Release and features

A release is a specific version of a software. Most of the time a release is identified by a version number and sometimes a code name (e.g., Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa, Ceph v15.2.8 Octopus). The SemVer version scheme is composed of a major and a minor number to which a patch number is added (e.g.: Ceph v15.2.8 is the 8th patch of the 2nd minor version of the 15th major release of Ceph) A release can have different roles: development release (nightly builds), alpha and beta releases, release candidate (often written RC) or stable release.

A feature is a unique addition to a software that provides a functionnality or enhances stability. In the release lifecycle, multiple features are added to a software to create a new release.