Paul van der Vlis wrote:
Hello,
One of the biggest disadvantages of Debian for me is the long time it takes for a new stable version.
What about saying something like: the next stable release comes in the beginning of 2006?
The release date for a Debian release is not set by a calendar but by
quality.
OK, I understand that. And it's good.
At least that's been the case including sarge. Hence, such a sentence would not mean anything.
I can understand something like "Debian releases when it's ready", but many people have to work together. Maybe it's better to say: "a package releases when it's ready, but the deadline for the next Debian release is a fixed date".
What if the installer is broken at that time?
Normally a broken installer does not come into testing (ehm, I don't know for sure the installer is a normal package).
For me, installing was never a big problem. You can use an old installer and update. And a special installation (e.g. on soft-raid) you can install first somewhere else and then copy it.
What if the buildd network is busted at that time? What if n library transitions are in progress at that time? What if our archive suite lacks an important improvement which is a requirement for being able to maintain the new stable release?
When there is a fixed deadline you can plan such things better to be ready for the new release.
Sure, you could still release, but would you really like to have such a release?
I agree, quality is more important then the release date.
You will understand that my most important point is security-support.Oh I forgot:
What if security support for a new release cannot be guaranteed at that time?
Same answer.
With regards, Paul van der Vlis.