README for MAKING BINUTILS RELEASES

This is a collection of notes on how to perform a binutils release.  A
lot of this information can also be found in the maintain.texi file in
the gnulib project:

  https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/

It is useful to have a cloned copy of the sources of this project as
it also contains an upload script used to install tarballs on the GNU
FTP server.

Make sure that you have upload authority on sourceware and fencepost.
See the maintain.texi file for details on how to obtain these
permissions.

Note - when performing a release it is helpful to edit this document
as you go, updating the example commands so that they are ready for
the release that follows.

-------------------------------------------------
How to perform a release.
-------------------------------------------------

  1. Choose dates for the branch and release.  Weekends are better
     because they are less busy.  It is typical to leave two weeks
     between creating the branch and creating the release.
     
     Send an email out warning contributors about the forthcoming
     branch and release.

  2. When the branch date is near:  Update the libiberty and config
     directories and the top level Makefile and configure files.  Also
     consider updating the toplevel libtool files.

-------------------------------------------------
How to create the release branch.
-------------------------------------------------

Approx time to complete from here: 2 hours ...

  2.5 If you have not built from the sources recently then now is the
      time to check that they still work...

  3. When branch day arrives add markers for the upcoming release to
     the NEWS files in gas, ld, and binutils.  No need to update NEWS
     in the gold directory - it has its own release numbering.

     Likewise for the ChangeLog files in: bfd, binutils, cpu,
     elfcpp, gas, gold, gprof, include, ld, libctf, opcodes and toplevel.

     Add a note of the name of the new branch to binutils/BRANCHES.

     Commit these changes.

  4. Create the release branch using:

	git branch binutils-2_43-branch
        git push origin binutils-2_43-branch

     If you get a message like:
     
       remote: fatal: Invalid revision range 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f974f26cb16cc6fe3946f163c787a05e713fb77b
       
     It appears that this can be ignored...

  5. Make sure that the branch is there.  IE check out the branch sources:
  
        git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-2_43-branch 2.43

     If you get a message about being in a "detached head" state, something
     has gone wrong...

     Keep the checked out sources - they are going to be needed in future
     steps.

  6. Update "BINUTILS_BRANCH" in gdbadmin's crontab:

     Log in as gdbadmin on sourceware.org, and then:

        $ cd crontab
        $ vi crontab
        [change BINUTILS_BRANCH]
        $ cvs ci crontab
        $ crontab crontab

     If you do not have access to this account, please feel free to
     ask Joel Brobecker <brobecker AT adacore DOT com>.

  7. Rename the current HEAD version entry in Bugzilla, and create a
     new one.  E.g. rename "2.43 (HEAD)" to 2.43, and create
     "2.44 (HEAD)":
     
        https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils

  8. Update bfd/version.m4 on HEAD to indicate that is now a snapshot
     of the next release and the BRANCH to indicate that it is almost
     ready for the release.

     So if the release is going to be 2.43 then the version number on
     the BRANCH should be set to 2.42.90 - ie almost, but not quite 2.43,
     and the version number on the MAINLINE should be set to 2.43.50 -
     ie half way to 2.44 release.

     So the BRANCH bfd/version.m4 has:
     
       m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.42.90])
       
     and the MAINLINE has:

       m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.43.50])

     Regenerate various files on both branch and HEAD by configuring
     with "--enable-maintainer-mode --enable-gold --enable-shared" and then building
     with "make -j1 all-binutils all-gas all-gold all-gprof all-gprofng all-ld"

     Add ChangeLog entries for the updated files.  Commit the changes.
     Make sure that this includes the .pot files as well as the
     configure and makefiles.

  9. Create an initial pre-release:

     a. Remove any auto-generated files, in order to force the
        src-release script to rebuild them.
	 
          cd <branch-sources>
          git clean -fdx
	  
     b. Create a source tarball of the BRANCH sources:

          ./src-release.sh -x binutils

        FIXME: Not sure if the following steps are needed...
	
	Add a .dirstamp file to the gas/doc subdirectory:

          touch -d <today's date> binutils-2.<release>/gas/doc/.dirstamp
          tar rvf binutils-<release>.tar binutils-<release>/gas/doc/.ditstamp
          rm binutils-<release>.tar.xz
          xz -9 binutils-<release>.tar

          eg:
	    touch -d 2024-08-01 binutils-2.42.90/gas/doc/.dirstamp
	    tar rvf binutils-2.41.90.tar binutils-2.42.90/gas/doc/.dirstamp
            rm binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz
            xz -9 binutils-2.42.90.tar
	    
	 ...END OF FIXME   

     c. Build a test target using this tarball.

           cp binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz /dev/shm
	   pushd /dev/shm
	   tar xvf binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz
	   mkdir build
	   cd build
	   ../binutils-2.42.90/configure --quiet --enable-gold
	   make
	   popd

        If there are problems, fix them.

     d. Upload the pre-release snapshot to the sourceware FTP site:

          scp binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz sourceware.org:/var/ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots
          ssh sourceware.org sha256sum ~ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz

        Paranoia: Compare the checksum with the local version.
	
     e. Clean up the source directory again.

         git clean -fdx

  10. Tell the Translation Project where to find the new tarball.
      <coordinator@translationproject.org>
      qv: https://translationproject.org/html/maintainers.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Translation Project

  The 2.43 release branch has been created for the GNU Binutils project.

