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Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 02:52:21 -0500
From: Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com>
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To: "David S. Miller" <davem@davemloft.net>
CC: torvalds@osdl.org, akpm@osdl.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: RFD: Kernel release numbering
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David S. Miller wrote:
> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 23:46:22 -0500
> Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>>If Linus/DaveM really don't like -pre/-rc naming, I think 2.6.x.y is 
>>preferable to even/odd.
> 
> 
> All of these arguments are circular.  If people think that even/odd
> will devalue odd releases, guess what 2.6.x.y will do?  By that line
> of reasoning nobody will test 2.6.x just the same as they aren't
> testing 2.6.x-rc* right now.

even/odd means that certain releases (even ones) are more magical than 
others.  That's weird, since users aren't used to that sort of thing in 
any other project.

2.6.x.y and 2.6.x-rc [where rc == serious bugfixes only!] are 
understandable to users, because they have seen that sort of thing before.

Users _aren't_ fooled by naming games.  The current 2.6-rc proves that.


> I think they will test the odd releases, because as a real release
> they will get slashdot/lwn.net/etc. announcements.
> 
> That's one of the major things the -rc's don't get.  Maybe it gets
> a reference in lwn.net's weekly kernel article, but mostly kernel
> geeks read those and that's not who we want testing -rc's (such
> geeks already are doing so).

LWN, Slashdot and others will not be fooled though :)  They will note 
that release 2.6.<odd> is not a real release.


> It has to be a "real" release.  That does have an impact.  However,
> I am ambivalent about how to make them real.  Even/odd, 2.6.x.y,
> either is fine with me.

2.6.x.y has a very real engineering benefit:  it becomes a stable 
release branch.  That will encourage even more users to test it, over 
and above a simple release naming change.

Users have been clamoring for a stable release branch in any case, as 
you see from comments about Alan's -ac and an LKML user's -as kernels.

	Jeff


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