[FFmpeg-devel] release work

[Frans de Boer]

On Sun, 2009-02-01 at 02:30 +0100, Diego Biurrun wrote:
> OK people, it's time to get some work done, we want to get a release
> out the door very soonish.
> 
> The most important thing is not to get bogged down in discussions.
> Please keep in mind that we need to keep our attention focused and
> not let ourselves get distracted by secondary issues, no matter how
> tempting it may be to rant and rave about them.
> 
> There are two weeks left for any major work and we still have plenty
> to do.  If everybody grabs a handful of work, we should be able to
> make this release successful.
> 
> So what exactly is left to do and can be done?
> 
> - apply patches
> 
>   There are OKed patches on this mailing list and on roundup.
>   Apply them directly or ping them so that they get applied.
> 
> - fix bugs
> 
>   We are not in short supply of bugs.  Choose a roundup issue, fix it.
> 
> - add doxygen
> 
>   Try running doxygen.  You will see plenty of warnings about missing
>   or incomplete documentation.  Go for it, every little bit helps.
> 
> - review patches
> 
>   Come on, not only Michael can do it and if you take over the first
>   round(s), he can review other patches.
> 
> - fix warnings
> 
>   They might be bugs and it's always nice to look good and have few
>   of them.  But make sure you do not introduce bugs.
> 
> - review doxygen
> 
>   Grab a file, read through it, reword the clumsy parts, fix grammar etc.
> 
> - improve documentation
> 
>   A lot of stuff could be added, the format lists are incomplete, ...
> 
> - janitorial stuff
> 
>   Add missing av_cold to init functions, fix wrong indentation,...
> 
> 
> If you have more ideas for - preferably bite-sized - tasks, speak up.
> 
> Diego
Ok, lets follow the guidelines above and do some real work to get a
proper release out.

Personal note: Some time ago I forced the FFmpeg community to tell the
public what the last version was of their so called v51 sources. I
mentioned also something about releases and version control. I mean,
what is the use of having version control systems if you don't share the
version changes properly with your public?

So, I am pleased that the FFMPEG community is getting more mature and
finally accepts the idea that coding is one thing, communications is a
whole different ball game preferably left to people who have learned how
to communicate with none-developers albeit (sometimes) seasoned
engineers.
As a old-time developer myself I feel that you can't just output sources
to the public as is. You have a (morale) obligation to make sure that
your code is correct and relatively stable. This means, any API/ABI
change MUST be communicated between developers as well as your public.

Speaking of your public, what better way than to use releases in a form
of completed Tar files? Just let developers use the git repositories as
intended, and the rest of us can use Tar file.

Ok, just some thoughts of silly old me,
Frans.