[rabbitmq-discuss] RabbitMQ 1.6.0 release

[Matthias Radestock]

Darien,

Darien Kindlund wrote:
>> I doubt 1.6.x will ever become non-beta since there will be a 1.7.0
>> release along well before I'd feel comfortable removing the beta tag
>> from 1.6.x.
> 
> Interesting.  So is this your usual development cycle -- reserving
> 1.even_number == beta and 1.odd_number == stable? (similar to Linux
> kernel release versions?)  Just curious.

We generally release significant new features frequently enough, or make 
other significant changes, that most releases carry a "beta" or even 
"alpha" status.

IIRC the 1.5.x series is the only one so far that went to "final", and 
that's only because we decided to keep the feature set stable while we 
ironed out the packaging so we could get into Ubuntu, Fedora etc.

That decision actually came at a considerable cost. Maintaining a stable 
branch alongside a development branch slows down development quite a 
bit. And several of the new features which appeared in 1.6.0 could have 
been released months ago if we hadn't had the feature freeze.

I don't know yet when we are next going to make a concerted effort to 
push a release series all the way to "final" status. Generally though, 
as the product matures, the install base grows, etc, I would expect the 
frequency of release series that make it to "final" to increase.


Regards,

Matthias.