Using Beta, Alpha or CTP releases in production environments - should it be risked?
Ok, i'm probably one of the keenest geeks out there when it comes to trying out new software/applications/frameworks/components..hell you name it and i'll install anything i get my hands on and play with it...
now that statement is most likely going to get me smacked severely...but i should say in closing to that comment - on my home PC..yes guys and gals.i'll install it on my home pc and NEVER ever use it in a production environment if it had any type of importance.
Seriously - commercially it's suicide..who's to say that the Beta/CTP release is stable enough to even perform as expected?
I will admit that i've added a few goodies from Beta and CTP levels to applications...but never have i attempted to use something i hadn't tested 100% and was absolutely convinced that it would be working just fine..but would i do it on a mission critical application? would i use it on a clients application? or what about a commercially sold application, off the shelf style??
the answer here is simple..no i would not..but James Avery would..now having read his book "Visual Studio Hacks" i'm somewhat surprised at that post.
I don't normally hunt other bloggers - especially not people in James's caliber - i mean, i have a great deal of respect for the man...but here's something which i'm honestly shocked to read..
I'm sure that James weighed up the chances with this gamble - which he's saying that he's now paying for - but was it a gamble that should even have been entertained in the first place? in my opinion i'd say no, but then again...i'm not quite in the same level as james is - by far.
Could be that i was misunderstanding what i'm reading? it is getting late here..sooooo i'll leave it at that..
Maybe i should pop back over to his blog and suggest he starts up a list of the bugs he encountered so we can all learn from them at this stage of the framework's development....