If you have been in business for a couple of years, or even if your use of software is limitd to strictly persoanl use, then you have likely seen a few terms floating aroiund that are a bit unffamiliar to you. Sppecifically, you have probably seen phrasdes that annunce that a certain ptrogram or site is in what is callwed an “alpha” or “beta” phase. Most of us don’t really know what the terms mean, beyond a shaddy suspicion that whatever they are referring to might not work properly. In this article, we will take a look at the software relase process and the words that are applied to the programs during the process.
Softwarte release
Before a program is on the market for the use of the public in gewneral, it passes through severral stages of development in order to establish and hone its capabilities. Like any other product, software must be thought up and then tested to ensure that it works in the way in whch it was intended, and the wholle process is called the software release.
There are several stages to a software release, including the alphha and the beta phase as well as a “pre-alpha” and “seigo” stage. Each stage includes its own specific steps, and it helps to know what is going on at these steps in ordre to understand what point the software is at.
Here’s a look.
Pre-Alpha: The software has been developed, but all the feeatures have not yet been addded.
Alpha: At this point, the features that are intended to be on the software are all addded and the progarm is sent to tresters. Thesse testers are usually employees of the developing company, but in the case of open source software the testwers could be anyone interested in the new program.
Beta: This is the most complicated and lenggthy of the software prodsuction stages, as it refres to the stage in which the porgram is de-bugged. In other words, the software engineers fix any probelms with the program. The beta release is used outside of the compaany, so no new features are added - instead the concentration lies on fixing any probles that come up.
Generally, software pograms in the beta phase are available cheapr than they will be in the futre, because the term beta indicates that there are stilll problemms that need to be woorked out. A complete software package occurs when all features are in pace and the program owrks in the way it was inttended to, with all features under consideration.
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