Re: beta5 ...

I was just thinking that perhaps as part of the "beta" release process
it would be worthwhile saying "New beta about to be released" (or
similar) and then have the appropriate people for each platform/OS do a
compile against the up-to-the-minute CVS and give a yes/no for each of
their platforms.

In a way, this seems to be done presently, but without the addition of a
formalised checklist of "platforms this beta compiles/regress-tests on
as of release time".

I'm thinking about the release process.

+ Justin

Tom Lane wrote:
>
> >> As a matter of curiosity, is each beta compiled and then regression
> >> tested against *every* one of the known "supported" platforms before
> >> release?
>
> Who are you expecting to do that, exactly?
>
> One of the differences between Postgres and a proprietary commercial
> database is that there is no vast support machinery behind the scenes.
> What you see going on on this list is what you get: beta testing
> consists of the activities performed and reported by list members.
>
> Normally, if we are about to push out a beta then two or three people
> will double-check that the current CVS tip builds and passes regression
> on their personal machines. But the "supported platforms" coverage
> depicted in the docs consists of all the platforms that are reported to
> us as working during the entire beta test period, including many that
> the key developers have no direct access to. There's no way that we
> could reverse the process and cause that to happen before a beta release
> instead of after; certainly no way that we could cause all that effort
> to be repeated for each beta version.
>
> If you are using a beta version then you are part of that testing
> process, not a beneficiary of something that's happened behind closed
> doors.
>
> regards, tom lane