What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

General chat related to ScummVM, adventure gaming, and so on.

Moderator: ScummVM Team

Post Reply
lwc
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:11 am

What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by lwc »

https://buildbot.scummvm.org/builds.html is supposed to be a page of nightly buids. Alas, it contains 2 links for each OS: "Download latest development build" and "Download latest stable build".

Is the "stable build" supposed to be identical to https://www.scummvm.org/downloads/? Because it seems some stable versions only exist in the former link and not in the latter one. Some others exist in both but still look different than each other.
Last edited by lwc on Fri Aug 09, 2019 6:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
criezy
ScummVM Developer
Posts: 949
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 10:41 am
Location: West Sussex, UK

Re: What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by criezy »

When we do a major release (for example 2.0.0) we create a new branch in the source code repository so that if needed we can fix bug and make minor releases (such as 2.0.1). Meanwhile all the main development continue in the master branch. Then when the next major release arrives we create a new release branch off the master branch, and so on.

On buildbot the "development builds" are built from the master branch while the "stable builds" are built from the latest release branch (currently the 2.0 branch).

There are several reasons why the "stable builds" downloads may be different from the official releases on our download page:
  • The release branch may contain some minor bug fixes that were added after the last release in case we feel the need to make a new minor release, but in themselves do not warrant making such a release.
  • The primary purpose of buildbot is not to produce official release builds but instead to do continuous builds so that we can check that we didn't break the compilation for some platforms when making changes and so that the latest code can be tested more easily. Usually the official releases will be produced by hand sometimes using more recent, or at least different, development toolchains and libraries than what is used on buildbot.
  • For some platforms an automated build may not have been setup on buildbot.
  • For other platforms we may not have an active maintainer to generate official release builds that can be added to the download page.
lwc
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:11 am

Re: What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by lwc »

I see the logic. In that case maybe you should write there "stable yet not official/fully tested/fully maintained", etc.
User avatar
MusicallyInspired
Posts: 1136
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:03 am
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Contact:

Re: What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by MusicallyInspired »

It does say at the top of the page:
These builds are totally untested, may not be nicely packaged (i.e. may not run without further configuration) and contain debug information so should be used by developers only.
lwc
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:11 am

Re: What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by lwc »

True, but then you have each debug version next to a stable version, which looks like it's meant for comparison.
lwc
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:11 am

Re: What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by lwc »

In any case, https://bugs.scummvm.org states "try the latest ​daily build". But which of the two does it refer to? Please rephrase that request.
User avatar
Praetorian
ScummVM Developer
Posts: 787
Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 8:54 am
Location: Greece
Contact:

Re: What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by Praetorian »

lwc wrote: Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:15 pm In any case, https://bugs.scummvm.org states "try the latest ​daily build". But which of the two does it refer to? Please rephrase that request.
In the bug tracker it *typically* refers to the development builds which are updated daily and reflect the state of the "master" branch of the ScummVM code repository.

The stable builds only come into play when we're preparing for a new release and, in that occasion, a separate branch is created that will lead to that stable release. For a short period of time, the stable builds from the buildbot will reflect the state of that branch so that people can test the Release Candidates. There should be a news item about this testing period and how to properly test the RC versions in any case.

Edit: I've just seen that criezy already clarified this point.
lwc
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:11 am

Re: What is the meaning of stable versions in the nightly builds?

Post by lwc »

I see. In that case, could you rephrase the bug tracker's homepage to reflect that?
Post Reply