Re: [matplotlib-devel] Building documentation and matplotlibrc

[Eric F. <ef...@ha...>]

On 01/12/2011 07:20 AM, Benjamin Root wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 3:13 PM, John Hunter <jd...@gm...
> <mailto:jd...@gm...>> wrote:
>
>     On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 6:45 PM, Benjamin Root <ben...@ou...
>     <mailto:ben...@ou...>> wrote:
>      > John,
>      >
>      > Just to clarify, have we officially released 1.0.1, or are we
>     still in the
>      > RC phase?  If we haven't released yet, what is the deadline for final
>      > patches for 1.0.1?
>      >
>
>     1.0.1 is final but I held off on the announcement until Russel got the
>     OSX builds uploaded (which he did yesterday, but I still haven't
>     gotten to the announcement).  If there are significant problems (eg
>     the 3D stuff you reported or other issues) I have no problem pushing
>     out 1.0.2 quickly.
>
>     JDH
>
>
> John,
>
> I am fine with letting 1.0.1 go out as is (unless we can't live with the
> documentation typos that has shown up).  I am also hesistant about
> putting out yet another bug-fix release because there will be distros
> that will have 1.0.0, 1.0.1, and then possibly others with 1.0.2, which
> would turn into a maintenance nightmare.  Instead, let's just let those
> package maintainers keep up with the patches to 1.0.1.
>
> This also raises a question.  When putting out maintenance patches, are
> we going to have to patch 1.0.0 and 1.0.1?
>
> I think what happened with 1.0.1 is that while there were some clear
> goals (solidification of the backend codes and getting the no-download
> doc feature working), it also became a bit of a free-for-all for
> receiving other patches (I am guilty of this).  Personally, I lost sight
> of the point of the RCs and that is to seek out and squash only the
> show-stopper bugs.  Any other patches should not go in.
>
> Looking forward, I think there are a couple of things that we can do for
> the next release (1.1.0?) that would be greatly beneficial.  First, I
> think having a clear and firm (but not set-in-stone) release date is
> important.  Second, release candidates should probably be made available
> for a couple of weeks.  Third, I think when it comes time for a release,
> there should be at least one or two other developers agreeing on the
> release (the purpose of this is to give a last-chance for any
> objections, and to share the responsibility of the release).  Last,
> there should probably be clearer goals/milestones for the releases.
>
> I would appreciate any thoughts/comments on this.  We can start up a new
> thread if it is more appropriate.
>
> Ben Root
>

Ben,

It sounds like what you are talking about is more like the way numpy has 
been working, complete with a release manager.  Would you be willing and 
able to take on that role, along with all the other excellent work you 
have been doing?  It would be a big step forward for mpl, I think.

Eric