[Opensource] Controller instantiation (in 4.02)

[Michael Rimov]

At 11:47 AM 7/15/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>Thanks for the reply. Now, to ask an impolite question :-), when will 4.1
>be released?

The last software parts company  I dealt with in the C++ world was a 
company called Turbopower. [Great folks actually]... they officially had a 
policy:

"No Release Date Promises"

:) But since I found that policy kind of dissatisfying, I'll give you at 
least a picture of where things stand:

-ea4 will probably be out this week.  That's the equivalent of a 4th 
beta.  So  in just test/release/test/release terms we should be getting 
pretty stable.  There are several signs of maturation of the product 
showing that it's about ready for

1 - The number of new features getting added with each beta have been 
slowing down.  Things have pretty much gelled API wise.

2 - The focus on this beta is database compatibility testing and stress 
testing.  I've fixed several bugs and restructured things so that SapDB is 
now compatible.  I'm still chasing a couple of bugs down.  (BLOB 
Performance, Firebird BLOB support isn't working yet, a few minor other 
ones).  And I've got a few submissions from people out there that I have to 
get into the release.

3 - The focus on the next beta will be application server compatibility 
testing and final performance improvements.  My own work is mainly done on 
Tomcat, some others are running it in WebLogic; but Expresso definitely 
needs to be tested in the other platforms as well.  [By following Clinton 
Parham's docs for Silverstream App server integration, I hope to slowly be 
able to directly support that without people resorting to code changes]

And finally the catch all.  As an additional test, I use Expresso CVS 
snapshots in my own development work.  So depending on what I find as I go 
programming also partly determines what goes into each release.

So that's what the current development cycle needs.  We're stomping out 
bugs with each release (the changelog shows 20 or so bugs per ea-release as 
typical)

I would say that if you're developing an app that will be out in a couple 
of months, I would definitely encourage you to take the upcoming ea-4 for a 
spin and seriously consider developing against it for a couple of reasons:

1 - I believe by and large it's already more stable than 4.02 in several areas.

2 - Certain structures that have been added in 4.1 such as controller 
derivation are real time savers.

3 - If you stumble across a bug, you can get it fixed before a final 
release so you don't have to ship a self-patched Expresso along with your 
product. [Which although it's nice that open source allows you to 
self-patch stuff, it's a pain in the rear to so and if you can get it in a 
final release, you're much better off]

HTH!
                                                 -Mike