  A snapshot of the branch sources can be found here:

    https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz

  We hope to make the official release of the sources on the <DATE>
  although that could change if there are important bugs that need to
  be fixed before the release.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  11. Announce the availability of the snapshot and the branch on the
      binutils mailing list.  Set a date for when the release will
      actually happen.  Something like:
      

Hi Everyone, 

  The <NEW_VERSION> branch has now been created:

     git clone git://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-<NEW_VERSION>-branch

  A snapshot of the sources is also available here:

    https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-<OLD_VERSION>.90.tar.xz

  Please could all patches for the branch be run by me.
  The rules for the branch are:

    * No new features.
    * Target specific bug fixes are OK.
    * Generic bug fixes are OK if they are important and widely tested.
    * Documentation updates/fixes are OK.
    * Translation updates are OK.
    * Fixes for testsuite failures are OK.

  Ideally I would like to make the release happen in two weeks time,
  i.e. <DATE>.  Which I hope will be enough time for everyone
  to get their final fixes in.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  12. Build various different toolchains, test them and nag
      maintainers to fix any testsuite failures for their
      architectures...

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

For the next few weeks, monitor the mailing list for new translations
and respond to any requests to have patches applied to the branch.

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

Then, a couple of weeks later ...

-------------------------------------------------
How to create the release.
-------------------------------------------------

  20. Make sure that the branch sources still build, test and install 
      correctly.  Make sure that the sources are clean, without any
      patch files (.reg .orig *~) left over.

         cd <branch>
         git pull	 
	 git clean -fdx
	 cd <builds>
	 make

  21. a. Update the release number in bfd/version.m4 on the release
         branch to a whole new minor version number, without a point
         value.  Eg "2.42.90" becomes "2.43".  NB/ Not: "2.43.00"

      b. Change bfd/development.sh to set all values to "false".

      c. Regenerate the configure and makefiles.  And *info* files.

            cd <build-configured-with-enable-maintainer-mode>
            make -j1 all-gas all-ld all-binutils all-gprof all-gold all-gprofng all-libctf
	    make info

      d. Create a ChangeLog from the git refs for all of the commits
         from when changelog entries were no longer required:

           gitlog-to-changelog --since=2021-07-03 > ChangeLog.git
           git add ChangeLog.git

         The gitlog-to-changelog script is part of the sources
	 of the "config" project.

         Add an entry for ChangeLog.git to the src-release.sh script's
	 DEVO_SUPPORT list, so that it is included in the release.

	 FIXME: it would be better if the ChangeLog.git file was permanently
	 added to the src-release.sh script, but this mean that it would have
	 to exist in the master repository, and that the GDB project would
	 need to agree to have it there.
	
      e. Add ChangeLog entries for all of the updates and add a
         "this-is-the-2.43-release" comment and commit.

	   git add .
           git commit -m "this-is-the-2.43-release"
	   git push
	   
  22. Check that your file creation mask will create the
      correct file permissions.  Eg:

      	    % umask
	    22

      Remove any spurious autom4te.cache files left over from the
      reconfiguring:

            git clean -fdx

  23. Note - check to see if any new files have been added to the top
      level of the source directory, but which are not in the
      DEVO_SUPPORT variable in the src-release.sh script.  If they are
      needed then add them.

      PARANOIA: Check that there are no pending commits:

             git status
	   
      Then create the release tarballs:
  
            ./src-release.sh -b -g -l -x binutils

      OR ... for a more reproducible tarball:

            ./src-release.sh -b -g -l -x -r `git log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%F bfd/version.m4` binutils

  24. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
      permissions.

           tar tvf binutils-*.tar.xz | grep -e "---"

      Also check that the man files are not empty.  (cf PR 28144).

           tar tvf binutils-*.tar.xz | grep -e "\.1"

  25. Sanity check the release on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu by building and
       running the testsuites (gas, gold, binutils and ld).
      Make the source directory read-only before building.
      Also test 'make install'.
      Also build the html and pdf documentation files.
      If necessary fix any problems.

