Please read the new post about the Windows Vista development process and branching.
Nick White from the Windows Vista Team blog writes about the process involved when building Windows Vista. He interviews the director of Windows Release Management to find out how all the branching and build numbers works. It’s all awfully complicated, so here is a diagram to help explain it.
Windows Vista is a series of tubes branches. Idea adapted from Tony Schreiner.
Update: I want to clarify the above diagram a little. Some people has been lead to believe that because I have labeled “New Feature - Boot Screen” as something to be injected to the RC1 build, that a new boot-screen is definitely coming. I want to just state this is NOT my original intention. The diagram is purely for illustration purposes, and may/may not reflect what will actually be injected into the RC1 build. However having said that, I am confident a new boot-screen is coming in RC1 or post-RC1. I say this because to compliment the new startup sound, they need some visuals.
This would explain why 5700 (RTM branch) is ‘newer’ than 5536 (Pre-RC1), but built at an earlier date.
I think their reason to have a separate RC1/RTM branch as opposed to a single branch is because they are going to be adding new ‘features’ in to RTM that will not be shown in RC1. I know Microsoft said Beta 2 was “feature lock-down”, that no more features would be added post-Beta 2, but the definition of ‘features’ can be fairly broad. For example, the new system sounds are yet to be included in 5536, yet they are definitely a ‘feature’. If my assumptions are correct, then the slightly updated Aero Glass UI could even appear after RC1.
It’s all too exciting.
Please read the new post about the Windows Vista development process and branching.
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Rolling set Vista stuff at Nexus’ Blog
[...] 060831-0230: Ok so we all remeber (or at least some of you) may have remebered that GCN tryed to tell me that “enhancements” would not be coming. Long Zheng (like Robert McLaws who i had previously quoted on aeroxp) thinks differently. I would definatly trust what Mr. Zheng thinks Before i continue any further i find it nessecary to point out that I dont recall GCN ever responded after I owned properly pointed out that enhancements != goodies. Long says a new bootscreen and system sounds are coming. The shot points out that Long thinks a bootscreen is coming is in direct conflict with a statement to me by one Patrick Elliot of Microsoft themselves, who said that a the only thing as far as a boot screen was what we have right now, which is the progress bar (the aurora bootscreen is aperantly an unsuported hack and is not representitive of the final bootscreen, the final bootscreen, by microsofts own statment is the progress bar. Point is Mr. Zheng chooses to disagree with Microsoft, like I often do. I’m not saying this to backup any of my own agenda but I am saying it because it means that 2 people (IMO from their blog posts) now also seem to think you shouldnt listen to microsoft word-for-word and trust every little bit they say. I’ll go out on a limb and say you can trust the overall picture but the minor details probably shouldnt be weighed heavly because they are subject to change. Also worth noting is that Long also points out new system sounds will come later, something I had been preaching to backup some of my arguments on aeroxp. View: Long Zheng’s “Vista RC1 Branching” post and Robert McLaws thinks enhancements are coming. [...]