Virtually Positive Blog

New software titles come out every day. For the novice computer user, it sometimes seems like they appear out of nowhere. But, that’s not the case. So, what really happens when a program comes out?

The Beginning Stages

All programs start out with some sort of planning stage. Someone gets the idea for some useful or cool computer program, and they set out trying to figure out what they want it to do and how it can be done.

Then, they start building the program, or writing the code as it is called. Now, keep in mind, even the most simple programs are made up of numerous lines of complicated code.

A program’s code is like a set of instructions. In order to make the program work, it needs to know how to do whatever it is it’s supposed to do.

“Alpha” Stage

At some point, the people writing the program will put it all together to test and see if it works. This is what is often called The Alpha Stage.

The Alpha Stage isn’t anywhere close to a finished project. It’s just a way to make sure the writers are on the right track.

The important thing is that the program is being developed (or, written).

The Beta Stage

After the Alpha Stage comes the Beta Stage. By now, the end of the road is in sight. When software is in The beta Stage, there are two things that are likely going on.

First, the program is checked to make sure everything works the way it’s supposed to. Unfortunately, what works well for one user (or, on one computer) might not work very well on another. Therefore, it’s important to work out any potential issues.

The other thing you’ll sometimes see are last minute changes to the program. For example, if one of the features doesn’t work correctly, or if someone finds an easier way to do something, certain features may be added, subtracted, or changed.

Public vs. Private vs. Both

When software reaches the Beta Stage, one of three things will happen. It will remain Private (meaning that the developers will control who is allowed to see it) or it will go Public (meaning anyone can download and test the software). Or, in some rare instances, it’ll do both things at the same time. In this scenario, some features will remain private while other features are made available for the public to test.)

In Private Testing, the software developers will control who gets to see the software before it’s released. Sometimes, they’ll just test the software themselves. But, in other cases, they will only release it to certain people.  The most likely reason is so that they can control who knows about, or who gets to use the software.

What is Beta Testing? (What is Beta Software?)

When you visit many software download sites (such as C|Net’s download.com) you will probably notice several titles that are listed with some Beta number. What does this mean?

This means that the program is somewhere in the public (or public and private) beta stage. You may be free to download and install the program (although, in some cases, you may only be allowed to use it for a specified amount of time.)

The important thing to remember about Beta Software is that it is still being tested and might not work right. While many programs released to public beta aren’t too buggy, others are. Therefore … a word of advise:

A bit of caution is called for when installing any beta software. Just because it’s public, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have problems, or that it will work the way it is supposed to. In some cases, beta software can even even cause problems on your computer. If you don’t know what you are doing – or, if you don’t know a lot about computers – it might be a good idea to leave beta software alone.

Sometimes (alright … quite often) Beta Versions are updated multiple times. if you see a program listed as Beta 2, it means it’s the second update. Beta 3 would be the third.

Pre-Release or Release Candidates

Some software titles go directly from Beta Stage to Release Stage. Others … well … don’t.

Occasionally, you’ll see a program listed as “release candidate” or “pre-release” or something to that effect.

The thing is, especially with major software releases, they need one last chance to put everything together. So, in some ways, a “release candidate” or a “pre-release” version is nothing more than a final beta version.

Here, you may also see updates. Release Candidate 2 (RC 2) would be an update from the original release candidate.

The Evolution of Software

Not all software uses the above steps (and others might use a similar word to discribe the same concept) … and, maybe they’ll add a few extra steps … but, for the most part, all software titles do something like the above.

Here’s how the system works, in a nutshell:

Pre-Alpha – Program 0.1 – when software is being planned and is in the early development stage.

Alpha Stage – Program 0.1 Alpha – the software is starting to be tested, to make sure it works alright. But, it’s far from complete and not even close to the final product yet.

Beta Stage – Program 1.0 Beta – The program is nearing the end of the development Stage and is finally ready to be tested.

Pre-Release Stage – Program 1.0 RC – Program is just about ready for release. The features are set although the developers might be working out a few last minute bugs.

Program Release – Program 1.0 – Program is now available.

Program Update – Program 1.1 – Program has been updated (and may have gone through a beta-cycle, exactly as it had done before) and a slightly new version has been released. This usually means that some additional bugs have been fixed, but in some rare occasions it means that additional features were added.

Re-Development Stage – Program 2.0 Alpha – The developers have started working on the next version of the program. Sometimes, this means they’re making improvements to the existing program – but, sometimes it means that they start the process all over again. This process is just starting…

Beta Stage – Program 2.0 Beta – The second version of the program is almost ready for publication and needs to be tested.

… and I’ll stop here because I’m sure you can see the pattern.