1 README for MAKING BINUTILS RELEASES
3 This is a collection of notes on how to perform a binutils release. A
4 lot of this information can also be found in the maintain.texi file in
7 https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/
9 It is useful to have a cloned copy of the sources of this project as
10 it also contains an upload script used to install tarballs on the GNU
13 Make sure that you have upload authority on sourceware and fencepost.
14 Beware - this is an involved process and can take weeks to complete.
15 See the maintain.texi file for details on how to obtain these
18 -------------------------------------------------
19 How to perform a release.
20 -------------------------------------------------
22 1. Send an email out warning contributors about the forthcoming
23 branch. Set a date for the branch (weekends are better because
26 2. When the branch date is near: Update the libiberty and config
27 directories and the top level configure files.
29 3. When branch day arrives add markers for the upcoming release to
30 gas, ld, gold and binutils NEWS files.
31 [If using the make-prerelease.sh script, check that
32 common.sh has the right values].
33 [make-prelease.sh command i]
34 [make-prelease.sh command C]
35 Likewise for all of the ChangeLog files.
36 Add a note of the name of the new branch to binutils/BRANCHES.
38 [make-prerelease.sh command C]
40 4. Create the release branch using:
42 git tag -a binutils-2_30-branch [e.g. for the 2.30 branch...]
43 git push --tags origin binutils-2_30-branch
45 5. Update "BINUTILS_BRANCH" in gdbadmin's crontab:
47 Log in as gdbadmin on sourceware.org, and then:
51 [change BINUTILS_BRANCH]
55 If you do not have access to this account, please feel free to
56 ask Joel Brobecker <brobecker AT adacore DOT com>.
58 6. Update bfd/configure and bfd/configure.ac on HEAD to indicate
59 snapshot of the following release.
60 [make-prerelease.sh command hv + C]
62 7. Rename the current HEAD version entry in Bugzilla, and create a
63 new one. E.g. rename "2.30 (HEAD)" to 2.30, and create "2.31
66 https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils
68 8. Update the release number in bfd/version.m4 for the mainline and
69 the branch. The mainline should have the minor number
70 incremented, but the branch only needs the point value set to 90
71 as the release has not actually happened yet.
73 Regenerate various files on both branch and HEAD by configuring
74 with --enable-maintainer-mode. NB/ Remember to build gold and
75 gprof. Commit the changes. Make sure that this includes the
76 .pot files as well as the configure and makefiles.
78 9. Create an initial prerelease:
80 a. Change the version on the branch (bfd/version.m4), regenerate
81 the files, and check this in.
83 b. Create a source tarball of the branch sources:
85 ./src-release -x binutils
87 c. Build a test target using this tarball.
89 d. Upload the prerelease snapshot to the FTP:
91 scp ../binutils-$version.tar.xz sourceware.org:~ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots
92 ssh sourceware.org md5sum ~ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-$version.tar.xz
94 10. Send it to the Translation Project:
96 http://translationproject.org/html/maintainers.html
98 Sending mail for one of the POT files is sufficient.
100 11. Announce the availability of the snapshot and the branch on the
101 binutils mailing list. Set a date for when the release will
102 actually happen. Something like:
103 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
106 The 2.XX branch has now been created:
108 git clone git://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-2_XX-branch 2.XX
110 A snapshot of the sources is also available here:
112 ftp://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.XX.0.tar.xz
114 Please could all patches for the branch be run by me.
115 The rules for the branch are:
118 * Target specific bug fixes are OK.
119 * Generic bug fixes are OK if they are important and widely tested.
120 * Documentation updates/fixes are OK.
121 * Translation updates are OK.
122 * Fixes for testsuite failures are OK.
124 Ideally I would like to make the release happen in two weeks time,
125 i.e. Saturday 27th Jan. Which I hope will be enough time for everyone
126 to get their final fixes in.
127 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
129 12. Build various different toolchains, test them and nag
130 maintainers to fix any testsuite failures for their
134 When the time comes to actually make the release....
137 20. Make sure that the branch sources still build, test and install
140 21. Update the release number in bfd/version.m4 on the release
141 branch to a whole new minor version number, without a point
142 value. Eg "2.29.90" becomes "2.30". Change bfd/development.sh
143 to set the value to "false". Regenerate the configure and
144 makefiles. Add changelog entries for the updates and add a
145 "this-is-the-2.XX-release" commit and commit. Make sure to
146 include the .gmo files.
