Benefits of multiple release branches (Was: Re: Upcoming Releases Schedule...)

[Doug Barton]

Dylan Cochran wrote:
> One of the biggest (and most prominent, though not obviously so)
> issues is the lack of concurrency with regards to releases. With the
> default system, having multiple freebsd releases side by side (both
> different versions, and different architectures) is infeasible. This
> makes the choice more critical, while hindering flexibility. The
> necessity of long support schedules is one of the symptoms.

While on the one hand I can understand the users' frustration on this
point, IMO having at least 2 release branches is necessary. We are
trying to walk the fine line between pleasing those who want new
features (including new drivers), better performance, etc. that a newer
release branch offers (in this case 7.x) and those that want long-term
API stability, and other forms of stability that an "established"
release offers. The only practical way to accomplish both of those goals
is with 2 release branches.

Speaking only for myself,

Doug

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