[FFmpeg-user] What -is- a release? (was Re: Next Release)

[Carl Zwanzig]

On 1/26/2021 11:03 AM, Nicolas George wrote:
> Carl Zwanzig (12021-01-26):
>> What is "invalid" there? linux does point releases, so does freebsd,
>> firefox, python, bind, glib, clang, etc. Find me a major opensource project,
>> other than ffmpeg, that tells people to use their development branch.

> Debian. The number of things based on Sid, or at least testing, is
> astounding.

That's good to know even if I don't use debian. Although... Debian -does- do 
point releases (https://www.debian.org/releases/), the -unstable- branch, 
called sid, says "Generally, this distribution is run by developers and 
those who like to live on the edge." compared to the Stable branch- "This is 
the production release of Debian, the one which we primarily recommend using."

I would not say that "sid" qualifies as a "release", nor that Debian tells 
people to use it.

IME from many years of development, a "release" usually undergoes more 
rigorous testing than daily builds and is a fixed point for support. If the 
ffmpeg project chooses to do things differently, fine, but that makes them 
an anomaly in the world of software.

z!