On 2013-03-11, Moray Allan wrote:
> When to release: I would also note that we should continue to be
> flexible about "-ignore" tags where appropriate. In some cases
> leaving a package in the release with RC bugs is more useful to users
> than removing it altogether. Indeed, we always release with quite a
> large number of non-RC bugs, some of which make the packages in
> question unusable for large groups of users. At any point in the
> freeze we should ask not only about the state of the frozen release,
> but how it compares to the previous release. Maybe it doesn't even
> need to be a single date -- we could badge the new release as ready
> for the desktop before we close it off as final and suggest that
> people upgrade their servers.
I think this is a great point, and I would like to push it a little
further.
"When to release" seems really important. As things stand right now, we
have about 70 packages (assuming one package per RC bug) blocking the
release of 38000 packages[1]. That is 0.2% of the archive. It's really
small. About 0.1% if we look at the ones that don't have a fix yet (49).
Shouldn't we be releasing 'as is' at some point and just accept that
some bugs will be fixed in a stable release later?
Shouldn't we "release early, release often"?
I agree that releasing with, say, 1000 RC bugs is crazy, but maybe
waiting forever for the last 100 packages is also nonsense.
Maybe we could discriminate on the package's priorities. For example,
about a third of the 49 packages *really* blocking the release (not
waiting for a transition) are from "extra"[2]. Only 5 bugs affect
required, important or standard packages. We could focus on those and
tell the "extra packages" to hurry up or be shipped with packages that
will need to be fixed in a point release... or simply removed.
Maybe that's something that's already done by the release team too, in
which case I am happy. :)
A.
[1] 38569, to be more exact, kudos to UDD:
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT(package)) FROM packages WHERE release = 'wheezy';
[2] I had trouble with my SQL there, I could only list the packages:
SELECT distinct(packages.package), packages.priority, bugs.id FROM bugs
LEFT JOIN packages ON bugs.package = packages.package
WHERE severity >= 'serious'
AND NOT (id IN (SELECT id FROM bugs_merged_with WHERE id > merged_with))
AND id IN (SELECT id FROM bugs_rt_affects_testing)
AND id NOT IN (SELECT id FROM bugs_rt_affects_unstable)
ORDER BY packages.priority;
--
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed
by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning
yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche
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