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 Note - when performing a release it is helpful to edit this document
  19 as you go, updating the example commands so that they are ready for
  20 the release that follows.
  21
  22 -------------------------------------------------
  23 How to perform a release.
  24 -------------------------------------------------
  25
  26   1. Choose dates for the branch and release.  Weekends are better
  27      because they are less busy.  It is typical to leave two weeks
  28      between creating the branch and creating the release.
  29
  30      Send an email out warning contributors about the forthcoming
  31      branch and release.
  32
  33   2. When the branch date is near:  Update the libiberty and config
  34      directories and the top level Makefile and configure files.  Also
  35      consider updating the toplevel libtool files.
  36
  37 -------------------------------------------------
  38 How to create the release branch.
  39 -------------------------------------------------
  40
  41 Approx time to complete from here: 2 hours ....
  42
  43   2.5 If you have not built from the sources recently then now is the
  44       time to check that they still work...
  45
  46   3. When branch day arrives add markers for the upcoming release to
  47      the NEWS files in gas, ld, and binutils.  No need to update NEWS
  48      in the gold directory - it has its own release numbering.
  49
  50      Likewise for the ChangeLog files in: bfd, binutils, config, cpu,
  51      elfcpp, gas, gold, gprof, include, ld, libctf, opcodes and toplevel.
  52
  53      Add a note of the name of the new branch to binutils/BRANCHES.
  54
  55      Commit these changes.
  56
  57   4. Create the release branch using:
  58
  59         git branch binutils-2_42-branch
  60         git push origin binutils-2_42-branch
  61
  62      If you get a message like:
  63
  64        remote: fatal: Invalid revision range 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f974f26cb16cc6fe3946f163c787a05e713fb77b
  65
  66      It appears that this can be ignored...
  67
  68   5. Make sure that the branch is there.  IE check out the branch sources:
  69
  70         git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-2_41-branch 2.41
  71
  72      If you get a message about being in a "detached head" state, something
  73      has gone wrong...
  74
  75      Keep the checked out sources - they are going to be needed in future
  76      steps.
  77
  78   6. Update "BINUTILS_BRANCH" in gdbadmin's crontab:
  79
  80      Log in as gdbadmin on sourceware.org, and then:
  81
  82         $ cd crontab
  83         $ vi crontab
  84         [change BINUTILS_BRANCH]
  85         $ cvs ci crontab
  86         $ crontab crontab
  87
  88      If you do not have access to this account, please feel free to
  89      ask Joel Brobecker <brobecker AT adacore DOT com>.
  90
  91   7. Rename the current HEAD version entry in Bugzilla, and create a
  92      new one.  E.g. rename "2.42 (HEAD)" to 2.42, and create
  93      "2.43 (HEAD)":
  94
  95         https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils
  96
  97   8. Update bfd/version.m4 on HEAD to indicate that is now a snapshot
  98      of the next release and the BRANCH to indicate that it is almost
  99      ready for the release.
 100
 101      So if the release is going to be 2.41 then the version number on
 102      the BRANCH should be set to 2.40.90 - ie almost, but not quite 2.41,
 103      and the version number on the MAINLINE should be set to 2.41.50 -
 104      ie half way to 2.42 release.
 105
 106      So the BRANCH bfd/version.m4 has:
 107
 108        m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.41.90])
 109
 110      and the MAINLINE has:
 111
 112        m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.42.50])
 113
 114      Regenerate various files on both branch and HEAD by configuring
 115      with "--enable-maintainer-mode --enable-gold --enable-shared" and then building
 116      with "make all-binutils all-gas all-gold all-gprof all-gprofng all-ld"
 117
 118      Add ChangeLog entries for the updated files.  Commit the changes.
 119      Make sure that this includes the .pot files as well as the
 120      configure and makefiles.
 121
 122   9. Create an initial pre-release:
 123
 124      a. Remove any auto-generated files, in order to force the
 125         src-release script to rebuild them.
