wiki:ReleaseProcedure

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Version 44 (modified by Peter, 14 years ago) (diff)
use new target 'make release' see ticket:472

Publishing a release
1. Minor release procedure
  1. Creating a release branch
  2. Rolling a minor release
2. Patch release procedure

Publishing a release

These instructions cover how to release minor and patch releases in a project that uses trac/subversion for revision control and project management. How to release major releases is not covered yet since we have not done that (with the exception of the first release). Release numbering follows the normal convention of major.minor.patch and the APR (see http://apr.apache.org/versioning.html) guidelines for releases are used.

The main development is performed in the trunk branch of the repository. A new release branch is created for each minor release from the trunk and patch releases are snapshots of the minor release branch. This implies that patch work is performed in the minor release branch, and changes made release branch is transferred to the trunk every time a new patch release is made. Remember, patch work should be limited to bug fixes and important fixes only leaving development of new features and designs to the trunk branch.

Releases should only be performed by an appointed member of the team, the Release Manager, and merges should be performed by a Merge Manager. Of course, one team member can be both managers, thus becoming the Release and Merge Manager.

Minor release procedure

This section describes what to do when publishing a minor release.

Creating a release branch

Once people agree that a new release branch should be made, the Release Manager creates it with the following procedure (substitute A.B with the version you are preparing, e.g. 0.3, or 1.0):

Update copyright statements with command:
```
svndigest --copyright --no-report -v
```
(The --no-report option works with svndigest 0.7 and later, for earlier version omit the option.) Examine the updates and commit changes with svn ci -m "updating copyright statements". For this step svndigest is obviously needed.

Create a new minor branch using a one liner like

svn copy http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/trunk \
    http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/branches/A.B-stable \
    -m "New minor version A.B branch"

Prepare the trunk for the next minor release
1. Update version number in build_support/version.m4. Locate and change the below line
```
m4_define([MINOR_VERSION], [B+1])
```
2. Add an entry in NEWS
```
version A.[B+1] (released DATE)
```
  The date is set when version A.[B+1] is released.
3. Add an entry in ChangeLog
```
version A.[B+1]:
	- http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/log/branches/A.B-stable?rev=HEAD&stop_rev=M+1
	- http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/query?milestone=A.[B+1]&order=id
```
4. Commit changes to the repository, svn ci -m "Changes for future release A.[B+1]"
When someone with access to documentation site has time available, they will upgrade to the new branch. This person is usually not the release manager, so please send a reminder.

Rolling a minor release

Make sure that all commits are performed into the minor branch, such as bumping version number(s) (version.m4), acknowledge contributions (THANKS), update files NEWS and ChangeLog.
1. Update version number in build_support/version.m4. Locate and change the below line
```
m4_define([DEV_BUILD], [false])
```
2. Update the interface version number in build_support/version.m4. Locate and set the version in the below line
```
m4_define([YAT_LT_CURRENT], [c])
m4_define([YAT_LT_REVISION], [r])
m4_define([YAT_LT_AGE], [a])
```
  appropriately. Refer to the interface version list in build_support/version.m4 to figure out the settings of c, r, and a. c should increase with 1 if the interface has changed. If the interface is changed, r should be set to zero and a should be set to reflect backward compatibility level of this version. If interface was not changed just increase r with 1. See build_support/version.m4 and the libtool manual for details.
3. Update THANKS. Remember, ego and vanity is the currency of open source projects. Well, there are other reasons for open source projects but THANKS is for boosting people's ego.
4. Set the date for the new release in NEWS.
```
version A.B (released 26 June 2007)
```
  Make sure that the items in NEWS cover the new features of the release.
5. Finalize the links to trac in ChangeLog
```
version A.B:
        - http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/log/branches/0.6-stable?action=stop_on_copy&rev=N&stop_rev=M&mode=follow_copy
	- http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/query?milestone=A.B&order=id
```
  where M should be current HEAD+2 (2 more commits are needed before release), and N should have been set at previous minor release.
6. Commit changes to the repository, svn ci -m "Preparing release A.B"
Update copyright statements with command:
```
svndigest --copyright --no-report -v
```
Examine the updates and commit changes with svn ci -m "updating copyright statements". For this step svndigest is obviously needed.
Needless to say, make sure that the program is in a state to be released; make sure that all the tests pass, test the distribution package, and perform all other release tests you think is appropriate:

Run
```
make release
```
If everything is OK, attach the new package to the DownloadPage, else start over.

