Release preparations

[Gijs]

The next FlightGear version will be released around February 17, 2013. In order to provide a stable and smooth release we've set up a release plan. In this topic we will keep you informed on the current and upcoming state.

Please post any questions/doubts that you may have*. Now is the time to ask and clear things up.
More info on our release cycle can be found in the release plan.

* this topic is locked in order to keep the important messages all in one place. Feel free to open a new topic for your questions.

[Gijs]

In roughly one month from now (on December 17), our Git repository will be declared "frozen". This means that no new features or major changes shall be pushed. This period is for preparing the code for the release and make sure there are no major issues. It lasts for four weeks until creation of the release branches (January 17).

Aircraft in fgdata may be handled as an exception from the frozen state. Any change to aircraft may be pushed to the repository if it is guaranteed that this change does not affect any other aircraft or system and if no file outside the root directory of that specific aircraft is changed. Aircraft defined as part of the base package (e.g. the c172p) enter the frozen state and shall not undergo major changes in the upcoming period.

Keep in mind that the people that are able to commit your stuff are just as busy finishing their own work as you are! Therefore it is important that you create merge requests for everything that you'd like to see included in the upcoming release, as soon as possible. This includes new aircraft and updates to existing aircraft. This will also give everyone more time to check for bugs.

Don't let it wait for tomorrow, do it today!

[Gijs]

The feature freeze for the next release is active. For those who are not familiar with our release plan:

No new features or major changes shall be pushed onto the development streams (neither source nor data). This period is for preparing the code for the release and make sure there are no major issues. It lasts for four weeks until creation of the release branches.

It's a good idea for aircraft developers to adhere to this rule. However, aircraft in fgdata may be handled as an exception from the frozen state. Any change to aircraft may be pushed to the repository if it is guaranteed that this change does not affect any other aircraft or system and if no file outside the root directory of that specific aircraft is changed. Also, aircraft defined as part of the base package (e.g. the c172p) enter the frozen state and shall not undergo major changes in that period.

Regular development (on the next version) will start again on January, 17th 2013.

[Gijs]

Yesterday the release branches for FlightGear 2.10.0 have been created. This is the birth of a new FlightGear version! Throughout the coming four weeks, we will provide release candidates for all major platforms. We will ask you to test them and report any issues you experience, so we will have a stable final release on February 17.

[Gijs]

Release candidates for Mac are available now, while those for other platforms will follow soon.
Read more in our special "Release Candidates" forum: viewtopic.php?f=68&t=18919