git general rule of thumb — keep up to date or wait for scheduled?

[alan]

As a general rule of thumb, is it recommended to keep ones copy of PW up-to-date via pulls off git, or, is it better to wait for an announcement that a new version is ready to u/g to? And if the latter, where does one subscribe to ensure one is notified when official version changes occur? Please and thanks!

[ryan]

I think it's best to follow the source on GitHub with your dev/staging server, and then push to your live server when there is an update or fix that you want to have on the live site. I generally think it's best not to disturb a live site if everything is working well, though minor updates are very unlikely to disturb anything. As soon as there is any reason to update it, backup your database, /wire/, index.php, .htaccess and replace them with the ones from the new version. Regardless of which way you go, always test updates before making them permanent.

[alan]

Thanks for the helpful advice Ryan.

[alan]

Ryan, if an update requires an install script is run (e.g. the db needs modification), will that be in some way highlighted, such as the comment in the github commit note?

[ryan]

Alan, none of the updates should require running an install script. PW keeps track of an internal system version for things like DB modifications. If it detects that the system version has changed, it runs it's own install script behind the scenes on the first request after it detects it. For instance, a DB modification took place about a month or so ago, but I don't think anyone knew it.

[alan]

Ryan, brilliant!