0.2.8.3_beta1: Release process and bugs

[Z-Man]

As wrtl mentioned in some other thread, it is high time do start this, and I want the 0.2.8 branch to get to a conclusion anyway. Since this is the first beta, there are going to be one or two alpha builds before the actual beta; just builds, no tags or anything. As it was done in the past, I'll handle the Linux and Windows compilation; I'll see whether I can do the OSX builds too (last time I tried and IIRC, the 0.2.8 branch was not a problem for me).

There is still room for small featurelets if they can be implemented quickly and are of the type that does not risk destabilizing the program; the added ladderlog entries wrtl mentioned would be of that type.

Sooo, schedule: I think I'll be doing the first alpha build sometime this Sunday from whatever is in SVN at that time. Depending on how it goes, (Christmas break and everything) and on what code changes happen, the next alpha build should be two or three weeks after that.

[Tank Program]

Sounds like a plan.

[wrtlprnft]

Finally

Is it ok if I get the ladderlog stuff done shortly after christmas?

[Rain]

when somebody says something unbelievable, that improbably would really occur, in italy we say "it will snow..."
is it snowing yet somewhere?
i hope so

[Concord]

it is
here






and I hate it

[Z-Man]

Is it ok if I get the ladderlog stuff done shortly after christmas?

Sure. It's not like there are a million different ways that logging stuff can possibly crash.

For the others: don't expect too much. This is a maintainance release mostly with very few directly visible changes.

[DDMJ]

I'll see whether I can do the OSX builds too (last time I tried and IIRC, the 0.2.8 branch was not a problem for me).

Since nemo is AWOL, could you help me (and QUARG) compile from SVN sometime?

[dlh]

Since nemo is AWOL [...]

I hope he's alright.

[QUARG]

LOL well speak of the devil.

[DDMJ]

It seems nemo only replys to topics that have to do with OSX and/or my/QUARG's problems with it .

[QUARG]

QUARG's problems with it

Well in reality i have no problem with it, though it seems to have issues with me.

[wrtlprnft]

Some of the more subtle features might be interesting if more clients support them, like the cycle_delay stuff, fat cycles and fullscreen_message

[Z-Man]

Build 0.2.8_alpha20071216 is available on aabeta. Before anyone (especially Luke) asks, the build is date-tagged and not revision-tagged because that's the way it was done for the other 0.2.8_alpha builds from our CVS days, so we have to stick to it to make them sort correctly.

Regarding the OSX build problems of others: sorry, I just don't have them, and I don't know what is causing them.

Irregularities:
- no RPMs. The build process failed with a cryptic error message (something about missing magic files) and I suspect something is wrong with the rpmtools setup.
- no pre-tiger OSX version; I don't have the appropriate SDK installed yet.
- the dmgs for OSX are packed differently than in the past. That's because we don't have the DMG packing process standardized. I used a small drag-and-drop utility called DMGConverter. Nemo, what do you use? Your result is better than mine.
- I had to do a last minute code update regarding the isblank() function on OSX (had to #define HAVE_ISBLANK), so the OSX build was not done from the packaged sources.

[wrtlprnft]

Another thing that might deserve a fix before the release: recursive colour codes: if you call yourself something like 00xaaaaaabbbbb on a server that has FILTER_COLOR_NAME enabled you get some interesting effects on the console (apart from an apparently empty name)…

[Z-Man]

Bugfixes always qualify for inclusion. EDIT: repeatedly running the color code stripping until no codes are left seems to be the only feasible solution, or do you have a better idea?