Re: Release-critical bugs

[Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org>]

Eli Zaretskii wrote:

> Suggestions for how to make it faster will be welcome, I'm sure.

A test-suite for absolutely everything, so we can just type `make check'
and be done. ;)

Less flippantly, more concentrated focus on the release, less "a handful
of people try to get the release in shape while the majority play with
the trunk (and argue about VCS)". (But this might just be my biased
impression.) Also a defined release manager position, with the authority
to set deadlines and decide what needs to be done, which I think was
lacking this time. (I don't want the job; it needs to be someone
motivated and with Emacs experience.)

And more documenting of changes closer to the time they happen, by the
person who makes the change, rather than leaving it to the end.

Some way to get more people using the release branch rather than the
trunk. (Maybe the trunk should be the release branch, and the
development should happen elsewhere; but I think this was rejected
before for various reasons?).

We have ~ 200 developers, in theory. I think say 6 months from feature
freeze to release ought to be doable, though I would not want to be
dogmatic about it; it should take as long as it takes.

When it takes too long, people get disheartened and lose focus.