        pushd /dev/shm
	mkdir delme
	cd delme
	tar xvf <path-to-sources>/binutils-2.*.tar.lz
	chmod -R -w binutils-2.*
	mkdir build
	cd build
	../binutils-2.*/configure --quiet --enable-gold --prefix=`pwd`/install --enable-plugins --enable-shared
	make -j1 all-gas all-gold all-ld all-binutils all-gprof all-gprofng
	make check-gas check-binutils check-ld check-gold
        make install-gas install-gold install-ld install-binutils install-gprofng

        # Needed for step 29...
	make html pdf html-libctf pdf-libctf html-libsframe pdf-libsframe

        popd

  26. Tag the branch with the new release number:
	[optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
	enter a tag message such as: "Official GNU Binutils 2.4x release"

	    git tag -a <TAG>         -u <Your Key>
	  eg:
	    git tag -a binutils-2_43 -u DD9E3C4F      <=== Be careful to get the tag right
	  or:
	    git tag -a binutils-2_43 -u DD9E3C4F -m "Official GNU Binutils 2.43 release"

        NB/ If you do sign the binaries make sure to use a key
	that has been published with the FSF.

        Then push the release:
	
	    git push origin binutils-2_43

        If you get an error message along the lines of:
	  "Invalid revision range ..."
	you can ignore it.

  27.  Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.

          gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-2.43.tar.*

        Be prepared to provide the password for the key, if you
	signed the binaries.
      
        The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
	It uses the ncftp package for transmitting the files.

        Check for an email response from the upload.  If necessary
        fix any problems.  (The response might take a while, so
	proceed with the next steps if you are confident that
	everything is OK).

  28. Upload the tarballs (and signatures) to sourceware.org:

       sftp sourceware.org
         cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
 	 put binutils-2.4*.tar.*
 	 chmod 644 binutils-2.4*.tar.*
	 quit

      FIXME: Are the signatures (created by the gnupload script in step 27)
      needed ?  [The above commands upload them and nobody has complained,
      so suggest that they are retained].

  29. Update web pages.  For sourceware.org:

      Clone the documentation (if you have not already done so):
      
        git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-htdocs
      
      Create a new docs sub-directory and move into it:

        cd binutils-htdocs
	mkdir docs-2.43
        cd docs-2.43
	
      Copy the index.html from the previous release

        cp ../docs/index.html .

      Update the index.html file to reference this new release and to
      point back to the current (now old) release.

      If necessary make the html documentation locally with the "make
      html" command.  (This should have been done by step 25 above).

      Copy in the documentation files:
      
	 cp -r <build-dir>/gas/doc/as    .
	 cp <build-dir>/gas/doc/as.html  .
	 cp <build-dir>/gas/doc/as.pdf   .
	 
	 cp -r <build-dir>/bfd/doc/bfd   .
	 cp <build-dir>/bfd/doc/bfd.html .
	 cp <build-dir>/bfd/doc/bfd.pdf  .

	 cp -r <build-dir>/binutils/binutils_html  binutils    [NB/ Path not like others]
	 cp <build-dir>/binutils/doc/binutils.html .
	 cp <build-dir>/binutils/doc/binutils.pdf  .

	 cp -r <build-dir>/gprof/doc/gprof     .
	 cp <build-dir>/gprof/doc/gprof.html   .
	 cp <build-dir>/gprof/doc/gprof.pdf    .
	 
	 cp -r <build-dir>/ld/doc/ld     .
	 cp <build-dir>/ld/doc/ld.html   .
	 cp <build-dir>/ld/doc/ld.pdf    .

	    [NB/ The gprofng documentation does not have a node-per-page selection]
	 cp <build-dir>/gprofng/doc/gprof.html   .
	 cp <build-dir>/gprofng/doc/gprof.pdf    .
	 
	 cp <build-dir>/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.html   .
	 cp <build-dir>/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.pdf    .

	 cp <build-dir>/libsframe/doc/sframe-spec.html   .
	 cp <build-dir>/libsframe/doc/sframe-spec.pdf    .

      Update the symbolic link.

         cd ..     [Should now be in be in binutils-htdocs/ ]
	 rm docs
	 ln -s docs-2.43 docs
	 
      Edit index.html file to change the links to point to the new
      release, mention any new features, update dates and so on.

      Check that the new web page is correct:

         file:///<path-to-binutils-htdocs>/index.html

      Add the new directories and files, commit and push the changes:

        git add .
        git commit -m"Update documenation for the 2.4x release"
	git push


  29.1 For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
      and ask them to copy the change(s):
---------------------------------------
Hi FSF Webmasters,

  Please could the GNU Binutils webpage at:

https://www.gnu.org/software/binutils/binutils.html

  be updated to indicate that there is now a newer version available
  (2.4x).  I have already updated the related page on the sourceware
  website so this might be useful as a template:

https://sourceware.org/binutils/

  Thanks very much.

