Our General Releases are where we bundle new capabilities, improvements, and most bug fixes—fully tested for reliability. When something truly urgent can’t wait, we’ll publish a small hotfix in between; otherwise, we protect stability by shipping on a predictable, quality‑first cadence.
A General Release is a milestone version of Windward System Five that goes through end‑to‑end testing (including full regression checks) before it reaches you. It typically includes:
Why this matters: General Releases deliver value without surprises, helping your teams upgrade with confidence.
We still move quickly when it truly matters (see “Hotfixes” below), but our default is to keep you stable.
What’s intentionally not included: unrelated experimental items or risky changes that didn’t meet our quality bar.
A Release Candidate is a version of System Five that’s not yet bundled for General Release. It contains tested fixes and new enhancements, but may not be tested as a whole (i.e., it hasn’t gone through the full end‑to‑end regression suite that General Releases require).
How often?
Release Candidates can appear as frequently as daily, so customers who want early access can evaluate changes sooner.
Why use a Release Candidates?
This is where a new feature you’ve requested will first appear for evaluation. Release Candidates help you preview capabilities, validate fit, and give us targeted feedback before we finalize them in a General Release.
Stability expectations:
Hotfixes are small, targeted updates we use between General Releases for urgent, high‑impact issues (e.g., outages or critical errors). They’re validated for the specific fix and kept intentionally narrow.
| General Release | Hotfix to General Release | Release Candidate |
| Even numbered third position of the version. | Even numbered third position of the version. | Odd numbered third position of the version. |
(e.g., 7.0.2.6 → 7.0.4.1) |
(e.g., 7.0.2.5 → 7.0.2.6) |
(e.g., 7.0.3.56 → 7.0.3.57) |
| Advances 3rd position and resets 4th position upon a General Release becoming available | Advances 4th position upon a new hotfix becoming available | Advances fourth position upon new Release Candidate becoming available |
General Release 7.0.2.6
Highlights: This release introduces improved performance, enhanced reporting, and new customization options across System Five.
Enhancements: improved database performance metrics, refined inventory integrity checks, and expanded POS device support.
Fixes: address issues in invoice printing, stock transfers, purchase orders, and report accuracy to ensure smoother operations and data reliability.
Action: No required changes for most customers. See “What’s New” for optional feature toggles.