Cassandra 2.2, 3.0, and beyond

The text discusses a planned release strategy for Apache Cassandra, an open-source distributed database management system. It mentions that the upcoming releases will be split into two parts - version 2.2 to be released in July and version 3.0 in September. The new versions will include features such as Windows support, commit log compression, JSON support, role-based authorization, bootstrap-aware leveled compaction, user-defined functions, major storage engine rewrite, and materialized views. The reason for this split is to prevent blocking of features that are already complete while waiting for the new storage engine (8099). Releasing them now as 2.2 reduces risk for users and allows independent stabilization. After 3.0, a monthly release cycle will be implemented with even releases including both bug fixes and new features, and odd releases being bug-fix only. This approach is referred to as "tick-tock" releases, inspired by Intel's policy of changing process and architecture independently. The primary goal of this strategy is to improve release quality. The current major "dot zero" releases require five or six months to make them stable enough for production due to complex interactions between new features. Tick-tock releases will reduce the number of features in each version, improving the ability to quickly track down any regressions and preventing situations like the one with 8099 delaying everything else. The text also mentions efforts being made to make trunk "always releasable" by extending continuous integration server capabilities and investing in more test infrastructure and procedures. Backwards compatibility policy will be extended to cover all 3.x releases, allowing seamless upgrades from one version to another. Under normal conditions, no extra upgrade requirements or removal of deprecated features will occur until version 4.0. The text concludes by stating that after the release of 2.2 and 3.0, versions 2.0 and 2.1 will reach end-of-life as planned. The new strategy aims to deliver production-level stability while maintaining a continuous flow of feature updates and bug fixes.