🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <aboucek-2011952017100001@aboucek.dialup.access.net>,
   aboucek@panix.com (Alan Boucek) wrote:
<snip>

>As I understand software development practice, alpha releases are usually
>reserved for new feature development. Once the features are frozen, and
>are shown to function as designed in most cases, a reasonably stable
>version is released to beta. Once users bang on it for a while, bugs
>become visible and are fixed. I work with other software companies who I
>pay quite a bit more money to- they routinely release beta code to any
>user who wants it- with similar warnings, and an extended comment period.
>
>FWIW,  14" 640x480 screens may be the most common, but I doubt that many
>developers work on such systems. I haven't worked on such a small screen
>in seven years.... except on my powerbook- which runs mozilla 2.0b2
>flawlessly.

IMHO,

* Prototyping should be used to design new features.

* System Test and Alpha Test are used to get the bugs out.

* Beta Test is used to confirm that the software performs in the real
  customer environment (which is not easily reproduced by the vendor).

However, competition and time-to-market pressures mean that vendors
try to perform these tasks in parellel. Sometimes it works and sometimes
it doesn't.


--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar           "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| malch@malch.com                                     Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/                                            |
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