Coming Soon: Stable D Releases!

[Adam Wilson]

As a result of the D Versioning thread, we have decided to create a new  
organization on Github called dlang-stable. This organization will be  
responsible for maintaining stable releases of DMD, DRuntime, and Phobos.

So what is a stable release?
A stable release is a complete build of DMD, DRuntime, and Phobos that  
ONLY includes the latest bug-fixes and non-breaking enhancements to  
existing features. It will not include, new features, breaking  
enhancements, and any other code that the core development team may be  
working on.

How often will you release?
The goal of this project is that D is stable at all times. Therefore, our  
primary method of release will simply be Git-HEAD. However, we will also  
make available frequent packaged distributions for those who may be unable  
to use Git-HEAD. While the exact release cadence is to be determined, we  
expect it to be more frequent then the current release schedule.

What if a bug fix breaks my code?
We will still issue the fix. Fixing the broken behavior is more important  
than allowing broken code to continue.

How much will the core team be involved?
The idea behind this project is that the core team needs to focus on  
developing D as fast as possible. However, we will coordinate with them as  
necessary when it is time to pull in the latest work from the development  
repositories and as any conflicts arise to between the two codebases.

Is this a fork of D?
No. Our goal is to follow the development of D perfectly. All the code for  
the stable releases will be received from the primary repositories. We  
will simply be cherry-picking the commits we want in the release.

Will new features ever be merged from the primary repositories?
Yes. As new features mature, they will be pulled into the stable repos.  
Precisely when this happens will be a mutual decision by all the  
developers involved and the community at large.

I have a bug fix ready to go. Who do I send the pull request to?
Please send all pull requests to the primary development repositories  
(D-Programming-Language). From there we will incorporate your fixes as  
they are merged into the primary repositories.

I still want to hack on DMD/DRuntme/Phobos. Where do I point my local  
repositories?
Then nothing will change for you. You can keep all your existing remotes.

Who is developing this project?
For the moment, just myself, with support from Andrei. Although, it would  
be much appreciated if a few others would step forward as release  
maintainers to help with the bug fix merges and quality control. If you  
are interested, I would love to hear from you. You can reply here, send me  
an email, or contact me on GitHub (handle: LightBender).

OK, I'm sold! When will the first Stable release be ready?
Not until after the official release of 2.060. We feel that it is best to  
this project from a released build of DMD and from then on maintain the  
stable versions. While it is technically feasible to go back and start  
 from 2.059, the number of bug fixes since then it would make it a  
gargantuan task. In addition, this period allows us to build-up the  
release team, synchronize with the core team, and polish our release  
procedures. After 2.060 we will begin releasing stable versions of D

Where can I find these stable releases?
The stable releases are located on GitHub at  
https://github.com/dlang-stable
Once the packaged release become available you can expect to see them on  
http://www.dlang.org/

If you have any more questions or comments, please reply below and will  
attempt to answer them to the best of my ability.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy D's new Stable releases!

-- 
Adam Wilson
IRC: LightBender
Project Coordinator
The Horizon Project
http://www.thehorizonproject.org/