Difference between revisions of "Viewer Types"

From Second Life Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(added note on current status... or lack of status)
Line 3: Line 3:




A '''Public Nightly''' build is a viewer that was built from an internal code branch automatically overnight and distributed to a small group of alpha-tester Residents(The group is affectionately named "Battery Street Irregulars" or BSI.)
== The Different Types of Viewer Releases ==
<font color=red>'''Important Note:''' All Viewers released to residents whether Alpha, Beta, RC, or Official, will connect to the main LIVE Second Life GridAs a result, all user information, L$, content, land and other transactions are REAL.</font>


These nightly builds lead up to Release Candidate viewers, but may contain glaring bugs as they are not always fully tested by Linden Lab's QA team.  Only dedicated Residents who want to experiment with new features and help Linden Lab engineers to resolve challenging bugs should download them.


Nightly builds of the viewer will connect to the main LIVE Second Life Grid. All user information, L$, content, land and other transactions are REAL.
=== Alpha or Public Nightly ===
An '''Alpha''' or '''Public Nightly''' is a viewer built from rapidly changing code under active development.  These releases are prone to major bugs. A limited number of these builds may be distributed to a small group of alpha-tester Residents.


If you're interested in becoming a member of Battery Street Irregulars to receive these builds, please
 
# create a notecard with your Avatar name, email address, and system configuration/details.  
=== Beta ===
# Save the notecard as your avatar's name.  
A '''Beta''' viewer, which may still contain obvious bugs, is built from code that has been moved from rapidly changing development branches into code lines under a greater level of oversight and control.  These builds are often released to the public, but their use is recommended only by dedicated Residents who wish to experiment with new features, actively log and comment on issues in PJIRA, and work with Linden Lab engineers to resolve challenging bugs.
# Drop the notecard on the profile of "Alexa Linden." We will add you to the Battery Street Irregulars group inworld and an email list for communication with the team.
 
 
=== Release Candidate ===
A '''Release Candidate''' or '''RC''' viewer is one build from a closely controlled code line.  Only a viewer believed to be very close to the quality desired in an Official Second Life Viewer will be released as a Release Candidate.  These builds are recommended for all residents.  
 
 
=== Official Second Life Viewer ===
An '''Official Second Life Viewer''' is the final release of a viewer. Once released, the Official Second Life Viewer becomes the default download for all new residents.

Revision as of 15:49, 2 March 2010

Note: This program has been unofficially retired and is inactive in favor of the open source process of Snowglobe. The newest builds can be found on the sl-dev-commits mailing list. added: -Drew Dwi 06:28, 25 February 2010 (UTC)


The Different Types of Viewer Releases

Important Note: All Viewers released to residents whether Alpha, Beta, RC, or Official, will connect to the main LIVE Second Life Grid. As a result, all user information, L$, content, land and other transactions are REAL.


Alpha or Public Nightly

An Alpha or Public Nightly is a viewer built from rapidly changing code under active development. These releases are prone to major bugs. A limited number of these builds may be distributed to a small group of alpha-tester Residents.


Beta

A Beta viewer, which may still contain obvious bugs, is built from code that has been moved from rapidly changing development branches into code lines under a greater level of oversight and control. These builds are often released to the public, but their use is recommended only by dedicated Residents who wish to experiment with new features, actively log and comment on issues in PJIRA, and work with Linden Lab engineers to resolve challenging bugs.


Release Candidate

A Release Candidate or RC viewer is one build from a closely controlled code line. Only a viewer believed to be very close to the quality desired in an Official Second Life Viewer will be released as a Release Candidate. These builds are recommended for all residents.


Official Second Life Viewer

An Official Second Life Viewer is the final release of a viewer. Once released, the Official Second Life Viewer becomes the default download for all new residents.