Rust 2019 Edition instead of 2018?

[DrizztVD]

Continuing the discussion from Rust 2018 release schedule and extended beta:

There’s probably more weight on the side of the argument for Rust 2019, but I’d like to add one for calling it 2018, just for the sake of weighing the options. Businesses (aka the bean counters in businesses) have a tendency to want to be late adopters of something. This is why you get Advanced Design System 2017 as the latest edition for all of 2018 https://www.keysight.com/main/software.jspx?ckey=2212036&lc=dut&cc=NL&nid=-34336.0&id=2212036&pageMode=CV

This is an argument in favour of not getting too far ahead with the release names in the future more than anything else though, and counterweights the car dealership example:

Rust 2018 release schedule and extended beta

Rust 2018 will be like cars at the american car’s dealership, that sell at the discount because next year is already here.

Rust 2018 release schedule and extended beta

This is true for any year-based system; C++11 sounds old in 2013 too. A “Rust 2019” would only get you a bit farther; it’d sound old in 2020 and 2021. We can’t predict the future , but we can say “this is what Rust looks like at the end of 2018.”

I suppose it depends on who the target audience is. 2018/2019 Rust is surely targeted at users, but if ever the target audience is corporations in the future, going with the earlier date as edition name would be advisable from a marketing perspective based on how the software industry does it.

[aturon]

The Core Team discussed this briefly yesterday; we had already discussed this issue at length earlier in the year. Regardless of the tradeoffs, the decision was already made and the name has been publicly announced (and entrenched at this point), so this is not something we plan to revisit.

[DrizztVD]

Well, in that case, you’d get the benefits of the language appearing more stable to the (sizeable) population who don’t like living on the edge so much. I have no real preference either way. Others may have a different opinion on what should have happened, or what should happen next time. A new discussion on the merits/demerits in hindsight doesn’t harm anyone though.

[aturon]

Oh sure! Feel free to discuss. I just wanted to be clear that the name for this edition is “set” at this point.