[OKDXA] Fwd: [wsjt-devel] WSJT-X 2.6.0 GA Release

[Peter Laws N5UWY]

On Fri, Jan 6, 2023 at 11:11 AM Dallas Shell via OKDXA
<okdxa at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>
> I always wait quite a while to update.  There are usually several follow on updates to fix all the things that quit working after any major changes.

For WSJT-X, the "GA" version (General Availability, Generally
Available) has already been through several "rc" -- Release Candidate
-- versions and has most of the defects repaired.  WSJT-X 2.6 has been
through 5 release candidates since June of last year.   The chances of
you tripping over a bug that the people that use the RC versions --
and I am not one of them! -- missed is mighty low.   But there will
still be bug fixes because there always are.

JTAlert's dev cycle seems to be a little different.  Like AA6YQ's
DXlab, he just puts out lots of versions, none marked as "GA" or "rc".
It amounts to the same thing, except that we are all testing the
software.  :)  VK3AMA's versioning seems to be that the second set of
digits indicates new features, while the third set is bug fixes.  So
last year's change from 2.51.x to 2.60.x means new or updated
features, while 2.60.0 to  2.60.4 is bug fixes with no big
functionality changes.  At least if the devs are careful about
versioning.


In 2023 (and really, for >15 years), good software is continuously
updated and there is no good reason to wait for "the update that fixes
all the bugs" because that's unlikely to ever happen.  As long as you
avoid things clearly marked "beta" or "release candidate" (which is
really just a more modern term for "beta"), then the software will
work and is unlikely to break any of your other stuff.  It's rare for
show-stopper bugs to make it in to GA (if they mark software that
way).


-- 
Peter Laws | N5UWY | plaws plaws net | Travel by Train!