zolistir87 wrote:
>
> Hello!
>
> I would like to know more about the versioning conventions in the open
> source world. What is an alpha software? What is beta sotware? When does
> an application go from 0.1.1->0.1.2 or 0.1->0.2 or to 1.00?
As other pointed out, in open source that varies from project to project.
Open source as development model has no specification stage before coding
begins, that gives base for implementation of features, and that will be
expanded only if customer wants to pay more, or marketing research makes
serious case where missing feature can hurt product sales.
In open source product creation is interaction between developers and users,
so new features are added, or dropped, on the fly. That is the reason that
some projects use alpha, beta, release candidate, release for each bigger
change, and version stay for ages in 0.1 to 0.9 range, and the other are
happy when basic functionality is provided and declare 1.0 at that point.
In general, my feeling is that majority of projects use:
- alpha as feature implementation stage,
- beta bug removal, no more features
- RC and release, when serious bugs are solved and few minor bugs are left
in the bug tracker.
The version number in that sense can be
0.7.1 for alpha
0.7.9 for beta and release candidates
0.8 for release
and then the cycle begins.
BTW, this can't be used for openSUSE versions that have different
background.
The 11.0 is not finished development of 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 series, it is
rather that each version has completely stand alone development that has
nothing common with previous versions, or plans for the future.
Maybe it had meaning once, long time ago, but from version 5.3 until now I
couldn't see any connections.
--
Regards, Rajko
http://news.opensuse.org/category/people-of-opensuse/