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 27. Clean up the source tree. (Use "git status" to find new
174 files, and remove them).
176 28. Edit bfd/development.sh on the branch and set
177 "development=true". Also bump the version by adding a trailing
178 .0, so that the date suffix keeps the version lower than the
179 trunk version. Regenerate files. Commit these changes.
181 29. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
183 gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
185 The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
187 30. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:
190 cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
191 put binutils-X.XX.tar.*
192 chmod 644 binutils-X.XX.tar.*
195 FIXME: Should the signatures (created by the gnupload script in
196 step 29) be uploaded as well ?
198 31. Update web pages. For sourceware.org:
200 Create a new documentation folder on the sourceware.org web
201 pages as /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils/docs-X.XX.
202 Make the html documentation locally with the "make html" command
203 and then upload and rename the directories as needed. Create an
204 index.html file and then edit the docs link to point to the new
207 Update the sourceware.org site to point to the new documentation
208 and mention the new version.
210 For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
211 and ask them to make the change(s).
213 32. Send emails to binutils@sourceware.org, info-gnu@gnu.org and
214 David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
215 Sign the email and include the checksum.
216 (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
217 social media). Something like this:
218 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
221 We are pleased to announce that version 2.XX of the Binutils project
222 sources have been released and are now available for download at:
224 https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
225 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
229 This release contains numerous bug fixes, and also the
230 following new features:
232 <extract info from the NEWS files>
234 Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
235 present, for helping to make this release possible.
237 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
239 -------------------------------------------------
240 How to perform a point release.
241 -------------------------------------------------
243 A point release is easier than a normal release since a lot of the
244 work has already been done. The branch has been created, the
245 translations updated and the documentation uploaded. So the procedure
248 0. Decide that a point release is necessary.
250 Usually this only happens when a sufficient number of serious
251 bugs have been found and fixed since the previous release, and a
252 new official release is not imminent.
254 1. Tell the community that a point release is happening. Ask
255 maintainers to ensure that their ports are up to date on the
256 release branch. Ask the community if there are any bug fixes
257 which are missing from the branch. Allow some time for the
258 responses to this step.
260 2. Make sure that the branch sources build, test and install
263 2.5 Prepare a list of the bugs which have been fixed. This
264 will be needed for step 8.
266 3. In the branch sources:
268 a. Update the minor release number in bfd/version.m4.
269 b. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=false".
270 c. Regenerate the configure files.
271 d. Commit the updates along with a "this-is-the-2.XX.X-release"
272 note in all of the changelogs.
273 e. Tag the branch with the new release number:
275 git tag -a binutils-2_XX_X
276 [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
277 git push origin binutils-2_XX_X
279 f. Check that your file creation mask will create the
280 correct file permissions. Eg:
284 g. Create the release tarballs:
285 ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils
287 h. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
290 i. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=true".
291 j. Commit this change into the git repository.
292 k. Clean up the source tree. (Use "git status" to find new
293 files, and remove them).
295 FIXME: The tarballs will contain spurious autom4te.cache
296 directories which could be removed to reduce their size.
298 4. [If paranoid - upload the tarballs to one of the FTP servers and
299 ask people to test it before going on to step 5].
301 5. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
303 gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
305 The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
307 6. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:
310 cd /ftp/pub/binutils/releases
311 put binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
312 chmod 644 binutils-X.XX.X.tar.*
315 FIXME: Should the signatures (created by the gnupload script in
316 step 5) be uploaded as well ?
318 7. Update web pages. For sourceware.org:
320 * Log on to sourceware.org
321 * Go /www/htdocs/binutils
324 For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
325 and ask them to make the change(s).
327 8. Send an emails to the binutils list, info-gnu@gnu.org and
328 David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
329 (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
330 social media). Something like this:
331 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
334 We are pleased to announce that version 2.XX.X of the Binutils project
335 sources have been released and are now available for download at:
337 https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
338 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
340 This is a point release over the previous 2.XX version, containing bug
341 fixes but no new features.
343 Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
344 present, for helping to make this release possible.
346 Here is a list of the bugs that have been fixed:
351 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
354 Copyright (C) 2017-2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
356 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
357 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
358 notice and this notice are preserved.