA code. > > Occasionally you have bugs that make it through both the ALPHA > and BETA stages. Of course this assumes that -RELEASE is actually stable and fully suitable for production use. As soon as you find a bug that you can't live with in -RELEASE, you have darn few options other than to updade to -STABLE, especially if there's a commit in the tree that appears to fix the bug in -STABLE. Once the -RELEASE branch is taken, code updates there <STOP>. Not even Microsoft expects people to live from release to release without bug fixes! In the 10 years I've been running FreeBSD in a production environment I've yet to find a -RELEASE branch that is actually suitable for production use for the duration between -RELEASEs; inevitably a bug that I can't live with requires that I update the source, and what does one update to in this instance? -STABLE. If the project wishes to have -RELEASE be "the stable point" then bug fixes (once FULLY tested) must be back-ported to -RELEASE - otherwise the appearance of a bug you can't live with gives you no other real option than to run the -STABLE track. -- -- Karl Denninger (karl@denninger.net) Internet Consultant & Kids Rights Activist http://www.denninger.net My home on the net - links to everything I do! http://scubaforum.org Your UNCENSORED place to talk about DIVING! http://genesis3.blogspot.com Musings Of A Sentient Mind
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