148 22. Check that your file creation mask will create the
149 correct file permissions. Eg:
153 23. Create the release tarballs:
155 ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils
157 24. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
158 permissions. FIXME: The tarballs will contain spurious
159 autom4te.cache directories which could be removed to reduce
162 25. Sanity check the release on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu by building and
163 running the testsuite. Make the source directory read-only
164 before building. Also test "make install". If necessary fix
167 26. Tag the branch with the new release number:
169 git tag -a binutils-2_XX
170 [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
171 git push origin binutils-2_XX
173 NB/ If you do sign the binaries make sure to use a key
174 that has been published with the FSF.
176 27. Clean up the source tree. (Use "git status" to find new
177 files, and remove them).
179 28. Edit bfd/development.sh on the branch and set
180 "development=true". Also bump the version by adding a trailing
181 .0, so that the date suffix keeps the version lower than the
182 trunk version. Regenerate files. Commit these changes.
184 29. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
186 gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-X.XX.tar.*
188 The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
190 Check for an email response from the upload. If necessary
193 30. Upload the tarballs (and signatures) to sourceware.org:
196 cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
197 put binutils-X.XX.tar.*
198 chmod 644 binutils-X.XX.tar.*
201 FIXME: Should the signatures (created by the gnupload script in
202 step 29) be uploaded as well ?
204 31. Update web pages. For sourceware.org:
206 Create a new documentation folder on the sourceware.org web
207 pages as /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils/docs-X.XX.
208 Make the html documentation locally with the "make html" command
209 and then upload and rename the directories as needed. Create an
210 index.html file and then edit the docs link to point to the new
213 Update the sourceware.org site to point to the new documentation
214 and mention the new version.
216 For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
217 and ask them to make the change(s).
219 32. Send emails to binutils@sourceware.org, info-gnu@gnu.org and
220 David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
221 Sign the email and include the checksum.
222 (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
223 social media). Something like this:
224 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
227 We are pleased to announce that version 2.XX of the Binutils project
228 sources have been released and are now available for download at:
230 https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
231 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
235 This release contains numerous bug fixes, and also the
236 following new features:
238 <extract info from the NEWS files>
240 Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
241 present, for helping to make this release possible.
243 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
245 -------------------------------------------------
246 How to perform a point release.
247 -------------------------------------------------
249 A point release is easier than a normal release since a lot of the
250 work has already been done. The branch has been created, the
251 translations updated and the documentation uploaded. So the procedure
254 0. Decide that a point release is necessary.
256 Usually this only happens when a sufficient number of serious
257 bugs have been found and fixed since the previous release, and a
258 new official release is not imminent.
260 1. Tell the community that a point release is happening. Ask
261 maintainers to ensure that their ports are up to date on the
262 release branch. Ask the community if there are any bug fixes
263 which are missing from the branch. Allow some time for the
264 responses to this step.
266 2. Make sure that the branch sources build, test and install
269 2.5 Prepare a list of the bugs which have been fixed. This
270 will be needed for step 8.
272 3. In the branch sources:
274 a. Update the minor release number in bfd/version.m4.
275 b. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=false".
276 c. Regenerate the configure files.
277 d. Commit the updates along with a "this-is-the-2.XX.X-release"
278 note in all of the changelogs.
279 e. Tag the branch with the new release number:
281 git tag -a binutils-2_XX_X
282 [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
283 git push origin binutils-2_XX_X
285 f. Check that your file creation mask will create the
286 correct file permissions. Eg:
290 g. Create the release tarballs:
291 ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils
293 h. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
296 i. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=true".
297 j. Commit this change into the git repository.
298 k. Clean up the source tree. (Use "git status" to find new
299 files, and remove them).
301 FIXME: The tarballs will contain spurious autom4te.cache
302 directories which could be removed to reduce their size.
304 4. [If paranoid - upload the tarballs to one of the FTP servers and
305 ask people to test it before going on to step 5].
307 5. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
309 gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
311 The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
313 6. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:
316 cd /ftp/pub/binutils/releases
317 put binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
318 chmod 644 binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
321 FIXME: Should the signatures (created by the gnupload script in
322 step 5) be uploaded as well ?
324 7. Update web pages. For sourceware.org:
326 * Log on to sourceware.org
327 * Go /www/htdocs/binutils
330 For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
331 and ask them to make the change(s).
333 8. Send an emails to the binutils list, info-gnu@gnu.org and
334 David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
335 (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
336 social media). Something like this:
337 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
340 We are pleased to announce that version 2.XX.X of the Binutils project
341 sources have been released and are now available for download at:
343 https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
344 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
346 This is a point release over the previous 2.XX version, containing bug
347 fixes but no new features.
349 Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
350 present, for helping to make this release possible.
352 Here is a list of the bugs that have been fixed:
357 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
360 Copyright (C) 2017-2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
362 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
363 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
364 notice and this notice are preserved.