[Zope] Ruling from the bench regarding 'Hotfixes' :)

[Bill Anderson]

On Fri, 2001-08-24 at 20:58, marc lindahl wrote:
> 
> 
> > From: Bill Anderson <bill@immosys.com>
> >
> > Ok, we seem to be expressing a need to differentiate changes that occur
> > without source modificcation (and server restart/refresh), and those
> > that occue via source code change. Otherwise, we would just call them
> > patches and be done. :)
> 
> Actually, I'm wondering if there actually is a need to differentiate (via
> jargon) whether zope needs to be restarted or not...

As I said, I am merely attempting to summarize what I see happening.
there is a clear distinction between the method used by the 'hotfixes'
and patching the source code, and restarting the server. It seems to be
this distinction that has brought us here. The authors of the Online
Patches felt there was a need for the distinction, and one has expressed
why; hence why they chose the hotfix term. As I thought about it, I saw
theneed is there, and that we should address it early.

The reason for the distinction is that few other suites like Zope have
the capability to do online changes the way Zope does. As a result,, we
*should* express that capability, and doing so by establishing a bit of
jargon to differentiate between tthese two mehtods is a subtle, yet
powerful tool provided we do it eary in the game, so to speak. I have a
gut feeling we will see more of these Online Patches. What better way to
showcase this feature than a classification system?

PHBs love to hear things can be done online. :)

 
> > oringinally, I porposed CorePatchHot and CorePatchCold for
> > differentiating the two in this tree. Since you, Brian, have expressed a
> > dislike for hot (I can understsand your argument, but do not agree with
> > the conclusion), I now offer a slight change:
> > 
> > Online CorePatch
> > Offline CorePatch
> 
> 
> Wait -- I thought (based on the thread) that hot vs. cold was a measure of
> 'severity' or 'urgency'?  You seem to be saying it's 'restart' vs.
> 'no-restart'?

No, I am merely trying to get away from the association with 'hot'.
Personally, I think hot<whatever> would apply to the non-restart issue,
in much the same way that raidBoxes have "HotSwap" drives, and servers
have "HotSwap" PCI cards. Someone, I believe Brian, feels "Hot" relates
to urgency. He and I are only two of the people who have differeing
opinions. By dropping Hot/Cold we can get away from both of these
perceptions, and in so doing, sidestep that question.

There is, however, a need to distinguish restart-required and no restart
required. It seems that it comes from using a method that does it
"online", ie. without the restart, that we find ourselves in this
discussion.


 
> 
> > For those with a secret librarian bend <0.75 wink>, one could further
> > categorize these into:
> > 
> > CorePatch (or ProductPatch)
> > Offline/Online
> > Enhancement/Addon/Fix
> 
> So... how do hotfixes or security alerts fit into this scheme?

Well, a classical ZC HotFix would classify itself as a CorePatch Online,
under the Fix category. Of course, it could be argued that Security Fix
may be it' sown category.
> 
> 
> > PS. It occurs to me some may not care for the OCP and OPP abbreviations.
> 
> Especially since it's not clear if the 'O' is Offline or Online...

Yes, the thought had occured to me. It is true, however, that sometimes
dropping things down to acronyms is too much 'jargon'. It is likewise
true that On/Off line have been used in other places without confusion.
I mention that only becuase it touches upon another feeling I get from
the list, that of increased jargon. IMO, whenever we can reuse properly
existing 'jargon', we should. This would help smooth out the learning
curve. After all, nearly any nternet user understands the concepts of
being online vs. being offline, so they could make that step easily.
Even PHBs could make that one. ;^)

One could also abbreviate OfflineCP or OnlinePP.

> Still, CorePatch/ProductPatch seems the right direction, as does the
> subcategories... 

Good, glad to hear I am not totally out in left field. :)

The more I think about it, the more I like my latest proposal. IMO, it
is not hard to wrap one's brain around it, and has a technically
accurate menaing, one that is easy to recognize.

CorePatchHot had a bit of an viscous feel to it, but these feel much
more fluid.  Now we shall see what others think. :^)=

Cheers, 
Bill Anderson