A release candidate is a version of a software program that is not normally in its final form. While the version is functional, it is not yet ready to be sold to the general public. There may already be an older version of the program on the market and this newer version may not be ready for release, or it may be the first version of a new product.
Woman doing handstand with a computer
The terms “release candidate” and “beta version” are often used interchangeably, but technically they are not the same thing. Both refer to work programs that have not been fully tested. A release candidate, also known as RC, has fewer identified bugs that need to be addressed before the program can be tested and marketed to a small segment of consumers. In contrast, beta versions typically have more bugs that need to be fixed before they are released to consumers for more extensive testing. This, in essence, technically makes the beta a precursor to an RC.
Of course, the ultimate goal of the release candidate is to emerge as a final product that captures consumer interest and results in widespread popularity of the new software offering. Because consumers tend to have little or no patience for software that interfaces poorly with existing programs and operating systems, developers do a lot of testing and refining of software products before conducting the first consumer test. This will include testing the software on many different platforms and running it alongside other popular programs to determine if there are any negative consequences.
When bugs are discovered in a release candidate, the issue is resolved and testing continues to ensure that the fix has not created any new issues. If bugs are found at the RC stage, usually only one round of fixes is needed. If more than one round of corrections is needed, it is likely that the product has entered the RC stage prematurely. Once the developers are sure that the release candidate is efficient and has no major issues, the program can move to the RTM stage. This means that the product can be released for commercialization or manufacturing, which means that the product can now be mass-produced.
