[chirp_devel] Plans to get the users involved

[Dan Smith]

Thanks to everyone that has tried (and/or still plans) to help test the new UI and radios under py3. The testing matrix is looking pretty decent:

https://github.com/kk7ds/chirp/blob/py3/tests/Python3_Driver_Testing.md

I know there are still things on there that people here have plans to test/fix, so please keep those coming.

With the help of some stats, it looks like we're almost at the point at which 90% of the radios that get used regularly are in the "tested" or "probably works" category. Honestly, that's higher than I was really thinking we'd get, so that's cool.

I like straight edges, right angles, and easy-to-remember dates. So, I'm thinking that first thing in January would be a good time to send out announcements to the users, looking to expand the testing to a wider audience. I think an initial blast to the chirp_users list would be good, see how that goes, and then start offering both on the download page.

I also think the plan should be to effectively freeze the py2 branch for anything other than bug fixes at that point, and expect all new drivers to be against the py3 branch only. I feel like we've got some inertia now and we had better capitalize on it. At one point in the past I tried to say "new stuff has to work in py3" but I don't think we were close enough to really make that work (sorry Rick!). But now I think we've got builds, they're clearly usable, and saying that new radios will only be available in the new builds is actually reasonable.

If anyone feels this is premature or not the best plan, speak up here and we can discuss. Actually, please speak up regardless, even if it's "yes, seems reasonable" or "friggin finally". There will be some bumps for sure, but I think if people can continue using the legacy builds for radios that don't yet work on the new stuff, we should be okay.

I've started generating periodic builds here:

https://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_next

I've also started on a couple of docs on the website for "why are we doing this":

https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/ChirpNextBuild

as well as explaining some differences between the old and new UI:

https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/ChirpNextBuildChanges

If you have comments, edits, or suggestions on these, let me know.

--Dan