Posted by
jonwimp on
Apr 27, 2007; 9:10am
URL: http://ofbiz.116.s1.nabble.com/Request-to-All-Committers-tp180509p180510.html
> Of course, if there is a conflict in the merge or the bug was caused after
> the release branch was done, then this will require more work or won't be
> necessary.
Determine what bug the bugfix was trying to fix in the trunk. Determine if the same bug exists in
the release branch. That is the minimum work required when applying patches across branches.
As I said before, once the trunk deviates too far from the release branch, and it gets difficult
to compare "apples to oranges", it may be time to discontinue support for that release branch,
unless someone steps up and says: "there's a whole lot of us still using that branch, so let us
maintain it".
> BTW, for everyone watching in this sort of overhead is one reason why we
> haven't been really excited about doing release branches in the past,
> but still it's great that OFBiz is reaching the level of maturity where
> this is possible and happening!
In general, the purpose of the release branch is to have a "quieter stream" for those who need a
situation where "number of bugs fixed is greater than the number created". Such a situation is
hardly possible (nor correct) in the trunk stream.
Bug reports should come in for the release branch, not the trunk. The whole point of publishing
(and using) the release branch is to get more bugfixes and less new bugs. It's best to fix bugs in
the release branch first, then massage (if necessary) the bugfix for the trunk. Fixing bugs on the
"quieter stream" should be easier than fixing bugs in the trunk where bug phenomena could be
compounded by frequent radical changes.
If we find no bug reports coming in for the release branch, then there is absolutely no interest
in the release branch (or no bugs!). In that case, the release branch will progress very slowly to
maturity/stability, and the whole community will have to live with that.
So, those who had complained like "please don't break existing functionality!" should be advised
to use the release branch. And those who need the "latest and greatest though less tested" can try
the trunk. And everybody is (or should be) happy.
Jonathon
David E. Jones wrote:
>
> To help maintain the release branch, I'd like to ask all committers to
> keep it in mind as we fix bugs.
>
> If you commit a bug fix to the trunk, go ahead and merge it into the
> release branch as well.
>
> This should be pretty easy, just do the following:
>
> 1. keep a checkout of the release4.0 branch somewhere on your machine
> (the full URL is:
>
https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/ofbiz/branches/release4.0)
>
> 2. after committing to the trunk make note of your commit revision
> number and go into your release4.0 branch local checkout directory and
> run something like (replacing the rev number there with the one from
> your commit):
>
> $ ./mergefromtrunk.sh 532994
>
> This doesn't take much time and it will make it easier for all of us to
> keep the release branch updated with the latest bug fixes that go into
> the trunk. Of course, if there is a conflict in the merge or the bug was
> caused after the release branch was done, then this will require more
> work or won't be necessary.
>
> BTW, for everyone watching in this sort of overhead is one reason why we
> haven't been really excited about doing release branches in the past,
> but still it's great that OFBiz is reaching the level of maturity where
> this is possible and happening!
>
> Thanks,
> -David
>