MapServer 5.0 release plan

[Daniel Morissette]

Back in the fall when we released MapServer 4.10 we agreed that we would 
try to release MapServer 5.0 in the first quarter of 2007.  We have 
reached that time, but I don't think we are about ready to release 5.0. 
Very few of the features listed in the 5.0 release plans are complete, see:
http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/development/release_plans/mapserver_5_0/

What do we think are realistic feature freeze and release date for 
MapServer 5.0?

The reason I'm asking is that I just got funding approval for the 
following feature enhancements for MapServer 5.0:

1- Redesign of LOG/DEBUG output mechanisms (bugs 709, 1333, 1783)
2- Optimize lookup of EPSG codes (bug 1976)
3- Integration of Dynamic Charting Capability (bug 1800)
4- WMS 1.3 client and server support
5- Labelling prioritization (bug 1619)
6- Convert mapogr.cpp to use OGR C API (bug 545)

If I want to have time to do things the right way, including RFC, etc, 
I'd need at least a good 2 months before the feature freeze. That would 
mean a feature freeze no earlier than mid-May, or more realistically at 
the end of May, for a final release around mid-July. Since 4.10.0 was 
released on October 4th last year, a release mid-July would come 9.5 
months after the previous one, or 3.5 months late on our 6 months 
release cycle.

If the PSC finds that this is too late then I can always reschedule this 
work until after 5.0, but I think some of those enhancements would be 
very welcome in a 5.0 release, that's why I am sending this email, to 
find out what you'd think of a 5.0 feature freeze at the end of May or 
later, for a release sometimes in July. It's about time that we start 
talking about dates for the 5.0 release anyway.

Daniel
-- 
Daniel Morissette
http://www.mapgears.com/