understanding freebsd development logic

[Adam Vandemore]

prad wrote:
> i am puzzled by what seems to be almost a parallel processor development
> model that exists with freebsd. when 7 came out people were still
> working on 6.3 i think it was with the aim of going to 6.4 and now with
> 7.x underway, there is work being do for 8 (for which you can get a
> snapshot cd. (i seem to recall something similar with debian too).
>
> why would people work on 7.x (and 6.x as well i guess) if 8 is already available?
>   
Going between branches eg 7.x and 8.x, you may see major kernel 
changes.  Drivers which work in 7 may not work in 8 and vice versa.  If 
you've got something running stable in 7, you're not going upgrade to 8 
just for the sake of running 8.  Changes in versions can introduce 
problems, some unforeseen.  If you have a known set of functionality 
that requires tested stability, you should use the most recent RELEASE 
that covers that functionality.  8.x is not available as a release.  
Security concerns adds a whole new set of variables to your questions.
> is the idea to make each version 'as good as possible' because it would still be useful for older machines? or is it that later versions can utilize code from the earlier versions? or is it something else.
I think generally things are developed for CURRENT then back ported as 
demand and dev time allows.  There are always exceptions.

-- 
Adam Vandemore
Systems Administrator
IMED Mobility
(605) 498-1610