Re: [HACKERS] TAP backpatching policy

On 05/31/2017 07:49 AM, Robert Haas wrote:
> On Tue, May 30, 2017 at 9:12 PM, Craig Ringer <craig@2ndquadrant.com> wrote:
>> Thoughts? Backpatch new TAP methods, etc, into back branches routinely?

[...]

>  When customers start to doubt that, then they
> become reluctant to apply new minor versions in their entirety and ask
> for individual commits to be cherry-picked, or just don't upgrade at
> all. 

This may be true, on the other hand that isn't .Org's problem. Customers 
are CMD, EDB, 2Qs problem. .Org's problem is: How do we ensure the best 
possible result for PostgreSQL.

I think comprehensive testing (which I am sure you agree) is bullet 
point on that list.

> One could argue that commits to the testing framework shouldn't
> make customers nervous, but what people should be worried about and
> what they are actually worried about do not always match.  It is
> useful to be able to show a customer a list of things that were done
> in a minor release and see nothing in there that can be described as
> optional tinkering.

This is about narrative. You don't say "optional tinkering". You say, 
"Initiate code modification for comprehensive TAP (testing) framework".

That makes customers knees weak and they swoon.

> back-patching (to avoid churning a supposedly-stable branch).  I'm not
> sure exactly what I think about this issue, but I'm very skeptical of
> the idea that back-patching less conservatively will have no
> downsides.

There is never not a downside. The question is, "Does the upside 
outweigh the downside?". In this case I would argue it is fairly obvious.

Thanks,

JD



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