[Koha] Koha releases - Clarification/correction

[vtl at scls.lib.wi.us]

OK. Thanks to Chris, Chris, Owen and Frederick I'm understanding this just a
little bit better (tip of the iceberg really).

Here's my $64K question.  We are sponsoring a lot of features.  We need
these features when we go live at the end of the year.  It's possible some
of these features may make it into 3.4.  But even if they do, it's not
likely that 3.4 would be released in time for us and it would not include
everything we need.  So, then we are using something like Harley in the mean
time, right?

At the same time, our code would be rebased to Koha by our feature
developers (not the RM).

Is this a permissible scenario?

By the way, I have looked at Chris and Galen's  PTFS_Harley_Integration page
and I am heartened to see that much of it is slated for 3.4.  And I
apologize for not understanding the process a bit better.

On Wed, Jul 7, 2010 at 9:45 AM, vtl at scls.lib.wi.us <vtl at scls.lib.wi.us>wrote:

> Thanks Owen and Chris for your detailed answers.  I'll have to read these
> later, but they look helpful.
>
> I really didn't mean for my first question to be a challenge, it was a
> legitimate question.  I know that Chris and Galen are smart guys.  I even
> had the pleasure of working with Galen for a while.
>
> I really am trying to learn and understand this process (as I've been doing
> for the last two years).
>
> Vicki
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 7, 2010 at 9:26 AM, Chris Nighswonger <
> cnighswonger at foundations.edu> wrote:
>
>> 2010/7/7 vtl at scls.lib.wi.us <vtl at scls.lib.wi.us>:
>> > Why are you rebasing the harley code into 3.2?  It was my understanding
>> that
>> > PTFS knew it was too late for the code in harley to be included in 3.2,
>> but
>> > that it could be integrated properly into 3.4.  That is why it was
>> released
>> > in its entirety for now rather than as patches.
>>
>> Harley is not being rebased over "3.2". Rather it is being rebased
>> over the current HEAD (the tip of the trunk so to speak) which also
>> happens to be the codebase that 3.2 stable will be branched off of.
>> For clarification: 3.2 stable will not include Harley features afaik.
>> What I describe is being accomplished using standard, good development
>> practices and maintaining various Harley integration branches which
>> are, in turn, kept rebased against the current HEAD. A basic
>> understanding of Git version control would probably help clarify the
>> answers to your questions.
>>
>> >
>> > Also, I believe that code will be released more frequently from PTFS
>> than
>> > every 6 months.  It is just that any given piece of code is going to be
>> > tested by the PTFS customer base first.  However, I believe their
>> release
>> > cycle will be more frequent than 6 months (though I don't remember the
>> > frequency).
>>
>> All of this us pure conjecture until we either a) hear from PTFS
>> directly (Shawn, where are you?) or b) time reveals the truth.
>>
>> >
>> > How do other vendors develop their code?
>>
>> In public git repositories. This has been discussed many, many times
>> on the list. You may see many of them here:
>> http://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Public_Git_Repositories
>>
>> > What is harely if it is not a
>> > branch?
>>
>> Harley is at best a very dated topic branch off of some level of the
>> trunk (read "master") back there somewhere.
>>
>> > Is it not considered a branch because it has not been rebased since
>> > October?
>>
>> Technically, any branch is always a branch. However, as time and
>> distance increase, it really becomes its own trunk (again, read
>> "master") and so becomes nearly impossible to merge back into its
>> ancestor without a very great deal of work. It is this "very great
>> deal of work" that Chris and Galen are doing as they have time. And it
>> is true that this work is work that the original developer's should
>> have done if they were interested in being responsible members of the
>> Koha community. Also, the work being done by Chris and Galen in this
>> regard is work most devs would be expected to be paid for. By
>> integrating Harley code back into the official master, these two are
>> saving PTFS hours of labor and, of course, lots of dollars... all for
>> "free."
>>
>> > (These are sincere questions on my part.)
>>
>> HTH.
>>
>> Kind Regards,
>> Chris
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Vicki Teal Lovely
>
> Helping our 52 member libraries provide the best possible service to the
> public.
>
> ILS Project Manager
> South Central Library System
> Madison, WI
> vtl at scls.lib.wi.us
> (608)242-4713
>
>


-- 
Vicki Teal Lovely

Helping our 52 member libraries provide the best possible service to the
public.

ILS Project Manager
South Central Library System
Madison, WI
vtl at scls.lib.wi.us
(608)242-4713
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