How it works
SAFIRE World is the Internet Delivery System
operated by the same team that brought you
SAFIRE. Here's how it works, please let us know if you like it!
| SAFIRE Tool Chain |
| SAFIRE is available as SAFIRE Professional
&
SAFIRE RTE (run-time environment); there are four versions: |
 |
Daily Brew - Freshly made every day directly from
our development code base; the Daily Brew incorporates
our newest features which may be a little strong (&
untested). |
 |
Alpha - Red Hot; full of flavor and fresh from
the oven, this SAFIRE can be a little spicy! Alpha is straight from the developers; bugs are fixed as they are reported. |
 |
Beta - Green Label; gentle marinating leaves this SAFIRE smooth and
creamy! Beta is one month old and relatively stable; only
significant bugs (Major & Serious) are fixed. |
 |
Gamma - Blue Label; careful love and attention
make this the most tender SAFIRE ever! Gamma is two months old and 'frozen'; only serious and blocking bugs
(Major) are fixed. |
| The clever part is, every month we do the
'Shuffle'; Beta becomes Gamma, Alpha becomes
Beta, and a new Alpha is created by our
developers, i.e. released & top-level
tested. This is our 'maturing' process, like a
good cheese or a steak; Alpha, Beta & Gamma
represent how 'mature' the software is, i.e. how
long it has been used without new development. |
| The date of each version is when it was made, but don't let it fool
you! If we make a fix for Gamma users while adding big new features
to our development codebase, it may look like Gamma is newer than
Alpha; the build maybe, but the code used to make the build
isn't. The date in brackets is the date the original release was
made; this one tells you how old the version is. Generally speaking alpha is built about once a week. Beta and Gamma are built on demand whenever serious or major bugs are being fixed. |
| Alpha is always the newest and most exciting
SAFIRE available, but please remember, it hasn't had long to mature!
|
| Choose the SAFIRE version that suits your
requirements; if in doubt, we recommend you use
Beta. But whether you are using Alpha, Beta or
Gamma, watch out for new features becoming available! |
| The Daily Brew is not intended for regular users. Please only use it if you are in contact with us over a support issue and our support team has recommended this to avoid waiting for a formal release. |
| Bug Fixing Procedures |
| Prioritizing a Bug Report 1) Analyze fault report, reproduce behavior, confirm problem -
request more information if necessary.
2) Categorize the fault as one of major (1), serious (2), minor (3), cosmetic (4).
3) Considering how the fault probably can be fixed, rate it as easy (1) to difficult (10).
4) Calculate the priority (Category * Ease-to-fix).
Implementing a Bug Fix
1) Fix the problem in the Development codebase first (always, no exceptions).
2) Build & test locally (unless *extremely* confident, i.e.
well-defined, small change).
3) If the category is NOT cosmetic, request permission (WHS) to
change relevant other codebases as suitable (How it works).
4) Mark as fixed, wait until the builds are available, confirm bug
fix works, mark as closed.
|
| Bug Categories |
|
Major: Primary features are blocked with no work-around possible. -> Corrected
with top priority; Alpha, Beta & Gamma are updated simultaneously. |
|
Serious: Secondary features have specific limitations causing
significant inconvenience. -> Corrected urgently; Alpha & Beta are updated simultaneously.
|
|
Minor: Specific & localized features have incorrect behavior.
-> Corrected when convenient; Alpha is updated.
|
|
Cosmetic: Superficial error not effecting functionality.
-> Corrected when convenient; released when Alpha is made.
|
Note:
Changes are made simultaneously in source-code, build dates and
corresponding availability may be different.
Note: Primary features are essential to normal, every-day use.
Note: Secondary features are useful, but not-critical to normal operation.
Note: If the effort to fix a bug is excessive, it may be rescheduled by
our development team.
Note: Where possible and relevant, all bugs are fixed first & tested in
the development version (Pre-Alpha) before being made available in Alpha, Beta
or Gamma. |
| SAFIRE World |
| SAFIRE World also contains an on-line 'store' of
SAFIRE based products provided by SAFIRE
development partners. They all follow the same
procedure and do the monthly 'Shuffle'. Please
contact
them for details. |
| Generally speaking the products in the
Alpha-Store are built with, and intended to run
with, the Alpha-SAFIRE; ditto Beta and
Gamma. However the store and SAFIRE versions are
independent and sometimes we decide to use the
Beta-SAFIRE for both the Alpha-Store and the
Beta-Store, for example, if the Alpha-SAFIRE has
a blocking issue. This is clearly indicated in
the store and it is checked at run-time, but you
will save time, if you double-check you're using the right SAFIRE version. |
| Note: SAFIRE can automatically install from
SAFIRE World on-line all the products you can
run; the ones you have bought and the ones we
offer as quasi-freeware. All you have to do is,
start SAFIRE and go to 'Install'. If you have
any problems with a firewall blocking your
access, you can upload your license and the store will prepare the SAFIRE World
Internet delivery to download. |
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