cvsup config file stable_supfile question

P

pgmrdlm

Today I copied the stable_supfile from the /usr/share/examples/cvsup to the root directory, and changed the cvsup mirror to download from. This is the only line I changed because reading the comments above the default release tag, I thought this would acquire me the source for the stable release.

Code: 
# The following line is for 8-stable.  If you want 7-stable, 6-stable,
# 5-stable, 4-stable, 3-stable, or 2.2-stable, change to "RELENG_7",
# "RELENG_6", "RELENG_5", "RELENG_4", "RELENG_3", or "RELENG_2_2"
# respectively.
*default release=cvs tag=RELENG_8

Ran the cvsup command line, rebuilt the world and did a uname -a and was supprized when I seen the following:
Code: 
8.1-PRERELEASE FreeBSD 8.1-PRERELEASE #0: Mon May 31 21:35:09 EDT 2010

Ummmm, reading the comments for the cvs tag, I thought I had the correct value there. I know that 8.1 was just released today(seen the notice cross my pidgin twitter screen).

But... I wanted the latest 8.0 stable. Did I need to make the tag RELENG_8_0??

I don't know what I did wrong.
 
From http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/books/faq/admin.html#RELEASE-CANDIDATE:

10.21. I tried to update my system to the latest -STABLE, but got -BETAx, -RC or -PRERELEASE! What is going on?

Short answer: it is just a name. RC stands for “Release Candidate”. It signifies that a release is imminent. In FreeBSD, -PRERELEASE is typically synonymous with the code freeze before a release. (For some releases, the -BETA label was used in the same way as -PRERELEASE.)

Long answer: FreeBSD derives its releases from one of two places. Major, dot-zero, releases, such as 7.0-RELEASE and 8.0-RELEASE, are branched from the head of the development stream, commonly referred to as -CURRENT. Minor releases, such as 6.3-RELEASE or 5.2-RELEASE, have been snapshots of the active -STABLE branch. Starting with 4.3-RELEASE, each release also now has its own branch which can be tracked by people requiring an extremely conservative rate of development (typically only security advisories).

When a release is about to be made, the branch from which it will be derived from has to undergo a certain process. Part of this process is a code freeze. When a code freeze is initiated, the name of the branch is changed to reflect that it is about to become a release. For example, if the branch used to be called 6.2-STABLE, its name will be changed to 6.3-PRERELEASE to signify the code freeze and signify that extra pre-release testing should be happening. Bug fixes can still be committed to be part of the release. When the source code is in shape for the release the name will be changed to 6.3-RC to signify that a release is about to be made from it. Once in the RC stage, only the most critical bugs found can be fixed. Once the release (6.3-RELEASE in this example) and release branch have been made, the branch will be renamed to 6.3-STABLE.
Click to expand...
 
Tracking RELENG_8 means you're tracking 8-STABLE. This will move from 8.0-STABLE to currently 8.1-PRERELEASE. You may even see a few 8.1-RC come by. Once 8.1-RELEASE is out the door your 8-STABLE will become 8.1-STABLE.
 
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