Hi *,
I see two LibO versions available for downloading: 3.3.4 and 3.4.5 (and in a
few days, 3.5). What I would like to know is if the 3.3.4 is some kind of
"long term support" version.
No - 3.3.4 is the last version of the 3.3.x series, there are no
planned releases anymore. Consider it EOL.
(3.3.5 that was originally planned has been skipped because no serious
bugs were filed)
It might receive security bugfix in case there is one, but no
development is done on that branch anymore.
And if I'm right, I would like to know until
when it will continue being the "long term support version". I've tried to
find information about this topic in the LibO web without success.
There are no plans of a long-term-support version right now, but when
the next round of LTS linux-distributions gets released, I'm sure
LibreOffice will be included and thus whatever version of LO will be
around that time will then be a LTS version basically.
In my company we are migrating from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, and one
of our biggest doubts is what version we are going to deploy. We want
something as stable as possible with support (meaning patches not just
"forums") as long as possible.
Oh, I'm sure the linux-distros like Novell, Red Hat, Canonical, ....
will also be happy to sign according support-contracts (and also
support windows versions).
When deploying LibO as a replacement, having some kind of advisor
nearby won't hurt, especially when MS-Office is not used standalone,
but in combination with other, probably proprietary software. It won't
hurt to have people trained properly to get rid of the "I know
MS-Office, I don't want to learn something new/whatever new software
is used, I'm sure I cannot do xy with it" attitude....
What kind of support has know the 3.3.4 version? For how long?
See above. 3.3.x is basically EOL - no new release planned.
3.4. also will not be a LTS release, as it is not included in any LTS
linux distro (and as the linux-vendors have the biggest part of
contracted developers for LO, it would be double work to support both
a "community LTS version" and a "distro LTS version")
What will happen with LibO 3.4.5 when the 3.5 becomes available? Will 3.4.5
be the new "stable" version while the 3.5 branch continue evolving?
3.4.5 will be the "stable for productive environments" wile the .0
release of 3.5.0 is once again for evaluation of deployment and people
that can live with the fact that they might be the first to hit a
(more or less serious) bug that was not yet discovered by QA, i.e. it
is not advised to immediately deploy it, but first double check that
it works for whatever workflow is used at your site.
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleasePlan#Schedule outlines the
basic rules regarding the release timeline. I.e. the old release will
only be faded out when the current release did undergo some
bugfix-iterations and is considered suitable "for the most
conservative people"
ciao
Christian
