ANNOUNCE: A *second* Python 2.1 release candidate!

[Tim Peters]

[Don Tuttle]
> Reading PEP 226, it only sets April 17 as a tenative release date.
> There is no mention of when any betas or release canditates should
> be released.

Well, of course not, if this is the first time you read it:  we update PEP
226 regularly to reflect current reality.  The things under "Past release
dates" today *used* to be under "Tentative future release dates".  Over time,
as the planned becomes the past, release dates "move down".  Check again late
tomorrow, and there will likley be nothing left under the "tentative"
section.  Then you can complain we gave no warning at all <wink>.

> No mention of only 4 days for a final test.

I assume people can subtract 13 from 17 without our help.

> ..
> Are you implying that after just 2 of the 4 additional days of
> testing, Python 2.1 can now be certified 100% bug free? <wink>

No, it's not bug free, and never will be.  From the inside of the development
process, though, it's obvious we passed the point of diminishing prerelease
testing returns long enough ago that the release is ready to go.

> Did you get at least one tester on every platform to commit to
> testing RC1 during this 4day period?

As I said, prerelease testing is a volunteer effort, and we don't have
commitments from anyone to test anywhere.  If that's important to your
company, you could, e.g. pay people to test the things you care about on the
platforms you care about.  BTW, I don't think anyone could even enumerate all
the platforms Python runs on.  We certainly don't have testers for all of
them -- and wouldn't if we waited another year.

> If not, it seems rather presumptive that your objectives will be
> met by simply posting it over a very busy holiday weekend!

Do you find Python to be unstable?  I don't.  Guido's doing what he's always
done for release testing, except getting more volunteers than ever before,
and history is a better judge of effectiveness than Usenet FUD.

> As a rule I try to keep beta software off my servers.  It will be
> at least a month or two before they see Python 2.1.

IOW, you won't help test no matter what we do.  Fine -- multiply yourself by
200,000.

holiday-weekends-have-nothing-to-do-with-this-ly y'rs  - tim