Re: [O] Stable releases

[Achim Gratz]

Scott Randby writes:
> While I've used Org's development version in the past, I stopped doing
> that due to my failure to learn how to use git (no time) and other
> issues. Now, I only use the stable releases. But the latest 8.3
> release doesn't seem so stable to me, so I'd like some clarification
> about what the Org maintainers mean by a stable release. Perhaps this
> is too vague, so let me explain a bit.

There are no stable releases, but major and minor ones (see
README_maintainer).  Major releases are developed in the master branch
and include backwards-incompatible changes as well as new and removed
features.  Minor releases are made from the maint branch and are kept
backwards compatible to the last major release (only bug fixes, no new
features, no feature removal).

> Normally, I wait many months before upgrading Org to a new stable
> release, but when 8.3 was released, I upgraded right away (from
> 8.2.10) since I have a new machine on which I installed Emacs 24.5. I
> read through the release notes for anything that might give me
> problems and didn't see anything.

Since the NEWS file isn't automatically generated, there are some holes
to be expected after two years of development.  That's not an excuse,
mind you, and everyone should strive to be more diligent in keeping the
code changes synced up with the documentation.

> I guess what I want to know, and maybe there is no answer, is how long
> should I wait before upgrading to a stable release? Org is by far the
> most important piece of software I use (I hate it when I can't use
> Org), and bugs (which I know can't be avoided) make it hard, even
> impossible, for me to get my real work done. If there is a way for me
> to minimize encountering bugs, I will appreciate a description of that
> way.

As always when it comes to updates, there is the camp that says you
should keep with the flow and make many small changes in doing so and
the other one that says to wait unltil the last moment and then do the
big-bang change of everything.  In your case it seems you need to plan
for some conversion time whenever you skip to a new major release.  I
don't see why you would skip minor releases though.


Regards,
Achim.
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