 126
 127           cd <branch-sources>
 128           git clean -fdx
 129
 130      b. Create a source tarball of the BRANCH sources:
 131
 132           ./src-release.sh -x binutils
 133
 134         FIXME: Not sure if the following steps are needed...
 135
 136         Add a .dirstamp file to the gas/doc subdirectory:
 137
 138           touch -d <today's date> binutils-2.<release>/gas/doc/.dirstamp
 139           tar rvf binutils-<release>.tar binutils-<release>/gas/doc/.ditstamp
 140           rm binutils-<release>.tar.xz
 141           xz -9 binutils-<release>.tar
 142
 143           eg:
 144             touch -d 2024-01-01 binutils-2.41.90/gas/doc/.dirstamp
 145             tar rvf binutils-2.41.90.tar binutils-2.41.90/gas/doc/.dirstamp
 146             rm binutils-2.41.90.tar.xz
 147             xz -9 binutils-2.41.90.tar
 148
 149          ...END OF FIXME
 150
 151      c. Build a test target using this tarball.
 152
 153            cp binutils-2.41.90.tar.xz /dev/shm
 154            pushd /dev/shm
 155            tar xvf binutils-2.41.90.tar.xz
 156            mkdir build
 157            cd build
 158            ../binutils-2.41.90/configure --quiet --enable-gold
 159            make
 160            popd
 161
 162         If there are problems, fix them.
 163
 164      d. Upload the pre-release snapshot to the sourceware FTP site:
 165
 166           scp binutils-2.40.90.tar.xz sourceware.org:/var/ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots
 167           ssh sourceware.org sha256sum ~ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.40.90.tar.xz
 168
 169      e. Clean up the source directory again.
 170
 171          git clean -fdx
 172
 173   10. Tell the Translation Project where to find the new tarball.
 174       <coordinator@translationproject.org>
 175       qv: https://translationproject.org/html/maintainers.html
 176
 177 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 178 Dear Translation Project
 179
 180   The 2.42 release branch has been created for the GNU Binutils project.
 181
 182   A snapshot of the branch sources can be found here:
 183
 184     https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.41.90.tar.xz
 185
 186   We hope to make the official release of the sources on the <DATE>
 187   although that could change if there are important bugs that need to
 188   be fixed before the release.
 189 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 190
 191   11. Announce the availability of the snapshot and the branch on the
 192       binutils mailing list.  Set a date for when the release will
 193       actually happen.  Something like:
 194
 195
 196 Hi Everyone,
 197
 198   The <NEW_VERSION> branch has now been created:
 199
 200      git clone git://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-<NEW_VERSION>-branch
 201
 202   A snapshot of the sources is also available here:
 203
 204     https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-<OLD_VERSION>.90.tar.xz
 205
 206   Please could all patches for the branch be run by me.
 207   The rules for the branch are:
 208
 209     * No new features.
 210     * Target specific bug fixes are OK.
 211     * Generic bug fixes are OK if they are important and widely tested.
 212     * Documentation updates/fixes are OK.
 213     * Translation updates are OK.
 214     * Fixes for testsuite failures are OK.
 215
 216   Ideally I would like to make the release happen in two weeks time,
 217   i.e. <DATE>.  Which I hope will be enough time for everyone
 218   to get their final fixes in.
 219 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 220
 221   12. Build various different toolchains, test them and nag
 222       maintainers to fix any testsuite failures for their
 223       architectures...
 224
 225 ==============================================================================
 226 ==============================================================================
 227
 228 For the next few weeks, monitor the mailing list for new translations
 229 and respond to any requests to have patches applied to the branch.
 230
 231 ==============================================================================
 232 ==============================================================================
 233
 234 Then, a couple of weeks later ...
 235
 236 -------------------------------------------------
 237 How to create the release.
 238 -------------------------------------------------
 239
 240   20. Make sure that the branch sources still build, test and install
 241       correctly.  Make sure that the sources are clean, without any
 242       patch files (.reg .orig *~) left over.
 243
 244          cd <branch>
 245          git pull
 246          git clean -fdx
 247          cd <builds>
 248          make
 249
 250   21. a. Update the release number in bfd/version.m4 on the release
 251          branch to a whole new minor version number, without a point
 252          value.  Eg "2.41.90" becomes "2.42".  NB/ Not: "2.42.00"
 253
 254       b. Change bfd/development.sh to set all values to "false".
 255
 256       c. Regenerate the configure and makefiles.  And *info* files.
 257
 258             cd <build-configured-with-enable-maintainer-mode>
 259             make all-gas all-ld all-binutils all-gprof all-gold all-gprofng all-libctf
 260             make info
 261
 262       d. Create a ChangeLog from the git refs for all of the commits
 263          from when changelog entries were no longer required:
 264
 265            gitlog-to-changelog --since=2021-07-03 > ChangeLog.git
 266            git add ChangeLog.git
 267
 268          The gitlog-to-changelog script is part of the sources
 269          of the "config" project.
