[VOTE] Stable releases from branch-1 and experimental releases from master

[Alan Gates]

We have discussed this for several weeks now.  Some concerns have been 
raised which I have tried to address.  I think it is time to vote on it 
as our release plan.  To be specific, I propose:

Hive makes a branch-1 from the current master.  This would be used for 
1.3 and future 1.x releases.  This branch would not deprecate existing 
functionality.  Any new features in this branch would also need to be 
put on master.  An upgrade path for users will be maintained from one 
1.x release to the next, as well as from the latest 1.x release to the 
latest 2.x release.

Going forward releases numbered 2.x will be made from master.  The 
purpose of these releases will be to enable users to get access to new 
features being developed in Hive and allow developers to get feedback.  
It is expected that for a while these releases will not be production 
ready and will be clearly so labeled.  Some legacy features, such as 
Hadoop 1 and MapReduce, will no longer be supported in the master.  Any 
critical bug fixes (security, incorrect results, crashes) fixed in 
master will also be ported to branch-1 for at least a year.  This time 
period may be extended in the future based on the stability and adoption 
of 2.x releases.

Based on Hive's bylaws this release plan vote will be open for 3 days 
and all active committers have binding votes.

Here's my +1.

Alan.