Create a tag, but first check that you are synchronized with repository

svn status -q -u

and then create a tag using a one liner like

svn copy http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/branches/A.B-stable \
    http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/tags/A.B \
    -m "Tagging version A.B"

Prepare the minor branch for the first patch release
1. Update version number in build_support/version.m4. Locate and change the below lines
```
m4_define([PATCH_VERSION], [1])
m4_define([DEV_BUILD], [true])
```
2. Add an entry in NEWS
```
version A.B.1 (released DATE)
```
  The date is set when version A.B.1 is released.
3. Add an entry in ChangeLog
```
version A.B.1:
	- http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/log/trunk?rev=[M+1]&stop_rev=HEAD
	- http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/query?milestone=A.B.1&order=id
```
4. Commit changes to the repository, svn ci -m "Changes for future release A.B.1"
Update DownloadPage and WikiStart
1. Update the section Latest stable release to reflect the new version, that is
  - Change the version number
  - Update the package link to the new version
  - Update link to NEWS file to source:tags/A.B/NEWS
2. In section yat latest release update link to [source:tags/A.B/NEWS NEWS] and modify the svn commands to
```
svn checkout http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/tags/A.B yat-A.B
```
```
svn switch http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/tags/A.B
```
3. In section yat stable update link to [milestone:A.B.1 A.B.1] and modify the two svn commands to
```
svn checkout http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/branches/A.B-stable yat-A.Bdev
```
```
svn switch http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/branches/A.B-stable
```
4. In section yat devel update link to [milestone:A.B+1 A.B+1].
5. On WikiStart update links [source:tags/A.B/NEWS NEWS].
Close the milestone associated with the release and replace head with appropriate revision. Add a new milestone as needed (with log link).
Update the version list in Trac using the trac-admin tool. Remember to set the date.
If required, merge the minor release into the trunk. To avoid confusion and minimize the risk of loosing fixes, this step is only performed by the Merge Master.
1. Switch to the trunk or checkout a pristine version of the trunk.
```
svn switch http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/trunk
```
  or
```
svn checkout http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/trunk trunk_merge
cd trunk_merge
```
2. Merge changes into trunk. In this example the difference between a minor release tag and the first patch release tag is merged into the trunk WC
```
svn merge http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/branches/A.B-stable@fork_revision \
          http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/svn/tags/A.B\
```
3. Resolve all conflicts. Run tests and perform all other appropriate tests to make sure that the merge does not create havoc. Typically changes in build_support/version.m4 are problematic so check this file extra carefully.
4. Commit changes to the trunk branch.
```
svn commit -m "Merged patch release A.B to the trunk. Delta A.B - A.B@fork_revision"
```
  Remove trunk_merge if it was created.

Patch release procedure

This section describes what to do when publishing a patch release A.B.C.

Make sure that all commits are performed into to the branch, such as bumping version number(s) (configure.ac), acknowledge contributions (THANKS), update files NEWS and ChangeLog.
1. Update the release version number in build_support/version.m4. Locate and change the below line
```
m4_define([DEV_BUILD], [false])
```
2. Update THANKS.
3. Set the date for the new release in NEWS
```
version A.B.C (released 27 June 2007)
```
  Make sure that the items in NEWS cover all important bug fixes of the release.
4. Finalize the links to trac in ChangeLog
```
version A.B.C:
	- http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/log/branches/A.B-stable?rev=N&stop_rev=M
	- http://dev.thep.lu.se/yat/query?milestone=A.B.C&order=id
```
  where N is given by
```
$ svn update
N-2
```
  and M should have been set at previous release.
5. Commit changes to the repository, svn ci -m "Preparing release A.B.C"
Update copyright statements with command:
```
svndigest --copyright --no-report
```
Examine the updates and commit changes with svn ci -m "updating copyright statements". For this step svndigest is obviously needed.
Needless to say, make sure that the program is in a state to be released; make sure that all the tests pass, test the distribution package, and perform all other release tests you think is appropriate:

Run
```
make release
```
If everything is OK, attach the new package to the DownloadPage, else start over.