[Numpy-discussion] NumPy 1.7 release delays

[Travis Oliphant]

Hey all, 

After some more investigation, I'm not optimistic that we will be able to get a 1.7 release out before SciPy.   I would like to get a beta release out by SciPy (or even an rc1 release).   But, given the number of code changes and differences between 1.5.x and 1.7, I think we will need an extended beta release stage for 1.7 that will allow as many users as possible to try out the new code base and report back any regressions or backward incompatibilities that need to be fixed before the final release. 

The fundamental rule I think we have is that "code depending on NumPy that worked with 1.5.x should continue to work with 1.7 without alterations required by the user"   

This does not mean we can't add new APIs or deprecate old APIs --- but I think that we do have to be much more careful about when deprecated APIs become unavailable.     There is a lot of code that assumes the current API.   Both code that is in released packages and code that is in "unreleased packages" which we are not even aware of.   

I don't want to finalize the 1.7 release until we get enough feedback from end-users about the impact of all the changes.   This will likely take a longer beta-release period than usual:  certainly not until after SciPy where we will make a concerted effort to get people to try the new 1.7 beta and report back on the impact on their code-base.   

Ondrej is helping out on this effort which I really appreciate.   Other people who have time to help with the release effort --- especially in fixing regressions will be greatly appreciated. 

We are also using this time to 1) setup Continuous Integration services for NumPy using both Jenkins and Travis-CI and 2) migrate the issue tracker to github.   Ondrej is heading up #1 and Ray Jones is heading up #2.    Please coordinate with them if you'd like to help out on any of those areas.  

Thanks, 

-Travis