Re: [help-texinfo] Texinfo -> Docbook w/makeinfo 4.8 and 4.8.90

[Karl Berry]

    Just curious Karl -- what criteria do you use to determine when a
    release will happen?

Generally, when "enough" features and bug fixes have accumulated.  In
this case, it's definitely past due.

    multiple versions of the docs (in various languages) that need
    translation work before a release is made.

Almost all GNU packages, including Texinfo, have translations in various
languages.  Generally it's not feasible to wait for all translations to
be updated, since of course some translators are more active than others.

The usual approach is to have a pretest (or two or twenty) before making
the real release.  Partly so the translators have a chance, and partly,
of course, to actually give interested people a chance to test.

Right now, I can't make pretests because (a) I know I won't have time to
respond to what comes in (I have to focus on TeX Live), and (b) I am in
the middle of committing one important change (separating translation of
"document strings" like "Chapter" from "program strings" like the --help
output).  I don't really want to back out what I've done, but I can't
finish it right now, either.

So that's why I say early 2007.

    In general, is the release process for GNU projects fairly quick and
    convenient, or are there many hoops to jump through?

For packages like Texinfo which use Automake, it is very easy: just run
make distcheck, and you have a tarball.  Well, of course usually there
is some cleanup to be done, but it's rarely anything that takes more
than a few minutes to deal with.

Cheers,
Karl