Ubuntu - monthly release cycle proposed

Ocky · Sep 18, 2011

I didn't need my cup of java this morning, this 'news' woke me up fast.

Ubuntu - monthly release cycle proposed

Now, however, it looks like there may be another big change coming down the pike. Specifically, in what feels almost like a tip of the hat to Firefox, a proposal has been made to switch Ubuntu to a monthly release cycle.
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"So you're an Ubuntu developer working on features for the upcoming release, you don't have anywhere near as much time as you'd expect to actually do the development work," Remnant wrote. "What happens if you're replacing something that works with something completely new? Can't you just target a later release, and work continually until the feature freeze of that release?

"It turns out that you can't," he explained. "There is an incredible emphasis on the Ubuntu planning process of targeting features for particular releases. This is the exact thing you're not supposed to do with a time-based release schedule."

One result of that schedule, Remnant asserted, is that "three out of four of your releases are really just unstable previews of that final fourth release." That, in turn, is a problem because "developer time is wasted; because user time is wasted; because user confidence is lost."
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NGRhodes · Sep 18, 2011

I've already commented on the original blog post - http://netsplit.com/2011/09/08/new-ubuntu-release-process/

I would be happy with any change to the release cycle that improves quality (less bugs/defects) and the upgrade process becomes less trouble some (I would rather do more frequent upgrades between distribution versions which seldom have problems than doing less frequent ones that have problems (defects in the upgrade process or the end product).
If its monthly cycle, annual cycle, greater use of backports, more use of official ppas I don't mind.

Both Debian (http://cut.debian.net/) and Linux Mint (http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1781) are working on their own monthly stablish release cycles to address issues with using Debian-Testing.

Cheers, Nick

Ocky · Sep 18, 2011

Nick Rhodes said:

I've already commented on the original blog post - http://netsplit.com/2011/09/08/new-ubuntu-release-process/

I would be happy with any change to the release cycle that improves quality (less bugs/defects) and the upgrade process becomes less trouble some (I would rather do more frequent upgrades between distribution versions which seldom have problems than doing less frequent ones that have problems (defects in the upgrade process or the end product).
If its monthly cycle, annual cycle, greater use of backports, more use of official ppas I don't mind.

Both Debian (http://cut.debian.net/) and Linux Mint (http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1781) are working on their own monthly stablish release cycles to address issues with using Debian-Testing.

Cheers, Nick
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Ah, thank you Nick, I understand better now, sort of rolling releases. After reading some of the blog posts, incl. yours http://netsplit.com/2011/09/08/new-ubuntu-release-process/#comment-3097 I now also think that may be all OK.

vasa1 · Sep 18, 2011

Ocky said:

... sort of rolling releases. ...
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Only if one does "dist-upgrade"? Otherwise, it will be a full ~700MB?

Ocky · Sep 18, 2011

vasa1 said:

Only if one does "dist-upgrade"? Otherwise, it will be a full ~700MB?
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Probably like this: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

I see Linux Mint Debian is doing this..

By changing your APT sources and replacing Debian Testing with the Linux Mint Debian Latest repository, you basically point to a Debian Testing that is frozen in time and updated once a month. By the time the next batch of updates becomes available to you, the Linux Mint team has had time to adjust packages in the Linux Mint repository and to document the information you need to go through a safe and easy update.

To give you an example, Gnome 3 is just around the corner and coming to a Debian Testing repository near you. By pointing to the Linux Mint Debian Latest repository instead, you make sure you upgrade to it, after the Linux Mint team has tested the update and gathered precious information on it.

Sometimes, things get broken in Debian Testing and fixed a couple of days later. When that happens, the Mint Debian Latest repository simply isn’t updated. We wait until the Debian Testing branch is stable again, and only then do you get the updates.

It’s a compromise between a frozen and flowing rolling system. We open the tap on a monthly basis and we let you know what’s coming towards you.
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