Re: PostgreSQL passes MySQL for Freshmeat Downloads

On Sat, Jun 14, 2008 at 9:22 AM, Dave Page <dpage@pgadmin.org> wrote:
> On Sat, Jun 14, 2008 at 1:25 PM, Jonathan Fuerth <fuerth@sqlpower.ca> wrote:
>> On Sat, Jun 14, 2008 at 2:25 AM, Magnus Hagander <magnus@hagander.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> What would be cool is if it could track the version RSS feed from
>>> www.postgresql.org to figure out when it needs to go out and check the
>>> others...
>>>
>>
>> Well, which one is most likely to be correct? If the RSS feed needs to
>> be updated manually after the new release is added to the FTP site,
>> maybe it would make more sense to add the RSS to the list of "pages"
>> to verify for up-to-dateness. The primary source of information should
>> be correct by default (which is why I'm looking at FTP directory
>> names--assuming the release exists iff you can download the source
>> code).
>
> The RSS feed is the definitive source. We preload binaries and source
> tarballs onto the ftp site a few days before the release, so we don't
> want your script bugging us prior to the actual launch otherwise it'll
> end up getting forgotten. The data source for the RSS feed is one of
> the things that gets updated *at* release time.

Thanks for the clarification, Dave! I will poll the RSS feed instead
of the FTP directory listing. I'm going to assume every title in the
feed is a release number. This is true now; is it a safe assumption in
the medium-to-long run?

> Oh, and I would suggest running it daily. If the folks updating the
> sites cannot handle same-day updates, or on the odd occasion ignoring
> a couple of emails until they can do the update, then they're probably
> not the most appropriate people for handling this kind of task anyway.

I tend to agree with you there. Once all the secondary sources are
up-to-date, it's only going to start nagging again when a new release
comes out. Better to get the reminder starting the next day rather
than at the end of the week or month.

-Jonathan