Re: 8.5 release timetable, again

On ons, 2009-08-26 at 18:15 -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> > I think there is a lot of merit (as Andrew suggests) in running a
> > production application on a beta version of the database just to see
> > if anything funny happens.
>
> ... but here we seem to be coming out at the same place anyway. Getting
> people to put their existing apps onto a beta is very productive.
> We have to encourage people to do more of that while it's still beta,
> instead of waiting till .0 or .1 or later.

I think people should be running their applications' system tests on top
of the new PostgreSQL. Just installing the application, clicking three
buttons, and I-don't-have-more-time-than-this helps a little but not
much.

Of course many people won't have system tests, which is why this process
is a problem.

To pick up a current example: "Drupal system tests pass with 8.5betaN"
is nice and useful. "I ran our app on 8.5betaN and didn't see any
issues" is interesting, but ultimately doesn't help much.

Much of the delay and uncertainty during beta in my mind comes from the
situation that we wait for negative results and don't trust the release
until we have seen and fixed enough of them. Instead of waiting for
concrete, positive results and producing the release with confidence.