1.4 versus 1.5 ?

[GoSlow2GoFast]

First let me say that this is NOT a gripe post, I have been using and supporting Everything for quite some time and it's a great tool!

I have always used version 1.4 since it was the 'stable' release, and that is what I currently use.

I have stayed away from 1.5 because it is tagged as an 'alpha' version, and I wasn't able to commit to time to help test it and report issues, etc.

But I've noticed a few things and wanted to get some help from the community.

• It appears that 1.4 hasn't been updated in about a year now, so I'm wondering if it has reached a point where only a critical bug fix would be released for it.

• I notice that 1.5 'alpha' is getting regular updates.

• Everything 1.5 has more features and functionality, and I suspect anything new would be added there, and likely not in 1.4.

So my question is should I move on to 1.5 since it seems to be the focus going forward? Is it stable enough, or will I be running into errors and bugs for basic capability?

I really prefer not to run both in parallel, so what's the wisdom of the group?

Everything 1.5 has been in alpha state for years now (not complaining, just observing) and I normally think of alpha as a bounded period, before a beta period, and then release mode. Any plans / idea when current 1.5 may progress from alpha to more stable for widespread usage?

[harryray2]

In short, yes, move to 1.5..There's the occasional bug, but nothing drastic, and if there is, it's very quickly rectified.
I personally can't see any reason to use 1.4.

[meteorquake]

Void is exceptionally fast. Some projects you report an important bug and it gets discussed for eternity and addressed maybe a few years down the line if you're lucky. When you report a bug here, important ones are generally fixed as soon as they're raised, less important ones often for the next alpha build, which are very frequent... d

[NotNull]

Typically with software development:

1. Alpha version is used to add new features
2. Beta version starts when feature complete and is used to fix all bugs and issues.
   Also for finetuning the features. Or removing some of them.
3. Official stable release when the amount of reported issues in the beta phase is below a certain level

Alpha versions are commonly developed "behind closed doors". In the case of Everything, where new features are still being added to 1.5, that would have meant a radio silence of 3 years ...

This led to an alternative route for development, where alpha- and beta stage are more or less combined:

1. Release an alpha version with new feature(s)
2. Fix all bugs
3. Finetune the feature
4. Repeat

"Fix all bugs" might sound quite dramatic, but in reality it concerns just a few minor issues. If any ..
My expectation is that this way of working will lead to a relatively short beta-phase before the official release.


So yes, 1.4 "just" gets critical updates and 1.5 is the way forward. It is faster (yes, that turned out to be possible!) and has many, many new useful features.

Most forum regulars use it as their main instance without problems. It is stable too.
Don't be misled by the alpha label; this is not your typical alpha version.