On Tuesday 01 June 2004 22:15, Andrew Dunstan wrote:
> Lamar Owen wrote:
> >Well, it should not have surprised anyone. We have targeted June 1 as a
> > beta freeze date for several versions, not just 7.5. In fact, looking
> > back through last year's pre-7.4 discussion, it's deja vu all over
> > again....
> I confess that as a newcomer I was not around before the 7.4 cycle, so
> saying that people should have known the freeze date because it is
> following past patterns doesn't help me much. Are people supposed to
> obtain this info by trawling mailing list archives years back, or by
> some sort of divine revelation? Other OS projects manage this whole
> process better, IMNSHO. I'm not trying to point fingers, but to get
> future improvement.
There is a reason I wrote the message a long time ago (that, I think, is still
in the Developer's FAQ) about how to get started in PostgreSQL development.
The first thing a developer should do before getting too involved in the
process is to get a feel for the development culture. The PostgreSQL
development is not like other open source projects, and does depend to some
extent on tradition and precedent. So skimming through the archives and
following [HACKERS] for six months is really required before getting
seriously involved in the process. You need to see how the process really is
handled, and to see how the 'Release Manager' and 'Patch-o-matic' get in gear
late in the cycle. The pieces really do fit together, we really do have
somewhat of a project management structure, but we are really laid-back in
our approach. This is the culture of this project, and I for one don't think
it should change. It certainly has worked this far.
One doesn't just start writing code for a project this size.
Having said that, I don't know very many who have actually followed that
advice.... :-)
But following through a cycle or two in the archives provides ample evidence
for the 'laid-back' model used here. It's ready when it's ready. We try to
schedule, but the schedules are pretty flexible.
And while most discussion happens here on [HACKERS], not all of it does. Some
happens on IRC, some in [CORE], and some by telephone. And it's been that
way for a while.
PostgreSQL is not a 'release early, release often' project. And that's OK.
--
Lamar Owen
Director of Information Technology
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
1 PARI Drive
Rosman, NC 28772
(828)862-5554
www.pari.edu