Snapshot versions are back!
Hello everyone,
If you have been a TWBlue user for a long time, you surely remember our snapshot versions. Thanks to these versions, people could try the newest changes added into our repository while were able to help us by reporting problems and giving valuable feedback so we could have a more stable version. We had some issues in the past, and lack of time, of course. That was one of the most important reasons why we stopped releasing these kind of versions. But today we have found a better approach to release them, and we will give you these versions back, so you won't need to wait for the stable version to try the new features and bugfixes we are adding in the sources.
however the process we are going to use for building snapshot versions is quite different than what we used in the past. We are going to use tools for generating these versions automatically, so human intervention will be needed only in exceptional cases.
If you are interested in using TWBlue snapshot versions, here you have some important pros and cons about them. Take it into account before downloading and using them so you will understand what are you using and what to expect.
Pros
- You are going to use the latest source code, available from our repository.
- Every new feature and bugfix will be deployed in snapshot before a stable release.
- Depending in the changes committed in the repository, the build tool will generate a new snapshot every few weeks.
- You will be able to contribute by testing snapshots and reporting bugs or giving feedback in order to create a better user experience for stable versions.
cons
- you should expect more issues than what you may see in the stable version, because as new features are being added, its corresponding bugs are waiting to be found and fixed.
- We usually won't add translations and documentation changes to snapshot versions.
- In snapshot, the only supported language will be English. Eventually we may update documentation or changes in other languages, but that won't be a priority (our translation team need to take their time).
- We hope you will be patient if you find bugs in snapshot, as we need your help for fixing everything.
Conclusion
If you want to try the bleeding edge of TWBlue development, regardless of finding bugs and a version that is not so stable, you can use our snapshot versions and keep up to date. If you prefer to have a Twitter client that "just works" or don't like to report bugs and fight with software, probably you should stay in the stable version.