binutils/README-how-to-make-a-release

   1                 README for MAKING BINUTILS RELEASES
   2
   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
   5 the gnulib project:
   6
   7   https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/
   8
   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
  11 FTP server.
  12
  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
  16 permissions.
  17
  18 -------------------------------------------------
  19 How to perform a release.
  20 -------------------------------------------------
  21
  22 xxx -- fill in stuff here -- xxx
  23
  24 -------------------------------------------------
  25 How to perform a point release.
  26 -------------------------------------------------
  27
  28 A point release is easier than a normal release since a lot of the
  29 work has already been done.  The branch has been created, the
  30 translations updated and the documentation uploaded.  So the procedure
  31 looks like this:
  32
  33   0. Decide that a point release is necessary.
  34
  35      Usually this only happens when a sufficient number of serious
  36      bugs have been found and fixed since the previous release, and a
  37      new official release is not imminent.
  38
  39   1. Tell the community that a point release is happening.  Ask
  40      maintainers to ensure that their ports are up to date on the
  41      release branch.  Ask the community if there are any bug fixes
  42      which are missing from the branch.  Allow some time for the
  43      responses to this step.
  44
  45   2. Make sure that the branch sources build, test and install
  46      correctly.
  47
  48   3. In the branch sources...
  49
  50        Update the minor release number in bfd/version.m4.
  51        Regenerate the configure files.
  52        Commit the updates along with a "this-is-the-2.XX.X-release" note
  53        in the changelogs.
  54
  55   4. Tag the branch with the new release number:
  56
  57         git tag -a binutils-2_XX_X
  58           [optional -u XXXXX to sign with a gpg key]
  59           [optional -f to move an already created tag]
  60
  61         git push origin
  62
  63   5. Create the release tarballs:
  64
  65        a. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=false".
  66        b. ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils
  67        c. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=true".
  68
  69      FIXME: Really the development.sh file should be changed by the
  70      src-release script on the fly.  The development=false flag only
  71      wants to be set in the release tarballs however, not the branch
  72      sources as the branch will continue to have (development) patches
  73      checked in to it.
  74
  75      FIXME: The tarballs will contain spurious autom4te.cache
  76      directories which could be removed to reduce their size.
  77
  78   6. [If paranoid - upload the tarballs to one of the FTP servers and
  79       ask people to test it before going on to step 7].
  80
  81   7. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
  82
  83        gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
  84
  85      gnupload is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
  86
  87   8. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:
  88
  89        sftp sourceware.org
  90          cd /ftp/pub/binutils/releases
  91          put binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
  92          chmod 644 binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
  93          quit
  94
  95     FIXME: Should the signatures (created by the gnupload script in
  96     step 7) be uploaded as well ?
  97
  98   9. Clean up the source tree.  (Use "git status" to find new files,
  99      and remove them).
 100
 101   10. Update web pages.  For sourceware.org:
 102
 103       * Log on to sourceware.org
 104       * Go /www/htdocs/binutils
 105       * Edit index.html
 106
 107       For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
 108       and ask them to make the change(s).
 109
 110   11. Send an emails to the binutils list, info-gnu@gnu.org and
 111       David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
 112       (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
 113       social media).  Something like this:
 114 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 115 Hi Everyone,
 116
 117   We are pleased to announce that version 2.XX.X of the Binutils project
 118   sources have been released and are now available for download at:
 119
 120     https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
 121     https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
 122
 123   This is a point release over the previous 2.XX version, containing bug
 124   fixes but no new features.
 125
 126   Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
 127   present, for helping to make this release possible.
 128 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 129
 130 \f
 131 Copyright (C) 2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 132
 133 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
 134 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
 135 notice and this notice are preserved.