Re: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 19:12:44 -0700

Trust me Adobe is very anal when it comes to releasing bug free software. And the risk that 1 bug fix could introduce 2 more bugs is a big concern. When companies, hell whole industries, are betting their multi-million dollar businesses on your product you have to be overly cautious and careful. Personally I'm glad they over test. You wouldn't believe how big of deal quality is to the QA team there, trying to get them bend the rules a little is impossible. We should all buy them beer (Lot's and Lot's of Beer!)
 
For instance it takes over 2 weeks to run all of the regressions on all of the supported platforms for Adobe to ship a release (alpha, beta, or final) of ColdFusion. Touch one line of code and the regressions have to start all over. And Flex has a growing regression suite it needs to run, I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't already surpassed 2 weeks for a full regression test. Especially considering that there are multiple products that are all intertwined. For example, a bug fix in the player has to be tested against the FDS server and Actionscript in the SDK to make sure nothing has been broken. Imagine the mess, if millions of people started updating their flash players to the latest version and sites like You Tube or MySpace quit working.
 
And if there is a new "bug fix" every few days, or even once a week, the regressions would never complete, and eventually un-tested buggy software would be released, and then we would stop trusting the hot fixes <cough>Microsoft</cough>. This is why you/they have to stop the fix and release cycle periodically, fix lots of bugs, test test test, and then release an official point release.  Otherwise there would be a mutiny in support and they would all give up and quit and there would be no one there to help us. It's a whole binge and purge cycle really.
 
Anyway, the real reason I replied to this thread to post this link. A must read for anyone who writes software and has to manage bugs.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1781895,00.html 

--nimer
 
 
 
----- Original Message ----
From: Louie Penaflor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 6:45:20 PM
Subject: RE: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

I believe that Adobe is very eccentric when it comes to business models.  They are the 700 lb girl.  They aren’t anywhere and will be around for awhile, so they can make decisions that might upset people but we will just have to deal with them.  I’m not saying it’s always a bad thing. 

 

I also believe that they have some “loyalty” to the Mac platform.  Usually their suite of products are released first on the Mac platform.  What worried me about this merger is if Adobe would make decsions that weren’t viewed as “correct” by some people in the industry and that they could change the focus of flash completely.

 

Who knows.  I just hope they won’t destroy such a good tech.

 

I believe one of the problems is that Flash is just a buggy technology to begin with and that is something I’ve come to accept.  If I wouldn’t deal with it, then I wouldn’t be developing in it J

 

 

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com [mailto:flexcoders@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Jack Caldwell
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 4:50 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com
Subject: RE: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

 

Paul:

 

I have 200+ customers.

 

But as I said before, this isn't going to change anything, so in the future

I will just keep my opinions to myself.

 

Thanks for your opinion.

 

Jack

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com [mailto:flexcoders@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Paul Andrews
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 4:40 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com
Subject: Re: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

Jack,

 

I suspect that you don't run a company of quite the same size of Adobe.

 

f you have one or two customers you can just issue a fix as soon as you've done QA. When you have thousands you have major distribution and support overheads that get more costly as you go on.

 

It's not a question of knowing how to plan, it's big number logistics.

 

Your not the only one whose been in software development for 27 years either..

 

Paul

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 10:10 PM

Subject: RE: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

 

Paul:

 

Well . . . . . I must be doing something right . . . . for 27 years.

 

If you read my post completely I said I did not expect Adobe to be as quick

on fixes as I have been.

 

It would only be a nightmare, if they did not plan properly.

 

Maybe I just know how to plan and implement at a faster pace.

 

But thanks just the same.

 

Jack

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com [mailto:flexcoders@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Paul Andrews
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 3:55 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com
Subject: Re: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

Jack,

 

I don't think you appreciate what a nightmare that would be for any development company. The sheer overhead of doing what you suggest would be immense. I don't know of a software company of any kind that operates like that. I think you've had the wrong position for 27 years..

 

Paul

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 8:59 PM

Subject: RE: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

 

Jeff:

 

I fully understood what Matt was saying.  That's just it . . . . it is not a top priority.

 

The issue is that Adobe is fixing the bugs, but not releasing them.

 

We as developers have to try to figure it out then call support, etc.  That could take

hours or days of my time.  It's wasted time and money.

 

I am like you, I don't have a large support staff either.

