Glossary · Automation software engineering and architecture
Release candidate
Also known as: RC
German: Freigabekandidat
In software release management, a release candidate is a build that is feature-complete and considered ready for release unless final testing reveals significant defects.
- Software engineering
In one sentence
A release candidate is a feature-complete build that will be released unless final testing reveals significant defects.
Example
Firmware 5.0.0-rc.2 goes to the system test lab and two pilot customers; since no blocking defects are found, the identical build is released as 5.0.0.
How it applies
- Engineering: Only defect fixes go into a release candidate; each fix produces a new candidate. Ideally the final release is the identical binary as the last candidate, which keeps test results valid.
- Release management: The Release decision is made on a specific candidate, based on test results and open defects.
- Documentation: The documentation for the release should be frozen at the candidate stage too. Reviewing the manual and the Release note against the candidate, not an earlier build, avoids describing features that were cut.
Release candidate vs. beta
A beta version is intended for wider testing and may still change in features. A release candidate is feature-frozen; only blocking defects should lead to changes.