Cheers
--------------------------------------  

  30. Send emails to binutils@sourceware.org, info-gnu@gnu.org and
      David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
      Sign the email and include the checksum:

          sha256sum binutils-2.4*.tar.*

      (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
      social media).  Something like this:
      -----------------------------------------------------------------------
        Hi Everyone,

        We are pleased to announce that version 2.4x of the GNU Binutils project
        sources have been released and are now available for download at:

          https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
          https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/

          checksums: xxxx

        As an experiment these tarballs were made with the new "-r <date>"
        option supported by the src-release.sh script.  This attempts to make
        reproducible tarballs by sorting the files and passing the
        "--mtime=<date>" option to tar.  The date used for these tarballs was
        obtained by running:
  
          git log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%F bfd/version.m4

        This release contains numerous bug fixes, and also the
        following new features:

          <extract info from the NEWS files>

        For more information see:
	
          https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=gas/NEWS;;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
          https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=ld/NEWS;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
          https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=binutils/NEWS;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x

        Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
        present, for helping to make this release possible.

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

  31. Clean up the source tree:

        git clean -fdx .

  32. Edit bfd/development.sh on the branch and set the development flag
      to "true".  (Leave the experimental flag set to "false").  Also bump
      the version in bfd/version.m4 by adding a trailing .0, so that the
      date suffix keeps the version lower than the trunk version.
      Regenerate files.  Commit these changes.

  33. Email the binutils list telling everyone that the 2.4x branch
      is now open for business as usual and that patches no longer
      need special approval.

  34. Examine the bfd/config.bfd file in the mainline sources and move
      any pending obsolete targets into the definitely obsolete
      section.  Create a changelog entry and commit.

  Sit back and relax, you are all done.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to perform a POINT release.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

A point release is easier than a normal release since a lot of the
work has already been done.  The branch has been created, the
translations updated and the documentation uploaded.  So the procedure
looks like this:

  0. Decide that a point release is necessary.

     Usually this only happens when a sufficient number of serious
     bugs have been found and fixed since the previous release, and a
     new official release is not imminent.

  1. Tell the community that a point release is happening.  Ask
     maintainers to ensure that their ports are up to date on the
     release branch.  Ask the community if there are any bug fixes
     which are missing from the branch.  Allow some time for the
     responses to this step.

  2. Make sure that the branch sources build, test and install
     correctly.

  2.5 Prepare a list of the bugs which have been fixed.  This
      will be needed for step 8.

  3. In the branch sources:

       a. Update the minor release number in bfd/version.m4.
       b. Edit bfd/development.sh, set "development=false".
       c. Regenerate the configure files.
       d. Remove spurious autom4te.cache files:

          git clean -fdx
	  
       e. Commit the updates along with a "this-is-the-2.3x.y-release"
          note in all of the changelogs.
       f. Tag the branch with the new release number:

            git tag -a binutils-2_3x_y
	      [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
	    git push origin binutils-2_3x_y

       g. Check that your file creation mask will create the
          correct file permissions.  Ie:

	    umask 022

       h. Create the release tarballs:
       
            ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils

       i. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
          permissions.

       j. Clean the source tree again
       
	    git clean -fdx
	  
       k. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=true".
       l. Commit this change.

  4. [If paranoid - upload the tarballs to one of the FTP servers and
      ask people to test it before going on to step 5].

  5. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.

       gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-*.tar.*

     The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.

  6. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:

       sftp sourceware.org
         cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
 	 put binutils-*.tar.*
 	 chmod 644 binutils-*.tar.*
	 quit

    It is OK to upload the signatures as well.

  7. Update web pages.  For sourceware.org:

      * Clone the binutils documentation: git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-htdocs
      * Edit index.html and update the latest release number (if this
        is a latest release).
      * Add new documentation (if necessary).
      * Commit and push the changes.

      For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
      and ask them to make the change(s).

  8. Send an emails to the binutils list, info-gnu@gnu.org and
     David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
     (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
     social media).  Something like this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Everyone,

  We are pleased to announce that version 2.3x.y of the GNU Binutils
  project sources have been released and are now available for download at:

    https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
    https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/

  This is a point release over the previous 2.3x version, containing bug
  fixes but no new features.

  Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
  present, for helping to make this release possible.

  Here is a list of the bugs that have been fixed:
    xx
    xx
    xx
    xx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

  9. Create a new Bugzilla entry for the point release.
     
       https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils

     And a new milestone too:

       https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editmilestones.cgi?product=binutils

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