On Thu, 2010-03-18 at 10:12 +0100, Lukas Kahwe Smith wrote: > On 18.03.2010, at 06:55, Andi Gutmans wrote:> > >> -----Original Message-----> >> From: Olivier Hill [mailto:olivier.hill@gmail.com]> >> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:15 AM> >> To: Derick Rethans> >> Cc: PHP Developers Mailing List> >> Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] PHP 6> >> > >> We need to focus on Unicode more than what some says, whether this> >> means descoping the Unicode release or not. However, this means that> > the> >> development focus needs to be towards new features AND Unicode, not> >> having the new feature branch, and the siberia branch with Unicode> > support.> > > > I think the key to rebuilding momentum in PHP development is to not try> > and boil the ocean but to focus on "smaller" major releases. This would> > enable us to manage a more predictable release cycle, lower the risk for> > each release incl. better manage compatibility and increase motivation> > for contributors as they know they can have an impact and if they can't> > make one release they know the next isn't that far off (the latter also> > eliminates pressure to push pre-mature functionality into a release).> > Yeah, I wouldnt mind if we would aim for regular releases in late spring > early summer every year. This ensures that developers scratching their own > itch have a clear timeline by when their hard work can make it into a > stable release. Two releases per year is what Ubuntu is doing and is fine for a desktop system. Server admins (which are a large part of our target group) are way more conservative about updating their systems all the time. That said I generally like the Ubuntu model - having fixed release cycles with short time supported versions (giving early access to new features) and long time supported versions (every n-th release is supported n short release cycles, every other release just up to the next release) I hold such a model actually way more interesting for contributors as they can see their features in a timely manner after making it stable in the wild. With the current model it can take years till a feature is rolled out - which is frustrating for contributors. johannes
