/brz/remove-bazaar

Releasing Bazaar

================

This document describes the processes for making and announcing a Bazaar

release, and managing the release process.  This is just one phase of the 

`overall development cycle <cycle.html>`_, but it's the most complex part.

This document gives a checklist you can follow from start to end in one

go.

.. contents::

Starting the release phase

--------------------------

When it's time to make the release candidate:

#. We create a new pqm-controlled branch for this release series, by

   asking a Canonical sysadmin.  

   This branch means that from the first release candidate onwards,

   general development continues on the trunk, and only

   specifically-targetted fixes go into the release.

#. Register the branch at <https://launchpad.net/products/bzr/+addbranch>

#. Make a release candidate.

Preparing the tree for release

------------------------------

#. Make a local branch for preparing this release.  (Only for the first 

   release in a series, otherwise you should already have a branch.) ::

     bzr branch trunk prepare-1.14

#. Download the pqm plugin and install it into your ``~/.bazaar/plugins``::

     bzr branch lp:bzr-pqm ~/.bazaar/plugins/pqm

#. Configure pqm-submit for this branch, with a section like this in

   ``~/.bazaar/locations.conf``::

	[/home/mbp/bzr/prepare-1.14]

	pqm_email = Canonical PQM <pqm@bazaar-vcs.org>

	submit_branch = http://bazaar-vcs.org/bzr/bzr.1.14

	public_branch = http://bazaar.your-domain.com/bzr

	submit_to = bazaar@lists.canonical.com

	smtp_server = mail.your-domain.com:25

    Please see <http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org/latest/developers/HACKING.html#an-overview-of-pqm>

    for more details on PQM

#. In the release branch, update  ``version_info`` in ``./bzrlib/__init__.py``.

   Double check that ./bzr ``_script_version`` matches ``version_info``. Check

   the output of ``bzr --version``. 

#. Add the date and release number to ``./NEWS``

#. To check that all bugs mentioned in ``./NEWS`` are actually marked as

   closed in Launchpad, you can run ``tools/check-newsbugs.py``::

     ./tools/check-newsbugs.py NEWS

   (But note there can be some false positives, and this script may be

   flaky 

   <https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/bzr/+bug/354985>.  Don't let this

   slow you down too much.)

#. Summarize into one or two paragraphs what's new in this release.

#. Commit these changes to the release branch, using a command like::

     bzr commit -m "Release 1.14." 

   The diff before you commit will be something like::

     === modified file 'NEWS'

     --- NEWS        2008-09-17 23:09:18 +0000

     +++ NEWS        2008-09-23 16:14:54 +0000

     @@ -4,6 +4,23 @@

      .. contents::

     +bzr 1.7 2008-09-23

     +------------------

     +

     +This release includes many bug fixes and a few performance and feature

     +improvements.  ``bzr rm`` will now scan for missing files and remove them,

     +like how ``bzr add`` scans for unknown files and adds them. A bit more

     +polish has been applied to the stacking code. The b-tree indexing code has

     +been brought in, with an eye on using it in a future repository format.

     +There are only minor installer changes since bzr-1.7rc2.

     +

      bzr 1.7rc2 2008-09-17

      ---------------------

     === modified file 'bzrlib/__init__.py'

     --- bzrlib/__init__.py  2008-09-16 21:39:28 +0000

     +++ bzrlib/__init__.py  2008-09-23 16:14:54 +0000

     @@ -41,7 +41,7 @@

      # Python version 2.0 is (2, 0, 0, 'final', 0)."  Additionally we use a

      # releaselevel of 'dev' for unreleased under-development code.

     -version_info = (1, 7, 0, 'candidate', 2)

     +version_info = (1, 7, 0, 'final', 0)

      # API compatibility version: bzrlib is currently API compatible with 1.7.

#. Tag the new release::

     bzr tag bzr-1.14

#. Push those changes to a bzr reposistory that is public and accessible on

   the Internet. PQM will pull from this repository when it attempts to merge

   your changes. Then submit those changes to PQM for merge into the

   appropriate release branch::

     bzr push

     bzr pqm-submit -m "(mbp) prepare 1.14"

#. When PQM succeeds, pull down the master release branch.

