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 See the maintain.texi file for details on how to obtain these
17 Note - when performing a release it is helpful to edit this document
18 as you go, updating the example commands so that they are ready for
19 the release that follows.
21 -------------------------------------------------
22 How to perform a release.
23 -------------------------------------------------
25 1. Choose dates for the branch and release. Weekends are better
26 because they are less busy. It is typical to leave two weeks
27 between creating the branch and creating the release.
29 Send an email out warning contributors about the forthcoming
32 2. When the branch date is near: Update the libiberty and config
33 directories and the top level Makefile and configure files. Also
34 consider updating the toplevel libtool files.
36 -------------------------------------------------
37 How to create the release branch.
38 -------------------------------------------------
40 Approx time to complete from here: 2 hours ...
42 2.5 If you have not built from the sources recently then now is the
43 time to check that they still work...
45 3. When branch day arrives add markers for the upcoming release to
46 the NEWS files in gas, ld, and binutils. No need to update NEWS
47 in the gold directory - it has its own release numbering.
49 Likewise for the ChangeLog files in: bfd, binutils, cpu,
50 elfcpp, gas, gold, gprof, include, ld, libctf, opcodes and toplevel.
52 Add a note of the name of the new branch to binutils/BRANCHES.
56 4. Create the release branch using:
58 git branch binutils-2_43-branch
59 git push origin binutils-2_43-branch
61 If you get a message like:
63 remote: fatal: Invalid revision range 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f974f26cb16cc6fe3946f163c787a05e713fb77b
65 It appears that this can be ignored...
67 5. Make sure that the branch is there. IE check out the branch sources:
69 git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-2_43-branch 2.43
71 If you get a message about being in a "detached head" state, something
74 Keep the checked out sources - they are going to be needed in future
77 6. Update "BINUTILS_BRANCH" in gdbadmin's crontab:
79 Log in as gdbadmin on sourceware.org, and then:
83 [change BINUTILS_BRANCH]
87 If you do not have access to this account, please feel free to
88 ask Joel Brobecker <brobecker AT adacore DOT com>.
90 7. Rename the current HEAD version entry in Bugzilla, and create a
91 new one. E.g. rename "2.43 (HEAD)" to 2.43, and create
94 https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils
96 8. Update bfd/version.m4 on HEAD to indicate that is now a snapshot
97 of the next release and the BRANCH to indicate that it is almost
98 ready for the release.
100 So if the release is going to be 2.43 then the version number on
101 the BRANCH should be set to 2.42.90 - ie almost, but not quite 2.43,
102 and the version number on the MAINLINE should be set to 2.43.50 -
103 ie half way to 2.44 release.
105 So the BRANCH bfd/version.m4 has:
107 m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.42.90])
109 and the MAINLINE has:
111 m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.43.50])
113 Regenerate various files on both branch and HEAD by configuring
114 with "--enable-maintainer-mode --enable-gold --enable-shared" and then building
115 with "make -j1 all-binutils all-gas all-gold all-gprof all-gprofng all-ld"
117 Add ChangeLog entries for the updated files. Commit the changes.
118 Make sure that this includes the .pot files as well as the
119 configure and makefiles.
121 9. Create an initial pre-release:
123 a. Remove any auto-generated files, in order to force the
124 src-release script to rebuild them.
129 b. Create a source tarball of the BRANCH sources:
131 ./src-release.sh -x binutils
133 FIXME: Not sure if the following steps are needed...
135 Add a .dirstamp file to the gas/doc subdirectory:
137 touch -d <today's date> binutils-2.<release>/gas/doc/.dirstamp
138 tar rvf binutils-<release>.tar binutils-<release>/gas/doc/.ditstamp
139 rm binutils-<release>.tar.xz
140 xz -9 binutils-<release>.tar
143 touch -d 2024-08-01 binutils-2.42.90/gas/doc/.dirstamp
144 tar rvf binutils-2.41.90.tar binutils-2.42.90/gas/doc/.dirstamp
145 rm binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz
146 xz -9 binutils-2.42.90.tar
150 c. Build a test target using this tarball.
152 cp binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz /dev/shm
154 tar xvf binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz
157 ../binutils-2.42.90/configure --quiet --enable-gold
161 If there are problems, fix them.
163 d. Upload the pre-release snapshot to the sourceware FTP site:
165 scp binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz sourceware.org:/var/ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots
166 ssh sourceware.org sha256sum ~ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz
168 Paranoia: Compare the checksum with the local version.
170 e. Clean up the source directory again.
174 10. Tell the Translation Project where to find the new tarball.
175 <coordinator@translationproject.org>
176 qv: https://translationproject.org/html/maintainers.html
178 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
179 Dear Translation Project
181 The 2.43 release branch has been created for the GNU Binutils project.
183 A snapshot of the branch sources can be found here:
185 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.42.90.tar.xz
187 We hope to make the official release of the sources on the <DATE>
188 although that could change if there are important bugs that need to
189 be fixed before the release.
