[TYPO3-core] Proposal for the upcoming Roadmap and LTS

[Jigal van Hemert]

Hi,

On 6-10-2012 16:05, Benjamin Mack wrote:
> 1) We really want to stay in the 6-month-release cycle

+1

> 2) We want another LTS version
> 3) Maintenance lifetime

-1

These two are actually linked. If we have shorter support times this 
will certainly drive people to LTS versions.
Going through an upgrade with lots of breaking extensions (not what we 
envision, but extension developers in general do not change anything 
until after it's really broken) is not what clients want.
If you *have* to upgrade every year instead of every one and a half 
years LTS versions are becoming a lot more attractive.

The result is that the normal releases are less used in real situations 
and the end result is decreasing quality. Already a couple of people 
have said that the agencies they work for mainly use 4.5 LTS for client 
projects.

LTS versions are stopping extension developers from supporting newer 
developments. There is no need to update extensions because there is 
always an LTS version which still works with their extension.

We are in a transition to Neos, but LTS versions are holding development 
back. There will be extensions for newer TYPO3 CMS versions and a lot of 
extensions which only work with LTS versions (old technology).

Depending on the speed of development of Neos there could be an LTS 
version to support the people who are not yet ready to "jump". This 
would be a kind of farewell version.

It's not always possible or smart to make what the market wants. If it's 
up to many clients there would be 10 year ELTS version which would 
receive automatic upgrades with new features and bugfixes, would be 100% 
backwards compatible, would keep the front and backend automagically 
compatible with all browsers and mobile devices which will ever be made, 
etc.

> 4) We don't see the need for defining 7.0 version - yet!

+1
I would use feature freeze to determine the correct version.

> TYPO3 6.0
>   * originally scheduled for October 2012, now postponed to November 2012
>   * having all the goodies in there (Namespaces, FAL)
>
> TYPO3 6.1
>   * Release in April 2013 (just 5 months to keep up with the release cycle)
>   * It is just before T3DD13, to open up development for 6.2

Logical to have a bit of stability and less features after a new major 
version.

> TYPO3 6.2
>   * Release in October 2013
>   * Marked as the LTS version, supported until October 2016.

No need for an LTS (see above). Version number depends on features. If 
we have more big changes ready (maybe started during development of 6.1) 
it might be a 7.0.

> TYPO3 6.3
>   * Roughly scheduled for April 2014

Schedule right, but version number still not known.

-- 
Jigal van Hemert
TYPO3 CMS Core Team member

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