Branch for reconfiguration (ZOOKEEPER-107)?

[Flavio Junqueira]

This message is to throw the idea and get a sense of what people  
think, especially the ones working closely on it like Alex, about  
creating a branch for the reconfiguration work. The rationale for  
proposing it is the following. In our experience with Zab last year,  
we implemented modifications that introduced a bunch of critical bugs.  
I'm not sure whether we could have been more careful, maybe so, but my  
perception is that it is not unusual to introduce such bugs once one  
touches upon a large chunk of core code. Perhaps it would have been  
better to develop it on the side and test more before merging.

For reconfiguration, it sounds like we will be touching a big chunk of  
core code again, so I wonder if it makes sense to work on a separate  
branch, test, and merge once we are convinced. I must also say that I  
understand that merging branches can be quite a pain, so I would  
completely understand if the general feeling is that it outweighs the  
benefits.

Thanks,
-Flavio