> > > Branching anytime before we 4.0.0 adds extra burden to the folks trying > to > > get 4.0.0 out the door (because of merge up) > > Given both that we've done this with every major release in the past, as > well as the type of work we'd expect to land during the beta phase > (smaller, non-api breaking, defect fixing or smaller performance tuning), I > didn't personally originally weigh this as being as much of a burden as you > perceive it to be.
Looking at this a different way, you might say we have previously cut the release branch somewhere around beta. Because previous releases haven't (all) had so much focus on testing and alphas. My impression is that 4.0.0 will be closer compared to a second or third patch of previous major releases. So I would have thought it makes sense around beta or RC to branch, especially RC because between RC and GA it is more about a cooling period, public acceptance and testing. That RC to GA window should be quiet enough that it makes sense to branch then, and kick off the CEP discussions. I don't think the forward merging really is so much of a problem, it's a normal activity in the C* codebase, and the additional merge-forward window between either beta or RC, to GA is short. Thanks Ekaterina and Benjamin and Josh for raising the discussion.
