Re: [PATCH] docs: simplify and clarify the platform support rules

[Thomas Huth]

On 17/09/2020 17.56, Daniel P. Berrangé wrote:
> The distinction between short life and long life Linux distributions
> turned out to be redundant. They can both be covered in a simple way
> by noting support will target the current release, and the previous
> release for a period of two years or until its EOL. This rule can also
> apply to the other UNIX based distros, leaving only Windows needing a
> different set of rules.
> 
> This also clarifies that Debian LTS is out of scope, because the LTS
> support is provided by a separate group from the main Debian maintainer
> team.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Daniel P. Berrangé <berrange@redhat.com>
> ---
> 
> This is a spin off from the Python 3.5 thread
> 
> https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2020-09/msg06358.html
> 
>  docs/system/build-platforms.rst | 59 ++++++++++-----------------------
>  1 file changed, 18 insertions(+), 41 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/docs/system/build-platforms.rst b/docs/system/build-platforms.rst
> index 9734eba2f1..03d2fd217f 100644
> --- a/docs/system/build-platforms.rst
> +++ b/docs/system/build-platforms.rst
> @@ -29,51 +29,28 @@ The Repology site https://repology.org is a useful 
> resource to identify
>  currently shipped versions of software in various operating systems,
>  though it does not cover all distros listed below.
>  
> -Linux OS
> ---------
> +Linux OS, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD
> +-----------------------------------------
>  
> -For distributions with frequent, short-lifetime releases, the project
> -will aim to support all versions that are not end of life by their
> -respective vendors. For the purposes of identifying supported software
> -versions, the project will look at Fedora, Ubuntu, and openSUSE distros.
> -Other short- lifetime distros will be assumed to ship similar software
> -versions.
> +The project aims to support the most recent major version at all times. 
> Support
> +for the previous major version will be dropped 2 years after the new major

I hope it is clear that for Ubuntu, major version means LTS and not each
and every bi-annual release?

> +version is released or when the vendor itself drops support, whichever comes
> +first. In this context, third-party efforts to extend the lifetime of a 
> distro
> +are not considered, even when they are endorsed by the vendor (eg. Debian 
> LTS).
>  
> -For distributions with long-lifetime releases, the project will aim to
> -support the most recent major version at all times. Support for the
> -previous major version will be dropped 2 years after the new major
> -version is released, or when it reaches "end of life". For the purposes
> -of identifying supported software versions, the project will look at
> -RHEL, Debian, Ubuntu LTS, and SLES distros. Other long-lifetime distros
> -will be assumed to ship similar software versions.
> +For the purposes of identifying supported software versions available on 
> Linux,
> +the project will look at CentOS, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, RHEL, SLES and
> +Ubuntu LTS. Other distros will be assumed to ship similar software versions.

Ok, here you explicitly state Ubuntu LTS, so I think it should be clear.

> -Windows
> --------
> -
> -The project supports building with current versions of the MinGW
> -toolchain, hosted on Linux.
> -
> -macOS
> ------
> -
> -The project supports building with the two most recent versions of
> -macOS, with the current Homebrew package set available.
> +For FreeBSD, decisions will be made based on the contents of the ports tree;
> +for macOS, `HomeBrew`_ will be used, although `MacPorts`_ is expected to 
> carry
> +similar versions.
>  
> -FreeBSD
> +Windows
>  -------
>  
> -The project aims to support all versions which are not end of
> -life.
> -
> -NetBSD
> -------
> -
> -The project aims to support the most recent major version at all times.
> -Support for the previous major version will be dropped 2 years after the
> -new major version is released.
> -
> -OpenBSD
> --------
> +The project supports building with current versions of the MinGW toolchain,
> +hosted on Linux (Debian/Fedora).
>  
> -The project aims to support all versions which are not end of
> -life.
> +The version of the Windows API that's currently targeted is Vista / Server
> +2008.
> 

Sounds good to me.

Acked-by: Thomas Huth <thuth@redhat.com>