[Qgis-user] Bugs, release of 1.7 and release of 1.7 as beta

[John Callahan]

Thanks for the update.  I was curious about the status of QGIS 1.7.   There
may be others in my user case....

In my case, I've been a long-time (10 - 15 years) GIS user but have bene
using FOSS/QGIS regularly for about 2-3 years now.  For me, if the version
of QGIS has a problem, I just get the latest trunk (from OSGeo4W), and try
that.  If that doesn't work, I'll try GRASS, SAGA, R, command line tools, or
even small scripts, etc..., until I get the job done.   "Beta" versions
don't really matter much to me, not when you can get trunk so easily, and
since I like QGIS, I won't leave it or lose confidence in it.  I'm not a
developer but have technical expertise to work in this manner.  Many people
on this list are probably the same.

However, I always encourage others to use FOSS tools where possible, QGIS
and GDAL/OGR mostly.  From my experience, people want to learn more about
FOSS options, even many of the ESRI users (at least those not stuck with
ESRI in their IT environment.)   The number one reason I give for using QGIS
or GDAL is that it just works.  It is faster and more reliable than ArcMap.
That resonates with people.  It doesn't need to have all the features that
ArcMap has, and I hope it never does.  And I think most people get that; the
commercial products with the high price tag try to be all things to all
users.  QGIS can handle most (sometimes all) of many GIS users needs.  As
long as it does those things well, and features will be added slowly but
continuously, then we're good.

So, at least in my case, beta versions don't matter.  Communication on the
email lists or websites works well for a status update.  I can use trunk
whenever I need to and others new/non-tech users will use the latest stable
version.  If things break on common tasks, I've lost them for a year.

- John

***********************************
John Callahan, Research Scientist
Delaware Geological Survey
University of Delaware
URL: http://www.dgs.udel.edu
*******************************


On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 2:13 PM, Agustin Lobo <alobolistas at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'd like to bring up to the users list the thread on the release of
> 1.7 that was raised by Paolo in the developers list:
> http://osgeo-org.1803224.n2.nabble.com/release-of-1-7-td6421690.html
>
> I take the liberty of including here the two most relevant messages
> (in my opinion):
>
> Paolo Cavallini:
> "Hi all.
> Am I the only one to feel uncomfortable releasing 1.7 with 60 bugs
> classified as blocking?
> https://trac.osgeo.org/qgis/report/16
> IMVHO we should examine them, and either reclassify them or solve them
> before release. My feeling is that 1.7 at this stage has significantly more
> issues than most previous versions, and could be disappointing for many of
> our users.
> I hope to be wrong, of course.
> All the best.
> "
> Nathan Woodrow:
> "I think releasing as a beta would be a good idea, that way we get 1.7
> release out but users know it's not fully done.  This way it also
> gives us more time to do bug fixing."
>
> In my opinion, I think a beta release is a good compromise. A "final"
> release plenty of bugs would be the worst service that could be done
> to QGIS, as QGIS would be regarded by users as an experimental toy for
> developers.
> The worst scenario is a user thinking that a project can be performed
> with QGIS  and then finding out that there are several important bugs
> across the processing
> chain. This leaves to frustration first and to loss of confidence soon
> afterwards. A
> totally different situation is that the user knows that he is using a
> beta, with a clearly stated "known bugs" list. The same
> product would raise admiration and expectation instead of frustration.
>
> Agus
> _______________________________________________
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> Qgis-user at lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user
>
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