Software Release Cycle

Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1, Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0 Beta 3, Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) Version, and Firefox 3.5.2 Stable Version. You have heard so many terms before.

This is the software release life cycle which describes the stability and development of software before final release.

Pre-Alpha

Script on abstract idea, coding starts, changes to functions are being made until a working draft is created

Alpha

Delivered to software testers, more to organization or community that develops the software

Beta (b)

First version released outside the developers organization for evaluation or real-world testing purpose. It includes all features, but may also include bugs and known issues

Release Candidate (RC)

Code complete, potential to be final product, ready to release unless fatal bugs emerge.

Final/Stable Release

Last stage, script is complete and finished. often referred as version 1.0 with any future updates making that number go up.

Software Release Cycle [Explainstuff]