Re: 7.4 features list

"Nigel J. Andrews" <nandrews@investsystems.co.uk> writes:
> I've wondered recently at other mentions of the impending feature freeze and
> wondering why that appears to have been set in stone. I know from comments
> leading to 7.3 that there have been problems in the past with timetable
> slippage but is it really sensible to essentially throw out a major feature
> that will take another 6+ months to be released for the sake of a short delay
> for the coming release?

Unfortunately, we've heard that siren song before :-(

"Hold up this release just a little while I finish major feature X" was
exactly the logic that led us to slip the 7.1 and 7.2 releases by many
months, because "just a little" kept stretching.  I don't think it's
fair to other developers to put the release on ice while one or two
people finish what they were supposed to have done on time.  No one else
can plan to do useful work if the release schedule is driven by
"whenever Bruce/Patrick/Vadim/Tom/whoever gets done with X".

If we're going to slip then we should establish a new release target
date several months away (September or later), and hold to that schedule.
But is that really a better plan?  We have accomplished quite a lot
since last September, and holding those improvements out of the hands of
users for months more is not a zero-cost thing.  Nor do I take it as a
sure thing that we won't be hearing the very same complaint come
September.  Both of these projects were supposed to have been done
months ago, and they're not done.  That gives me no confidence that
they'll meet the next deadline we set.  If September comes and we still
have no working Win32 port, will you vote to delay again?
        regards, tom lane