On November 4th, 2008, Soft Media Xiaobian made an initial article in the Vista House, "Small Knowledge: Software Version No.: What is Alpha, Beta, RC". The content of the content is a bit old, now look back. At first glance, it is not too clear to say. On May 25th, 2009, the soft media released the "Software Originals" little knowledge: RTM, RTW, GA and other software version numbers in the Win7 home. I feel that the generalization is clearer.
After 3 years, today, although Xiaobai has become a master and a master, but it is denied that Xiaobai is also produced every day, so the soft media Xiaobian still has a hard time, sit back again. Organize your work and try to help your friends. Of course, it is important to note that although these are suitable for most software, this article has a greater guiding effect on Microsoft's Windows version.
1、What are the versions of Windows and other software development processes?
• Pre-Alpha: Compared with the Alpha and Beta version, this version features not even perfect, just a very early prototype of the product, usually an internal version of the project, is only used for Initially small range of internal testing;
• Alpha version: internal beta, α is the first of the Greek letters, indicating the earliest version, the average user should not download this version, this version is generally used as a technical preview, It is likely to contain a lot of bugs, and the functions are not complete, mainly for developers and testers to test and find bugs. This version indicates that the software is mainly based on the implementation of software functions at this stage. It is usually only communicated internally by software developers. Generally speaking, the software of this version has more bugs and needs to be modified. Under normal circumstances, many software will use this stage of the product as a PrevIEw (preview version) for the external small-scale release, as a Demo (demo version).
• Beta: In the usual sense, the Beta version is often called the beta version, the public beta. β is the second of the Greek alphabet. As the name implies, this version is released later than the alpha version. This version of the software is actually very mature. Large BUGs generally do not appear. They are tested against the public, that is, "public beta", and this The stage version of the software may also add some new features to the new application. This version has been greatly improved compared to the alpha version, eliminating serious errors, but there are still some defects that need to be further tested to further eliminate. The main modification of this version is the software UI. In recent times, Microsoft likes to put the fish in the Beta version of Windows, which is Betta fish, which means that the pronunciation is the same as Beta.
• RC version: Release Candidate (candidate version), Candidate is the candidate's meaning, used in software is the candidate version. Release Candidate, referred to as RC, is the release candidate. The biggest difference between the RC and the Beta is that the Beta will always add new features, but by the time of the RC, almost no new features will be added, and the main focus is on debugging! This version goes further than the Beta version. This version is a bit like a preview preview before the final release. This release is not far from the final release, which is the de facto "candidate". As a regular user, if you are anxious to use this software, you can also download this version. The RC version is actually quite or relatively mature, and there is basically no bug that causes the error, which is similar to the official version that will be released soon.
• Release: This version means "final version". After a series of betas of the previous version, there will be an official version, which is a version that is finally delivered to the user. This version is sometimes referred to as the standard version. In general, Release does not appear on the software cover as a word, but instead is the symbol (R).
2, which versions are generally available when Windows or other software is released?
The above mentioned are several milestone versions of the software development and release process, and as a final stage, the Release version can be divided into the following versions:
• RTM: Release To Manufacturing or the abbreviation of Release to Marketing, the foreign media industry is accustomed to calling it "Going Gold". Is it necessary to take a period of time to compress, package and distribute before the retail store is put on the shelves? Therefore, the program code must be completed some time before the official release. The completed program code is called Final Code. After the program code is developed, the master chip is sent to the factory for a large number of compression. This version is called RTM version. Therefore, the RTM version of the program code must be the same as the official version. However, it is different from the official version: for example, the OEM in the official version cannot be upgraded, and the upgraded version will check the old operating system CD if it is newly installed. These are the different places of RTM and the official version, but their main program code. all the same. Strictly speaking, this version is still a retail version and needs to be activated.
• GA: Short for General Availability, the software has completed the necessary business activities, such as promotion, advertising, and so on. At this point, the software can be released via CD or online. According to convention, the interval between RTM and GA is generally from about 1 week to 1 month.
• Boxed copy: The software is compressed into a disc and packaged in a designed box.
• RTW: Short for Release to Web, at which point the software will be distributed via the web, for example, in the Microsoft Download Center. No items such as discs will be produced during this process.
• DP (Developer PrevIEw): Developer Preview, Microsoft released an early beta version of Win8 at the September 2011 BUILD conference.
• CP (Consumer PrevIEw): Consumer Preview, Microsoft released the Win8 Beta public beta version to the CP version when it released the beta version of Win8 on February 29, 2012.
3, VOL, MSDN, OEM, FPP version
• MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) version: MSDN software is a version of Microsoft's software developers. MSDN covers all platforms and applications that can be developed and expanded, such as Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, or various games, which are not included in MSDN, because these products are directly oriented to end users, without program development. necessary. MSDN has Microsoft software licenses at the level above the Operating System. According to the MSDN User License Agreement (EULA), the MSDN version is not a version code in the software development cycle. It is unique to Microsoft software. Said MSDN version in more sense represents the meaning of "Microsoft official original", "unmodified version", "pure version". Because MSDN subscribers are paid, they can download Microsoft-released software from within, a privilege not available to non-MSDN users.
• OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version: OEM software can only be shipped from random machines, not retail, so it is also called random version. OEM software can only be installed completely, and cannot be upgraded from the old operating system. If you buy a laptop or a branded computer, you will have a random version of the software. Packaging is not as beautiful as the retail version, usually with only a cd and a manual (authorization). Such systems usually have fewer drivers, and current OEM software is rarely installed on CDs, either as a recovery disk or as a hard disk image.
• VOL (Volume Licensing for Organizations) version: Chinese can be translated into a group volume license, according to this license, when the company or the government needs to purchase a large amount of software to get a discount. The label of the disc of this product has the word "VOL", and the first three letters of "Volume" are taken to indicate that it is a batch. This version is further subdivided into "Open License", "Select License", "Enterprise Agreement", and "Academic Education License" based on the number of purchases. Licensing)" and other five versions, the Shanghai government VOL version of XP is this version of the bulk purchase. According to the VOL program, VOL products do not need to be activated (whether upgraded to SP1 or SP2).
• FPP (Full Packaged Product) retail version: FPP is the retail version (boxed software), the volume label of this product has the word "FPP", such as the WPP version of the English WXP Pro CD label It is WXPFPP_EN, where WX is Windows XP, P is Professional (H is Home), FPP is a retail version, and EN is English. In addition to the purchase in the store, some MSDN users can also get it.
4, what is Wave?
In addition, SP service packs such as Vista SP1, Vista SP2, and Win7 SP1 are often released in the form of Waves, which are mainly distinguished by language:
For example, Win7 before Win8 When Vista is released,
• Wave0: Generally includes five languages: English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish
• Wave1: Generally includes 36 other languages including Simplified Chinese
When Win8 was released, Wave0 had already put Chinese in the first wave.
5, other
In addition to the above, there are some versions that you can usually see, such as:
• EVAL version: evaluation version. It is a version with a lifespan of 30 or 60 days.
• RTL version: Retail (retail version), this version is the real release version, with beautiful packaging, CD, manuals and other things and high prices.
• Stable version: stable version. This version is not available in this general commercial software. It is said to be available in open source software. This is the final release of open source software, and users can use it with confidence.
Okay, I’ll talk about it today, maybe a few months or a few years later, the soft media editor will continue to strengthen this and grow with everyone.