[Qgis-developer] Extra 2.14 LTR lifespan by two months?

[Larry Shaffer]

Hi,

After reviewing the release schedule recently put forward [0], I notice a
discrepancy between what the project has advertised (1 year LTRs for 2.x)
and when the upcoming LTRs are to released/packaged. Here is the schedule,
pruned of non-relevant dates (with one proposed new packaging date for
2.14):

LTR  2.14.0  Mar 01, 2016

LR   2.16.0  Jul 22, 2016 (2.14 LTR packaged)

LR   2.18.0  Nov 08, 2016

LTR  2.18.7  May 19, 2017

*PR   2.18.9  Jul 21, 2017 (2.18 LTR packaged - proposed)

FF   (2.99)  Aug 18, 2017

LR   3.0.0   Sep 29, 2017 (2.18 LTR packaged - current)

FF   (3.1)   May 18, 2018

LTR  3.2.0   Jun 29, 2018

LR   3.4.0   Oct 26, 2018 (3.2 LTR packaged)

What this shows is that the lifespan of 2.14 was extended by just over two
months. While two months may not seem that long, is there a reason for not
packaging the 2.18 LTR twelve months after 2.14 LTR packaging?

Besides sticking with the advertised 1 year for 2.x LTRs, changing the
*packaging-only* release date for 2.18 to Jul 21, 2017 offers these
advantages:

* Project management of the 2.x branches can be closed out a month prior to
the FF on 2.99. This keeps focus of release on the move forward to 3.0.0,
instead of mixing 2.x and 3.x releases, i.e. a clean break from 2.x
releases, making 3.0.0 the only focus when it is released.

* Regressions and bugs for 2.18 LTR, as reported by Giovanni [1], may not
get fixed if project focus is split between the 3.0.0 FF/release and 2.18
release. Keeping the community focused on finishing up problems with 2.x
and then 100% focus on 3.0.0, prior to the FF, avoids any split in limited
dev resources.

I do see the balance provided by the Sep 29, 2017 packaging date for 2.18
LTR: 14 months since 2.14 packaging and 13 months until 3.2 packaging.
However, the 2.x releases really do not need 'tied' to the 3.x releases in
any way. Having 15 months between 2.18 and 3.2 is more reasonable than
extending the time current LTR users have to wait for 2.18 LTR packages.

Opinions on proposed change of 2.18 packaging-only date? Please note: this
suggests no change whatsoever with the 3.x release schedule.

[0]
http://qgis.org/en/site/getinvolved/development/roadmap.html#release-schedule
[1] http://osgeo-org.1560.x6.nabble.com/bug-tracker-cleanup-td5311756.html

Regards,

Larry Shaffer
----------------------------------
Boundless Desktop and QGIS Support/Development
Boundless Spatial - http://boundlessgeo.com
lshaffer at boundlessgeo.com
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