Making the source tarball

-------------------------

#. Change into the source directory and run ::

     make dist

   This also makes a zip file, which is easier to access on Microsoft

   Windows.

#. Now we'll try expanding this tarball and running the test suite

   to check for packaging problems::

     make check-dist-tarball

Publishing the release

----------------------

Now you have the releasable product.  The next step is making it

available to the world.

#. In <https://launchpad.net/bzr/> click the "Release series" for this

   series, to take you to e.g. <https://launchpad.net/bzr/1.14>.  Then

   click "Register a release", and add information about this release.

#. Within that release, upload the source tarball and zipfile and the GPG

   signature.  Or, if you prefer, use the

   ``tools/packaging/lp-upload-release`` script to do this.

#. Link from http://bazaar-vcs.org/Download to the tarball and signature.

#. Announce on the `Bazaar home page <http://bazaar-vcs.org/>`_.

#. Check that the documentation for this release is available in 

   <http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org>.  It should be automatically build when the 

   branch is created, by a cron script ``update-bzr-docs`` on

   ``escudero``.

Announcing the release

----------------------

Now that the release is publicly available, tell people about it.

#. Make an announcement mail.

   For release candidates, this is sent to the ``bazaar-announce`` and

   ``bazaar`` lists.  For final releases, it should also be cc'd to 

   ``info-gnu@gnu.org``, ``python-announce-list@python.org``, 

   ``bug-directory@gnu.org``.  In both cases, it is good to set

   ``Reply-To: bazaar@lists.canonical.com``, so that people who reply to

   the announcement don't spam other lists.

   The announce mail will look something like this::

      Subject: bzr x.yy released!

      <<Summary paragraph from news>>

      The Bazaar team is happy to announce availability of a new 

      release of the bzr adaptive version control system.

      Bazaar is part of the GNU system <http://gnu.org/>.

      Thanks to everyone who contributed patches, suggestions, and

      feedback.

      Bazaar is now available for download from 

      http://bazaar-vcs.org/Download as a source tarball; packages 

      for various systems will be available soon.

      <<NEWS section from this release back to the last major release>>

   Feel free to tweak this to your taste.

#. Make an announcement through <https://launchpad.net/bzr/+announce>

#. Update the IRC channel topic. Use the ``/topic`` command to do this,

   ensuring the new topic text keeps the project name, web site link, etc.

#. Announce on http://freshmeat.net/projects/bzr/

   This should be done for both release candidates and final releases. If

   you do not have a Freshmeat account yet, ask one of the existing

   admins.

#. Update `<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazaar_(software)>`_ -- this should be done

for final releases but not for Release Candidates.

#. Update the python package index: <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/bzr> - best

   done by running ::

       python setup.py register

   Remember to check the results afterwards.

   To be able to register the release you must create an account on

   <http://pypi.python.org/pypi> and have one of the existing owners of

   the project add you to the group.

Merging the released code back to trunk

---------------------------------------

Merge the release branch back into the trunk.  Check that changes in NEWS

were merged into the right sections.  If it's not already done, advance

the version number in ``bzr`` and ``bzrlib/__init__.py``.  Submit this

back into pqm for bzr.dev.

You should also merge (not pull) the release branch into

``lp:~bzr/bzr/current``, so that branch contains the current released code

at any time.

Starting a cycle

----------------

To start a new release cycle:

#. Send mail to the list with the key dates, who will be the release

   manager, and the main themes or targeted bugs.  Ask people to nominate

   objectives, or point out any high-risk things that are best done early,

   or that interact with other changes.

#. Add a new "series" in Launchpad at <https://launchpad.net/bzr/+addseries>.  

   There is one series for every *x.y* release.

#. Add milestones to that series for the release candidate and the final

   release, and their expected dates.

#. Deactivate old releases and their milestones.

#. Update the version number in the ``bzr`` script, and the

   ``bzrlib/__init__.py`` file.

See also

--------

* `Packaging into the bzr PPA <ppa.html>`_ to make and publish Ubuntu

  packages.

* `Bazaar Developer Document Catalog <index.html>`_

* `Development cycles <cycle.html>`_: things that happen during the cycle

  before the actual release.

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