 270
 271          Add an entry for ChangeLog.git to the src-release.sh script's
 272          DEVO_SUPPORT list, so that it is included in the release.
 273
 274          FIXME: it would be better if the ChangeLog.git file was permanently
 275          added to the src-release.sh script, but this mean that it would have
 276          to exist in the master repository, and that the GDB project would
 277          need to agree to have it there.
 278
 279       e. Add ChangeLog entries for all of the updates and add a
 280          "this-is-the-2.42-release" comment and commit.
 281
 282            git add .
 283            git commit
 284            git push
 285
 286   22. Check that your file creation mask will create the
 287       correct file permissions.  Eg:
 288
 289             % umask
 290             22
 291
 292       Remove any spurious autom4te.cache files left over from the
 293       reconfiguring:
 294
 295             git clean -fdx
 296
 297   23. Note - check to see if any new files have been added to the top
 298       level of the source directory, but which are not in the
 299       DEVO_SUPPORT variable in the src-release.sh script.  If they are
 300       needed then add them.
 301
 302       PARANOIA: Check that there are no pending commits:
 303
 304              git status
 305
 306       Then create the release tarballs:
 307
 308             ./src-release.sh -b -g -l -x binutils
 309
 310       OR ... for a more reproducible tarball:
 311
 312             ./src-release.sh -b -g -l -x -r `git log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%F bfd/version.m4` binutils
 313
 314   24. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
 315       permissions.
 316
 317            tar tvf binutils-*.tar.xz | grep -e "---"
 318
 319       Also check that the man files are not empty.  (cf PR 28144).
 320
 321            tar tvf binutils-*.tar.xz | grep -e "\.1"
 322
 323   25. Sanity check the release on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu by building and
 324        running the testsuites (gas, gold, binutils and ld).
 325       Make the source directory read-only before building.
 326       Also test 'make install'.
 327       Also build the html and pdf documentation files.
 328       If necessary fix any problems.
 329
 330         pushd /dev/shm
 331         mkdir delme
 332         cd delme
 333         tar xvf <path-to-sources>/binutils-2.*.tar.lz
 334         chmod -R -w binutils-2.*
 335         mkdir build
 336         cd build
 337         ../binutils-2.*/configure --quiet --enable-gold --prefix=`pwd`/install --enable-plugins --enable-shared
 338         make all-gas all-gold all-ld all-binutils all-gprof all-gprofng
 339         make check-gas check-binutils check-ld check-gold
 340         make install-gas install-gold install-ld install-binutils install-gprofng
 341
 342         # Needed for step 29...
 343         make html pdf html-libctf pdf-libctf html-libsframe pdf-libsframe
 344
 345         popd
 346
 347   26. Tag the branch with the new release number:
 348         [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
 349         enter a tag message such as: "Official GNU Binutils 2.4x release"
 350
 351             git tag -a <TAG>         -u <Your Key>
 352             git tag -a binutils-2_42 -u DD9E3C4F      <=== Be careful to get the tag right
 353
 354         NB/ If you do sign the binaries make sure to use a key
 355         that has been published with the FSF.
 356
 357         Then push the release:
 358
 359             git push origin binutils-2_42
 360
 361         If you get an error message along the lines of:
 362           "Invalid revision range ..."
 363         you can ignore it.
 364
 365   27.  Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
 366
 367           gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-2.42.tar.*
 368
 369         Be prepared to provide the password for the key, if you
 370         signed the binaries.
 371
 372         The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
 373         It uses the ncftp package for transmitting the files.
 374
 375         Check for an email response from the upload.  If necessary
 376         fix any problems.  (The response might take a while, so
 377         proceed with the next steps if you are confident that
 378         everything is OK).
 379
 380   28. Upload the tarballs (and signatures) to sourceware.org:
 381
 382        sftp sourceware.org
 383          cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
 384          put binutils-2.4*.tar.*
 385          chmod 644 binutils-2.4*.tar.*
 386          quit
 387
 388       FIXME: Are the signatures (created by the gnupload script in step 27)
 389       needed ?  [The above commands upload them and nobody has complained,
 390       so suggest that they are retained].
 391
 392   29. Update web pages.  For sourceware.org:
 393
 394       Create a new documentation folder on the sourceware.org web
 395       pages as /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils/docs-2.4x.
