Is 5.5 simply a cosmetic release?

Hiya,

One thing that is important, as you mention security, is that we only officially support the latest major release (that would be version 5.5 at this point), although the security team tries to make any security updates available to older versions, these come with no guarantee.

As for the nature of the update, this is a scheduled regular release that provides enhancements to performance, developer tools, and much more, you’ll see some of the highlighted elements of the release is many months worth of improvements to the block editor, the ability to turn on or off automated updates for plugins and themes easily, accessibility improvements, lazy-loading of images (performance gain to your site visitors right there) and much, much, more.

Thank you for your reply, Marius;

If this is the case, then it would be a good idea to state something along the lines of “as always, this release includes security updates”.

However, it has been my experience that with the annual scheduled regular releases, there are almost invariably glaring errors that become apparent within a few days. Is it possible that the releases are done prematurely, simply because there is a perception that they must appear like clockwork?

I do appreciate that people have been working hard to improve things. However, judging from content of the 5.5 threads in the forums, it seems that all is not entirely rosy with the 5.5 release dedicated to Billy Ekstine.

Therefore, next August, it would be a pleasant surprise to see a notice stating with regret that the much anticipated annual release dedicated to another Jazz legend has had to be postponed because it’s not quite ready for the public. ie: don’t release something new simply because the calendar tells you it’s on the schedule.

E Morris

Major releases are scheduled, otherwise we couldn’t get people to juggle their other projects to contribute. The actual release is preceded by several betas and release candidates, which people test to find all the bugs, but there are so many possible combinations of code, versions, and content that a lot of things are only found after the major release. This is why I never update to a major release when it comes out. I wait for the next minor release, that will have all the fixes. Major releases usually don’t have security fixes either, since those happen as soon as they are ready, and don’t wait for the schedule.

Re:

I never update to a major release when it comes out. I wait for the next minor release, that will have all the fixes. Major releases usually don’t have security fixes either, since those happen as soon as they are ready, and don’t wait for the schedule.

That has generally been my habit too, Joy. However, judging from Marius L. J.’s reply, this release DOES include security fixes. Or perhaps I’m misreading his reply above.

However, your habit of waiting for the first minor release after the scheduled major release indicates that the releases do indeed come out prematurely. Don’t get me wrong. I do appreciate that people are working very hard to keep WP updated. I really do.

judging from Marius L. J.’s reply, this release DOES include security fixes. Or perhaps I’m misreading his reply above.

Yes, you are misreading it. If there was a security fix in a major release, it would be sent out in a minor for all the other versions (back to 3.7), but that didn’t happen. Last year, there was one about a day before a major release.

your habit of waiting for the first minor release after the scheduled major release indicates that the releases do indeed come out prematurely.

I don’t agree. There’s no way for all of our tests to find the problems, since we don’t have all the millions of different setups and combinations of plugins and options. The software is refined by those that are willing to use it. The www.ads-software.com multisite does use the latest, as it is developed, so it is being tested, but it doesn’t have all the variations that the wide world comes up with. And there’s no way to judge that it’s bug-free unless it’s released.

One thing that is important, as you mention security, is that we only officially support the latest major release (that would be version 5.5 at this point) [-Marius]

If there was a security fix in a major release, it would be sent out in a minor for all the other versions (back to 3.7), but that didn’t happen. […]
There’s no way for all of our tests to find the problems […] there’s no way to judge that it’s bug-free unless it’s released.
[-Joy]

In that case, it would be helpful to include a note on the major release that it does NOT contain security fixes. Not everyone is able (or willing) to act as guinea pigs to deal with the inevitable bugs of yet another brand new version.

The WP security plugin I have keeps reporting that it is essential to update to the latest version. I understand that I can (probably) safely ignore that report, and wait for the 5.5.1 fix. But how many less capable WP users know it’s safe to wait?

Again. If it ain’t broke….

Suggestion for all WP developers: Please make it very clear on the announcement of the major release, state the fact that updating to the latest Jazz icon is not required for security reasons and is simply a swishy new design.