July 4th, 2017

New: Version Concept and Builds

Release Concept for New Versions

For newer versions of our software we build quarterly updates. Quarterly updates incorporate changes, extensions or new functions that have previously been individually developed and tested. After the implementation, the new quarterly version is extensively tested and optimized as a complete software package.

First distribution— e. g. version 10.02

After finishing the test phase we send out a first version of the respective quarterly update. The distribution is done online. The software can then be downloaded from the customer's portal on the homepage in the “Service” section. This release also represents a "feature freeze", meaning that this quarterly version will only receive bug fixes from that point on.

Second distribution— e. g. version 10.02k

These versions are marked with letters after the version number. At the end of a quarter the most recent version is also made avaliable for download. After that, the cycle starts anew.

Business as usual. So what exactly is new?

Previously, every single of the four quarterly versions was build from an individual branch of the master branch. Going forward, every other version will be build upon the preceding quarterly version and focus specifically on bug fixes, patches and other adjustments. This way, we are able to assure the quality of new functions and further changes more efficiently.

Builds

Keen observers will also find that our buildnumbers will have changed as well, e. g. 5372.2. The first four digits indicate the days since the founding of Kithara Software (365 days per year minus weekends and company holidays). The fifth and last digit indicates the respective build of that day. We believe, that this way users are able to better sort and manage the different versions.