[Tux4kids-tuxtype-dev] Interim Build on the website

[Matthew Trey]

I was thinking about the beta tester types, yes.  There is but a handful of
people, present company included that have the right toolchain built to
cross compile tux4kids to windows.  I think it would be beneficial perhaps
to have a beta page, with a clear warning that the files there are UNSTABLE,
much like many larger open-source projects do.  This would not be on the
main download page, but a separate page describing its purpose.   I think in
the end if we can get an interim build out to the early adopters, that bugs
will be found and reported, making the official releases more stable, and
actually improving our reputation for releasing stable code.

I do understand your concern Caroline, and you are right, we need to make a
good effort to warn educators not to consider using a beta build in a
production environment, because eventually something will break and nobody
wants that.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: tux4kids-tuxtype-dev-
> bounces+tux4kids=treyhome.com at lists.alioth.debian.org [mailto:tux4kids-
> tuxtype-dev-bounces+tux4kids=treyhome.com at lists.alioth.debian.org] On
> Behalf Of David Bruce
> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 10:37 PM
> To: Caroline Ford
> Cc: Tux Typing
> Subject: Re: [Tux4kids-tuxtype-dev] Interim Build on the website
> 
> Hi,
> 
> On Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 4:51 PM, Caroline Ford
> <caroline.ford.work at googlemail.com> wrote:
> > I'd say no as windows users will install a packaged SVN build that
> may be
> > broken in multiple ways.
> 
> Well, I don't think there is any reason to believe that Matt's
> packages would have any more bugs than mine.  I don't think Matt is
> talking about posting nightly snapshot builds that might have a lot of
> work in progress.  I think he means putting up an interim release that
> has some things that are fixed since the last release, even if I
> having gotten around to putting up an "official" release.  None of the
> Windows builds have ever been tested by anyone other than me before
> they were released.
> 
> > Those who really want to get a bleeding edge build can get it from
> SVN and
> > would hopefully know what that meant. Although we always say 'no
> warranty' I
> > think we should save alpha and beta releases for our more technical
> > userbase.
> 
> I think Matt is intending his builds to be for "early adopters".
> Also, for the Windows platform, it isn't so simple to just grab the
> latest  source from svn and build with a few simple commands.  It is
> really a pain in the rear to set up the Windows build environment
> needed for tuxtype, either from within Windows or as a cross-build
> from Linux.
> 
> My only concern would be making the download process more confusing for
> users.
> 
> Anyway, I would just favor a "release early and often" approach, and
> get a 1.8.1 build up within the next few weeks.
> 
> Best,
> 
> David
> 
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