Breaking D2 language/spec changes with D1 being discontinued in a month

[eskimo]

On Wed, 2012-11-28 at 13:02 -0600, 1100110 wrote:
> Given that Phobos is still a moving target with new functionality
> being
> > added on a regular basis, it could be a bit of a disappointment to
> have
> > to wait as long as 6 months to see the latest new features. 

Well either you want stable or bleeding edge. New features need to
stabilize, have bugs ironed out, might need a redesign, ... That is why
they should be introduced in the unstable branch and only after some
testing get into the stable branch. 

Stable should not only mean that you only receive breaking changes,
every six months, but also that the features you use are better tested
and mature than in the unstable branch.

In my opinion a stable version should not receive anything but bug
fixes. External libraries, most likely will sync with D's development
and provide a new stable release after a new D version arrived, which
then also only receives bug fixes.

If you are stable, you don't have the newest and coolest features and
that is a good thing. If you want them, don't use stable.

Even the unstable branch should stop adding new features let's say at
least three months before the next stable release, so all things in
stable have been tested at least a certain minimum amount of time in
unstable. (People can still work on new features, but only in separate
feature branches, which will not be part of the next stable release.)
Much like the Linux kernel development: Have a merge window and a
stabilization phase, then the release. 

If you skip the _stabilization_ or even dare to merge things directly
into stable, you don't have anything stable.

A stable release, should in a perfect world not change at all, that's
why it is stable, most bugs should have been ironed out, even before it
is released. In particular a stable version should not introduce any
regressions, which is very much more likely with a few months of
testing.

Best regards,

Robert