Re: Call for 7.5 feature completion

Simon Riggs <simon(at)2ndquadrant(dot)com> writes:

> I can't complete by 1 June. Think worse of me if you choose.

I'll mention another perspective as a user. I'm actually happier seeing a
relatively minor release come out just before the big changes hit. If 7.5 has
Windows, PITR, nested transactions, etc. especially if I see they went in just
before a feature freeze then I'm liable to wait before I suggest installing it
in production because it makes me fear the impact these major new features
will have on a system that's been running fine on 7.4.

Whereas if 7.5 comes out and is an incremental improvement over 7.4 with a
background writer, more knobs to control checkpoints and vacuum, better sorted
pg_dumps, etc, then I'm liable to install it right away. And I get to use
these features while the big changes settle.

From a user-perceptions point of view this is an even bigger factor when
people start bandying about 8.0. A LOT of sysadmins are going to hold off on
installing a release labelled 8.0 until they see 8.1 or 8.2. Sysadmins are an
awfully superstitious bunch and numerology is popular.

Moreover if PITR, the Windows port, nested transactions go into 7.6 or 8.0
right at the beginning of the development cycle and we have 3-4 months of
working with databases running with these features I strongly suspect that the
stability of the product will make a bigger long term impression than the
rapid pace of new features arriving.

So in my perfect world I picture 7.5 freezing June 1 and releasing in July or
so, giving a nice reliable simple upgrade for people who just want a safe 7.x
series to upgrade to even after 8.0 comes out. PITR, nested transactions going
into the CVS tree sometime in June or July and being frozen as 8.0 towards the
end of the year.

--
greg