Re: Creating an alias for a branch: is it possible?

[Alex Holst]

Quoting Arcady Genkin (address@hidden):
> I've branched a stable branch off a source tree, named rel-1-0.  I
> wonder if I could have a branch "alias", for example, `STABLE', that
> would always point to the latest stable branch.  For example, when in
> the future rel-2-0 will be branched off, I want to just move `STABLE'
> alias to point to rel-2-0 instead of rel-1-0.
> 
> The idea is that the users would track `STABLE' sticky tag instead of
> a particular release for bug fixing in current stable branch.
> 
> Is this doable?  Is this a good idea at all?

If this is for internal software you will be able to not only enforce which
version users get, and you will be able to work with various departments in
the migration. With a bit of paper work and good communication it will be
doable. 

If this is software for external use I don't think it is going to work. Some
users may not way to upgrade to the next release right away, so you should
consider having a stable branch/tag for each release. This enables a user to
install release 1.0, and the follow stable-1.0 until it is no longer
supported by the developers. Stable-1.0 may be supported past two more
releases, or for 6 months after the next release is made available. 

If you don't have _full_ control of the deployment environment it would
ensure chaos if you used tags without a version reference number. 


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