 

My position, for over 27 years, has always been . . . . find a bug send ALL customers

a fix ASAP.  Not waiting for a customer to call me.

 

Again, in the first 6-9 months after a major release, I think there should be a different

release plan in place.

 

Thanks,

 

Jack

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com [mailto:flexcoders@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Jeff Tapper
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 2:32 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com
Subject: RE: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

Jack-

I think you misunderstand what Matt said.  He didn't say they aren't working on fixes, he said it hasnt been their top priority.  If you have an issue, he recommended you contact their support team. 

I have said this before, but I would not have a single customer if I told them I could not fix the software they
purchased because I was working on another version.

Again, its not an issue of not being able to fix bugs, many companies have a process in place to allow for handling their customers needs.  In the adobe case, if something isnt working as you would expect, there is the support channel.  drop them an email or give them a call, and they can help solve the issue you are having.  They are the ones who are best able to determine if you are doing something wrong, or if its a bug in the code which needs to be fixed.  I wouldnt be at all surprised if their were a number of minor patches available through the support channels.  I dont know that there are, but if I were them, and I had a few fixes to specific bugs that havent been reported by the community at large, but instead by a few customers, I would probably give the fixes as needed, rather than make a whole new big push.  Then again, thats just my thought process.  Sadly, I dont have a whole support team working for me, so i need to deal with bugs in my code as they crop up.


At 03:18 PM 8/30/2006, Jack Caldwell wrote:

Matt or anyone else at Adobe.
 
I agree that the quality of Flex Builder 2 is good . . . . very good . . . . however . . . .
 
I know nothing will probably change since Adobe is the big software company, and I am only a single
customer(Flex Builder 2 w/charting), but this position disturbs me.
 
It reminds me of the construction industry when a contractor builds or remodels my house.  I have paid
for the work and I find problems but the contractor is off working on another house and doesn't have the
time or resources to fix the problems in a timely manner.
 
To be honest, I could care less about a Mac version . . . . AND I know those wanting a Mac version could
care less about a Windows version.  So please no bashing from the Mac side.
 
It appears that Adobe has not allocated enough resources to the development team where they can have
2 groups.  As I recall, it was said on this forum, soon after Flex 2 was released the development team
received new Macs to begin work on a Mac version.
 
Why did Adobe not already have a plan and resources in place.  This type of thing is done all the time.
 
While I do not expect that every single bug be issued a "release patch", it would be very nice and customer
friendly to have a bug fix release plan in place and implement that plan.  Especially in the first 6-9 months of
a major release.
 
I haven't encountered a bug that I know of.  But when I do, I will probably have spent many hours or days
thinking I did not write the code right only to find out later is was a bug.  Wasted time . . . . money.
 
I have said this before, but I would not have a single customer if I told them I could not fix the software they
purchased because I was working on another version.
 
I really do not understand why large software companies employ this type of bug fix and update plan.
 
I only hope Adobe will rethink their strategy and implementation of releasing bug fixes.
 
My .02 or actually $ 749 for Flex Builder 2 w/charting.
 
Thanks,
 
Jack

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com [ mailto:flexcoders@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Matt Chotin
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 10:21 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com
Subject: RE: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

Are there specific bugs you’re looking to be addressed?  Based on direct feedback as well as observation from the various public forums we’ve been pretty pleased with the quality of the release so we’ve held off on rushing out an updater while we work on things like the Mac release of Flex Builder.  Doesn’t mean we’re not fixing bugs, but we’ve decided to try to address more issues in a longer cycle rather than fewer issues quickly.

If there’s a specific issue that is blocking your work use the wish form (http://www.adobe. com/go/wish) to submit it and indicate so.  There are also plenty of official support options available to help as well ( http://www.adobe. com/support/ programs/ flex/?tab: plans=1)

Matt

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com [ mailto:flexcoders@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Adam Reynolds
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 2:44 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ups.com
Subject: [flexcoders] Flex 2 patch timeline

Before I dive headlong into my first full Flex 2 project, can anybody
from Adobe give me an update as to when/if there will be a patch for Flex 2?

Adam

 


__._,_.___

--
Flexcoders Mailing List
FAQ: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flexcoders/files/flexcodersFAQ.txt
Search Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexcoders%40yahoogroups.com




SPONSORED LINKS
Software development tool Software development Software development services
Home design software Software development company

YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS



__,_._,___

Reply via email to