Re: [RFC] Versioning rules for PHP/Zend/PEAR/Extensions

[Zeev Suraski <zeev@zend.com>] > At 03:12 25-09-01, Jim Winstead wrote: > >and i do question, a little bit, how successful our new release > >strategy is when we only seem to be able to muster a new release every > >three months. but maybe that's a pace we're happy with. and of course, > >that has way more to do with a great many more issues than how we > >number the releases. :) > > As a matter of fact, one of the most serious complaints I've been > hearing from people is that we release way too often. Among others, > that makes ISPs mad at us, since it's a logistical nightmare to keep > current. And guess why? Because a new PHP release also carries with it a whole Tampa-load of new or changed extensions. Some of these extensions have non-BC changes (as with the recent domxml bruhaha), others have bugs fixed while some just rot. That's your logistical nightmare right there. :-) One of the reasons Jani went ahead and proposed the versioning standard is to prepare ourselves for "operation extension detach". How do you version extensions that we bundle today? The only way right now is to use the PHP version. So we should start versioning each extension preparing for independent existence. Then we need a ruleset like Jani proposes. But just to get back to release frequency, I do think we release too seldom. There's a lot of process in place now, with a QA branch and all. I think this process is good, but it's congesting. At this point we're almost ready to start the 4.0.8 release before 4.0.7 is through the needle's eye. There's simply too much weight. For every extension we shake off, it the release process gets lighter, and some ISP sysadmins may even get their hair back. - Stig -- Stig Sæther Bakken <ssb@alltheweb.com> Fast Search & Transfer ASA, Trondheim, Norway