Numbering scheme
Just to be sure I got it well. We got Fasttracks releases, and LTS releases. Does that mean every LTS release will be identical (beside its version number) to the previous FT release?
If not (and I guess it's not, since there's differences between the last 5.7 and 5.8), does that mean fasttrack users are supposed to “miss a beat” every year?
For the apt repository, you'd need to activate both the “fasttracks” and “releases” repositories.
The packages are built the same way, they're just put in different repositories for those who only want the LTS versions. With both repositories activates, you'll go FT -> FT -> LTS -> FT -> FT…
The two recommended upgrade cycles are:
- LTS only: 5.6 => 5.8 (=> 6.0)
- LTS + FT: 5.6 => 5.7.1 => 5.7.2 => 5.7.3 => 5.8 (=> 5.9.x => 6.0)
About the differences.
If they were identical beside the version number, then it would be 5.7.4 == 5.8, but we don't publish a duplicate 5.7.4 of 5.8 (it would be confusing and useless). So, there's effectively some differences between the last 5.7 and 5.8.
However, the latest Fast Track is a “feature freeze”, meaning that between the latest FT and the next LTS, there are almost only bug fixes.
Please read about the Nuxeo Release Cycle. Fast Track releases are “bleeding edge” and not supported as such, you're supposed to upgrade to the next Fast Track or the next LTS as soon as it's out.