 396
 397        sftp sourceware.org
 398          cd /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils
 399          mkdir docs-2.4x
 400          cd docs-2.4x
 401          mkdir as
 402          mkdir bfd
 403          mkdir binutils
 404          mkdir gprof      [NB/ gprofng is not needed]
 405          mkdir ld
 406          cd ../docs-2.4(x-1)
 407          get index.html
 408
 409       Update the (local copy of the) index.html file to point to the
 410       new documentation and mention the new version and then upload it.
 411
 412          cd ../docs-2.4x
 413          put index.html
 414
 415       Make the html documentation locally with the "make html" command.
 416       (This should have been done by step 25 above).
 417       Then upload and rename the directories as needed.
 418       (Sftp does not support recursive uploads however, so the directories
 419       have to be made and populated by hand).
 420
 421          cd as
 422          lcd <build-dir>/gas/doc/as
 423          put *                {be patient - this takes a long time...}
 424          lcd ..
 425          cd ..
 426          put as.html
 427          put as.pdf
 428
 429          cd bfd
 430          lcd ../../bfd/doc/bfd
 431          put *
 432          cd ..
 433          lcd ..
 434          put bfd.html
 435          put bfd.pdf
 436
 437          cd binutils
 438          lcd ../../binutils/binutils_html      <=== NB/ Path not like others
 439          put *
 440          cd ..
 441          lcd ../doc                       <=== Also not like the others
 442          put binutils.html
 443          put binutils.pdf
 444
 445          cd gprof
 446          lcd ../../gprof/doc/gprof
 447          put *
 448          cd ..
 449          lcd ../..                        <==== Different again
 450          put gprof.html
 451          put gprof.pdf
 452
 453          cd ld
 454          lcd ../ld/doc/ld
 455          put *
 456          cd ..
 457          lcd ../..
 458          put ld.html
 459          put ld.pdf
 460
 461          lcd ../gprofng/doc
 462          put gprofng.html
 463          put gprofng.pdf
 464
 465          lcd ../../libctf/doc
 466          put ctf-spec.html
 467          put ctf-spec.pdf
 468
 469          lcd ../../libsframe/doc
 470          put sframe-spec.html
 471          put sframe-spec.pdf
 472
 473       Edit the top level binutils index.html file to change the links
 474       to point to the new documentation.
 475
 476          cd ../..
 477          get index.html
 478          [edit]
 479          [check that it works]
 480          put index.html
 481          rm docs
 482          ln -s docs-2.4x docs
 483          quit
 484
 485       Check that the new web page is correct:
 486
 487           https://sourceware.org/binutils/
 488
 489       For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
 490       and ask them to copy the change(s):
 491 ---------------------------------------
 492 Hi FSF Webmasters,
 493
 494   Please could the GNU Binutils webpage at:
 495
 496 https://www.gnu.org/software/binutils/binutils.html
 497
 498   be updated to indicate that there is now a newer version available
 499   (2.4x).  I have already updated the related page on the sourceware
 500   website so this might be useful as a template:
 501
 502 https://sourceware.org/binutils/
 503
 504   Thanks very much.
 505
 506 Cheers
 507 --------------------------------------
 508
 509   30. Send emails to binutils@sourceware.org, info-gnu@gnu.org and
 510       David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
 511       Sign the email and include the checksum:
 512
 513           sha256sum binutils-2.4*.tar.*
 514
 515       (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
 516       social media).  Something like this:
 517       -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 518         Hi Everyone,
 519
 520         We are pleased to announce that version 2.4x of the GNU Binutils project
 521         sources have been released and are now available for download at:
 522
 523           https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
 524           https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
 525
 526           checksums: xxxx
 527
 528         As an experiment these tarballs were made with the new "-r <date>"
 529         option supported by the src-release.sh script.  This attempts to make
 530         reproducible tarballs by sorting the files and passing the
 531         "--mtime=<date>" option to tar.  The date used for these tarballs was
 532         obtained by running:
 533
 534           git log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%F bfd/version.m4
 535
 536         This release contains numerous bug fixes, and also the
 537         following new features:
 538
 539           <extract info from the NEWS files>
 540
 541         For more information see:
 542
 543           https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=gas/NEWS;;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
 544           https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=ld/NEWS;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
 545           https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=binutils/NEWS;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
 546
 547         Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
 548         present, for helping to make this release possible.
