[tex-live] luatex release

[Hans Hagen]

Frank � wrote:
> Hans Hagen <pragma at wxs.nl> wrote:
>
>   
>> in due time (i.e. when luatex is stable) we will provide examples of
>> these things (and more documentation) which will be somewhere mid
>> 2008, so after the next tex live;
>>     
>
> By the way, one question regarding luatex:  There's currently a package
> luatex-snapshot in Debian unstable, for the bold and brave to test.  The
> name makes clear that it isn't a released version.
>
> We were wondering whether we should allow it to enter testing and,
> finally, the next Debian release which is planned "less than 2 years
> after April 2007".  In other words, it might be late enough to contain
> the first release of luatex, but it's equally likely that we would have
> to freeze at a snapshot somewhat before that.
>   
at tug 2007 we will launch the first formal beta release; somewhere  2008 (jul/aug) we will have the first formal release; at that point the functionality described in the manual will be stable (i.e. no interface changes); after that we expect to add more (we have a list of todo's);  

new features will be declared stable at some point, but until then we take the freedom to remove, overhaul etc. as an example: the current open type reader will be replaced and the related data structures will 
change which in turn means that tex/lua code dependent on it has to be changed as well; 

so, at the end of 2008 there will be a reasonably well tested version that you can freeze; tex code written for lua is a different story, because that also depends on a stable interface; given the user's dependency on tex macros, and the usual write/test cycles, macros probably end up in unstable anyway 

freezing the current snapshot (or one later this year) is of not much use; fundamental parts are still missing or under construction but we're getting there 

once the stable (and tested) release is out (say end 2008) development will continue and (as currently) that release will then be the beta and can be distributed as doen currently 


Hans


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