In computing, the term "beta" is used as (usually) the last release in the software release life cycle.

Pennd is still in the Software release life cycle Beta at the moment but is intended to be released on a public beta some time soon.

Associated with the software release life cycle, it is often said that release engineering is to software engineering as manufacturing is to an industrial process.

Software release life cycle, or Software Product Life Cycle (SPLICE)

Unlike rolling releases, development branches are mainly intended to be used by software developers, software testers and early adopters rather than your average end-user - see Software release life cycle.

In conjunction with the various versioning schemes listed above, a system for denoting pre-release versions is generally used, as the program makes its way through the stages of the software release life cycle.

Today software project management methods are still evolving, but the current trend leads away from the waterfall model to a more cyclic project delivery model that imitates a Software release life cycle.

A software release life cycle is the sum of the phases of development and maturity for a piece of computer software: ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help improve software or fix bugs still present in the software.

Rolling release development models are one of many types of software release life cycles and, in terms of software development methodology in general, rolling release development models are less common than standard release development models in most mainstream software sectors, such as operating systems.