Schedules/KDE4/4.0 Release Roadmap

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    Revision as of 13:16, 31 August 2007 by Winterz (talk | contribs) (move the end of the beta cycle forward 2 months)

    KDE 4.0 Release Roadmap

    Milestone: Subsystem Freeze

    Date: 2 April 2007

    Goals:

    • After this date forward, no major KDE subsystem can be committed to kdelibs.
    • The location of all classes are fixed within kdelibs.
    • Trunk is expected to contain KDE4 code only now. This effectively means that all scripts processing translations for KDE3 in trunk will cease.
    • Extragear applications that want to release based on KDE3 are expected to move to /branches/stable and work from there.
    • The buildsystem requirements are fixed; i.e, must not require a version of cmake greater than 2.4.5.
    • Qt 4.3 is required from here until release.
    • 31 March - 2 April is Big Changes 3-Day Weekend to make the final set of big changes.

    Milestone: kdelibs Hackathon Week

    Start: 15 Apr 2007 (estimated) End: 21 Apr 2007 Duration: 1 week

    Goals:

    • kdelibs polishing and fine-tuning.
    • Developer meeting (possible, planning TBD).
    • Full API review of Phonon and Solid (Oslo meeting)

    Milestone: kdelibs Soft API Freeze

    Date: 1 May 2007

    Goals:

    • The kdelibs API is frozen. This means that the classes and interfaces are not allowed to change, except with permission of the core developers.
    • To make an API change, post a kdelibs API exception request to the kde-core-devel mailinglist with an explanation and the code. If there are no objections after a week, the change can be committed.

    NOTE: all affected modules must continue to compile and work as expected.

    Milestone: Alpha Release Tagged

    Date: 3 May 2007

    The Alpha will be source only -- without translations.

    Milestone: New Application Freeze and Usability and Accessibility Review

    Date: 8 May 2007

    Goals:

    • All applications expected to be released with KDE 4.0 must:
      • use the new cmake buildsystem
      • compile with Qt4.3 and kdelibs 4.0. (Using Q3Support and/or kde3support is ok, though not desired)
      • have a handbook (that at least describes what the application does)
    • New applications must be committed into kdereview for review
    • Resurrected applications must be committed back into their KDE main module
    • Start Application Usability and Accessibility Review continuing until the start of the Beta Cycle

    Milestone: Module Freeze

    Date: 1 June 2007

    Goals:

    • Any new application from kdereview must be in place in its KDE main module.
    • The KDE main modules are frozen for new applications.
    • The main module maintainers must indicate if they will follow the release schedule or will divert and not be released together with KDE 4.0.

    Milestone: Artwork Freeze

    Start: 13 June 2007 (tentative)

    Goals:

    • Last chance to commit a new (excluding oxygen) style or theme into kdeartwork.
    • The work does not need to be 100% complete at this time, but it must be nearing completion so it can be reviewed and beta-tested.

    Milestone: Alpha2 Release

    Date: 27 June 2007

    Goals:

    • The Alpha2 Release will be source only -- without translations.
    • The tagging will occur on this date, with the actual release occurring soon after.

    Milestone: Core Library API Freeze

    Date: 24 July 2007

    Goals:

    • The core library APIs are frozen solid. The core libraries include those in the kdesupport, kdelibs, and kdepimlibs modules.

    Milestone: Beta Cycle

    Start: 25 July 2007 End: 26 November 2007 Duration: 4 months (estimated)

    Goals:

    • From this date forward, a Beta Release will be published every month until most grave bugs are resolved. The actual release of the Betas will occur soon after the tagging.
    • Starting after the second Beta (30 August):
      • application feature freeze commences: focus shifts to stabilizing the applications, fixing bugs, and improving art and documentation.

    Milestone: Release Candidate Cycle

    Start: 25 September 2007 End: 22 October 2007 Duration: 4 weeks (estimated)

    Goals:

    • From this date forward, a Release Candidate will be released every two weeks until *all* grave bugs are resolved.
    • After the first Release Candidate there is a total release freeze. This means only regressions (breakage caused due to the KDE4 port) or grave bugs can be fixed, but nothing else.
    • With the first Release Candidate, a list of languages which will be included with the KDE 4.0 release will be made available, based on the usual rules.

    Milestone: KDE 4.0 Released

    Date: 23 October 2007

    Goals:

    • This date is based on an estimated 2 Beta's and 2 Release Candidates.