Why does this module have such frequent official releases?
| Project: | Javascript Countdown Timer |
| Version: | 6.x-2.18 |
| Component: | Miscellaneous |
| Category: | support request |
| Priority: | normal |
| Assigned: | Unassigned |
| Status: | closed |
Jump to:
I am posting this as a result of a discussion on the development list (http://lists.drupal.org/pipermail/development/2008-May/029947.html and thereafter), because I noticed that this module seems to be creating new official releases very frequently, sometimes after every CVS commit.
This is not meant to be accusatory or to single this module out (I am posting similar messages at other modules too)! Rather, it's part of an informal "survey" to gather some information to help figure out why module maintainers are doing this and whether there are any structural issues related to Drupal's release management system involved in the decision to do so.
So my basic question is this: Are you aware that the recommended practice is to only release new official versions (as opposed to auto-generated development snapshots) somewhat infrequently, usually after a number of bugfixes in the issue queue have been accumulated (with the exception being security issues and extremely critical bug fixes)? And is there a particular reason that you seem to have followed a different policy for this module?
Thanks very much for your time!
#1
Sorry, but no, there is no particular reason for the frequent releases, except it is convenient for me.
The update_status module is handy to notify people of changes to the module, and a lot of people
will only load an official release and/or don't know how to use CVS to get the latest bug fixes that they
requested in items from the issue queue. I guess the update_status feature is a double edge sword
in some respects. I have no further changes planned on any of these modules, but we'll see if there
are issues that come in. The number of branches also multiples the number of releases.
But I will try to slow down my frequent updates to this module. Occasionally I have time to work on it,
and there will be a pile of updates, and then it'll sit.
Cheers.
#2
And there is the knob that dww writes about the the dev mailing list thread you posted to turn down the update_status threshold and/or to slow down notifications to weekly. May not fix this issue for some people, but may help others.
/admin/reports/updates/settings
#3
A bigger problem?
Look at all of the modules with the "Please, Please update to Drupal 6.x" issues.
#4
Cool, thanks! That's a helpful and interesting response to hear. Perhaps it's the case that update status is a little too useful in some respects ;) I'm hearing back from a couple other module maintainers and we'll see if there are any trends in the answers. My hope was that there may be some changes that could be made to the system that would help things run smoother for the module maintainers.
FYI, you may know this already, but users don't need CVS to get the latest bug fixes. You can create a development snapshot release that will be updated automatically and available for direct download on the project page; see http://drupal.org/handbook/cvs/quickstart#release-dev. If they really want the absolute latest bug fix (and are willing to download something that has a foreboding red X next to it), they don't need CVS to get it...
Thanks again for your response!
#5
Automatically closed -- issue fixed for two weeks with no activity.