Thursday 15 August 2024


Reading old release notes
=========================

For a project I recently have been reading old release notes.

I have been gowning through the release notes of Vim from 1999 until
today, and the release notes of Emacs from the same period.

Vim
---
The release notes of past Vim versions can be obtained with the Vim
help function.

Just type `:help vim7' to read the release note of the versions
7.0 to- 7.4.

Emacs
-----
The release notes are in the `NEWS' files, which are in the `etc'
directory of your local Emacs install. For example, on this FreeBSD
laptop, the files are in the directory
`/usr/local/share/emacs/29.4/etc'.

Here are files called `NEWS.18', `NEWS.19', and so on.

Very useful
-----------
For the project I had to read a lot in a short period.

Although this gives a nice overview, this is IMHO not the best way. It
is better to read the release notes more slowly, and just one or two
at a time.

Staggering amount of work
-------------------------
One of the things you are confronted with, is the staggering amount of
work that is in our software. This is specially true for software that
has been around for a long time. Vim and Emacs are good examples of
this, but it the same for our operating systems. The kernel, all the
utilities that we use in the shell, the window managers, all those
have a long history and grow organically into what they are today.

Much of the software we use are created, crafted and finely honed by
volunteer open source developers, enthusiasts who put their time and
energy in the nitty gritty details, had their share of hair splitting
debugging sessions, and so on.

Hidden gems
-----------
By reading old release notes you discover a lot of stuff you don't
know. Even if you think you know the application inside out, there
can always be surprises in the release notes.

Just do it
----------
Take your time, take your favorite application, and start with the
oldest release note you can find, and slowly digest its contents.

Repeat for the next release, and so on, until you are at the current
version.

You won't regret it.


Last edited: $Date: 2024/08/15 07:51:54 $