Re: Release Note Changes - Mailing list pgsql-hackers
| From | Usama Dar |
|---|---|
| Subject | Re: Release Note Changes |
| Date | |
| Msg-id | ff0e67090711301521s23b6601ejafb4d2817961bb6f@mail.gmail.com Whole thread Raw |
| In response to | Re: Release Note Changes (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>) |
| List | pgsql-hackers |
On Nov 30, 2007 11:07 PM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
i think he means a list meant for end users which mentions all features and bug fixes done for that release. Your argument of go read the CVS logs is valid, but there are just too many for someone to go through to get the complete picture. i mean people may end up reading 1000 + logs in a worst case scenario to find out if a bug they are interested in is fixed , and the someone who compiled the release notes didn't think it was important enough to make it to the notes. Going through a 5K release notes document would be half that time, granted that over time thier ability to read through logs quicker will improve, but thats a learning curve they have to be willing to go trough, and not everyone will be interested to do that
if i would have to find a word to describe what we need, i would say we need something *compendious* i.e. what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment
it is however work that someone will have to do, but it can be managed as such that it is a by-product of the process, instead of a 'one time in the end' job.
Josh Berkus <josh@agliodbs.com> writes:Define "complete".
> I disagree. For people who want a quick summary of the major user-facing
> things changed we'll have multiple sources: (a) the announcement, (b) the
> press features list, (c) the Feature-Version matrix. The Release notes
> should have a *complete* list of changes.So in other words, you don't *really* want "complete".
> Why? Because we don't use a bug/feature tracker. So a user trying to
> figure out "hey, was my issue XXX fixed so that I should upgrade?" has
> *no other source* than the Release notes to look at, except CVS
> history. And if we start asking sysadmins and application vendors to
> read the CVS history, we're gonna simply push them towards other
> DBMSes which have this information more clearly.
i think he means a list meant for end users which mentions all features and bug fixes done for that release. Your argument of go read the CVS logs is valid, but there are just too many for someone to go through to get the complete picture. i mean people may end up reading 1000 + logs in a worst case scenario to find out if a bug they are interested in is fixed , and the someone who compiled the release notes didn't think it was important enough to make it to the notes. Going through a 5K release notes document would be half that time, granted that over time thier ability to read through logs quicker will improve, but thats a learning curve they have to be willing to go trough, and not everyone will be interested to do that
if i would have to find a word to describe what we need, i would say we need something *compendious* i.e. what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment
it is however work that someone will have to do, but it can be managed as such that it is a by-product of the process, instead of a 'one time in the end' job.
This discussion is all about finding a suitable balance between length
and detail. Simplistic pronouncements don't help us strike that
balance.
FWIW, I tend to agree with the folks who think Bruce trimmed too much
this time. But the release notes are, and always have been, intended to
boil the CVS history down to something useful by eliminating irrelevant
detail. For the vast majority of people, the details that are being
mentioned here are indeed irrelevant. There will be some for whom they
are not. But depending on the question, almost any detail might not be
irrelevant, and at that point you have to be prepared to go check the
archives.
regards, tom lane
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Usama Munir Dar http://linkedin.com/in/usamadar
Consultant Architect
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Skype: usamadar
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