 549
 550       -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 551
 552   31. Clean up the source tree:
 553
 554         git clean -fdx .
 555
 556   32. Edit bfd/development.sh on the branch and set the development flag
 557       to "true".  (Leave the experimental flag set to "false").  Also bump
 558       the version in bfd/version.m4 by adding a trailing .0, so that the
 559       date suffix keeps the version lower than the trunk version.
 560       Regenerate files.  Commit these changes.
 561
 562   33. Email the binutils list telling everyone that the 2.4x branch
 563       is now open for business as usual and that patches no longer
 564       need special approval.
 565
 566   34. Examine the bfd/config.bfd file in the mainline sources and move
 567       any pending obsolete targets into the definitely obsolete
 568       section.  Create a changelog entry and commit.
 569
 570   Sit back and relax, you are all done.
 571 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 572 How to perform a POINT release.
 573 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 574
 575 A point release is easier than a normal release since a lot of the
 576 work has already been done.  The branch has been created, the
 577 translations updated and the documentation uploaded.  So the procedure
 578 looks like this:
 579
 580   0. Decide that a point release is necessary.
 581
 582      Usually this only happens when a sufficient number of serious
 583      bugs have been found and fixed since the previous release, and a
 584      new official release is not imminent.
 585
 586   1. Tell the community that a point release is happening.  Ask
 587      maintainers to ensure that their ports are up to date on the
 588      release branch.  Ask the community if there are any bug fixes
 589      which are missing from the branch.  Allow some time for the
 590      responses to this step.
 591
 592   2. Make sure that the branch sources build, test and install
 593      correctly.
 594
 595   2.5 Prepare a list of the bugs which have been fixed.  This
 596       will be needed for step 8.
 597
 598   3. In the branch sources:
 599
 600        a. Update the minor release number in bfd/version.m4.
 601        b. Edit bfd/development.sh, set "development=false".
 602        c. Regenerate the configure files.
 603        d. Remove spurious autom4te.cache files:
 604
 605           git clean -fdx
 606
 607        e. Commit the updates along with a "this-is-the-2.3x.y-release"
 608           note in all of the changelogs.
 609        f. Tag the branch with the new release number:
 610
 611             git tag -a binutils-2_3x_y
 612               [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
 613             git push origin binutils-2_3x_y
 614
 615        g. Check that your file creation mask will create the
 616           correct file permissions.  Ie:
 617
 618             umask 022
 619
 620        h. Create the release tarballs:
 621
 622             ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils
 623
 624        i. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
 625           permissions.
 626
 627        j. Clean the source tree again
 628
 629             git clean -fdx
 630
 631        k. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=true".
 632        l. Commit this change.
 633
 634   4. [If paranoid - upload the tarballs to one of the FTP servers and
 635       ask people to test it before going on to step 5].
 636
 637   5. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
 638
 639        gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-*.tar.*
 640
 641      The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
 642
 643   6. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:
 644
 645        sftp sourceware.org
 646          cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
 647          put binutils-*.tar.*
 648          chmod 644 binutils-*.tar.*
 649          quit
 650
 651     It is OK to upload the signatures as well.
 652
 653   7. Update web pages.  For sourceware.org:
 654
 655       * Log on to sourceware.org
 656       * Go to /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils
 657       * Edit index.html and update the latest release number (if this is a latest release)
 658
 659       For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
 660       and ask them to make the change(s).
 661
 662   8. Send an emails to the binutils list, info-gnu@gnu.org and
 663      David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
 664      (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
 665      social media).  Something like this:
 666
 667 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 668 Hi Everyone,
 669
 670   We are pleased to announce that version 2.3x.y of the GNU Binutils
 671   project sources have been released and are now available for download at:
 672
 673     https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
 674     https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
 675
 676   This is a point release over the previous 2.3x version, containing bug
 677   fixes but no new features.
 678
 679   Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
 680   present, for helping to make this release possible.
 681
 682   Here is a list of the bugs that have been fixed:
 683     xx
 684     xx
 685     xx
 686     xx
 687 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 688
 689   9. Create a new Bugzilla entry for the point release.
 690
 691        https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils
 692
 693      And a new milestone too:
 694
 695        https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editmilestones.cgi?product=binutils
 696 \f
 697 Copyright (C) 2017-2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 698
 699 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
 700 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
 701 notice and this notice are preserved.