Whats the difference between a nightly build and the latest stable download, and what is the ideal use case for each?
On the Nightly Build Page it says:
Development of WordPress moves fairly quickly and day-to-day things break as often as they are fixed. This high churn is part of our development process that aims to produce the most stable releases possible.
Should this be interpreted to mean that the Nightly is a version with less bugs?
I’ve been on support threads where an issue is brought up and it’s suggested to download the nightly build (on WordPress forums and elsewhere) and I’m wondering if this is a best practice?
Thanks very much.
Stable release of WP is the one meant for production. Any serious issues (such as security) are addressed via minor releases. Some of the fixes for not that serious issues can be received ahead of schedule with Hotfix plugin.
Non-stable versions are usually run by WordPress developers for the sake of experimentation and early access to new features. That is not meant to be general practice.