190 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
192 11. Announce the availability of the snapshot and the branch on the
193 binutils mailing list. Set a date for when the release will
194 actually happen. Something like:
199 The <NEW_VERSION> branch has now been created:
201 git clone git://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-<NEW_VERSION>-branch
203 A snapshot of the sources is also available here:
205 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-<OLD_VERSION>.90.tar.xz
207 Please could all patches for the branch be run by me.
208 The rules for the branch are:
211 * Target specific bug fixes are OK.
212 * Generic bug fixes are OK if they are important and widely tested.
213 * Documentation updates/fixes are OK.
214 * Translation updates are OK.
215 * Fixes for testsuite failures are OK.
217 Ideally I would like to make the release happen in two weeks time,
218 i.e. <DATE>. Which I hope will be enough time for everyone
219 to get their final fixes in.
220 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
222 12. Build various different toolchains, test them and nag
223 maintainers to fix any testsuite failures for their
226 ==============================================================================
227 ==============================================================================
229 For the next few weeks, monitor the mailing list for new translations
230 and respond to any requests to have patches applied to the branch.
232 ==============================================================================
233 ==============================================================================
235 Then, a couple of weeks later ...
237 -------------------------------------------------
238 How to create the release.
239 -------------------------------------------------
241 20. Make sure that the branch sources still build, test and install
242 correctly. Make sure that the sources are clean, without any
243 patch files (.reg .orig *~) left over.
251 21. a. Update the release number in bfd/version.m4 on the release
252 branch to a whole new minor version number, without a point
253 value. Eg "2.42.90" becomes "2.43". NB/ Not: "2.43.00"
255 b. Change bfd/development.sh to set all values to "false".
257 c. Regenerate the configure and makefiles. And *info* files.
259 cd <build-configured-with-enable-maintainer-mode>
260 make -j1 all-gas all-ld all-binutils all-gprof all-gold all-gprofng all-libctf
263 d. Create a ChangeLog from the git refs for all of the commits
264 from when changelog entries were no longer required:
266 gitlog-to-changelog --since=2021-07-03 > ChangeLog.git
267 git add ChangeLog.git
269 The gitlog-to-changelog script is part of the sources
270 of the "config" project.
272 Add an entry for ChangeLog.git to the src-release.sh script's
273 DEVO_SUPPORT list, so that it is included in the release.
275 FIXME: it would be better if the ChangeLog.git file was permanently
276 added to the src-release.sh script, but this mean that it would have
277 to exist in the master repository, and that the GDB project would
278 need to agree to have it there.
280 e. Add ChangeLog entries for all of the updates and add a
281 "this-is-the-2.43-release" comment and commit.
284 git commit -m "this-is-the-2.43-release"
287 22. Check that your file creation mask will create the
288 correct file permissions. Eg:
293 Remove any spurious autom4te.cache files left over from the
298 23. Note - check to see if any new files have been added to the top
299 level of the source directory, but which are not in the
300 DEVO_SUPPORT variable in the src-release.sh script. If they are
301 needed then add them.
303 PARANOIA: Check that there are no pending commits:
307 Then create the release tarballs:
309 ./src-release.sh -b -g -l -x binutils
311 OR ... for a more reproducible tarball:
313 ./src-release.sh -b -g -l -x -r `git log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%F bfd/version.m4` binutils
315 24. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
318 tar tvf binutils-*.tar.xz | grep -e "---"
320 Also check that the man files are not empty. (cf PR 28144).
322 tar tvf binutils-*.tar.xz | grep -e "\.1"
324 25. Sanity check the release on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu by building and
325 running the testsuites (gas, gold, binutils and ld).
326 Make the source directory read-only before building.
327 Also test 'make install'.
328 Also build the html and pdf documentation files.
329 If necessary fix any problems.
334 tar xvf <path-to-sources>/binutils-2.*.tar.lz
335 chmod -R -w binutils-2.*
338 ../binutils-2.*/configure --quiet --enable-gold --prefix=`pwd`/install --enable-plugins --enable-shared
339 make -j1 all-gas all-gold all-ld all-binutils all-gprof all-gprofng
340 make check-gas check-binutils check-ld check-gold
341 make install-gas install-gold install-ld install-binutils install-gprofng
343 # Needed for step 29...
344 make html pdf html-libctf pdf-libctf html-libsframe pdf-libsframe
348 26. Tag the branch with the new release number:
349 [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
350 enter a tag message such as: "Official GNU Binutils 2.4x release"
352 git tag -a <TAG> -u <Your Key>
354 git tag -a binutils-2_43 -u DD9E3C4F <=== Be careful to get the tag right
356 git tag -a binutils-2_43 -u DD9E3C4F -m "Official GNU Binutils 2.43 release"
358 NB/ If you do sign the binaries make sure to use a key
359 that has been published with the FSF.
361 Then push the release:
363 git push origin binutils-2_43
365 If you get an error message along the lines of:
366 "Invalid revision range ..."
369 27. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
371 gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-2.43.tar.*
373 Be prepared to provide the password for the key, if you
376 The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
377 It uses the ncftp package for transmitting the files.
379 Check for an email response from the upload. If necessary
380 fix any problems. (The response might take a while, so
381 proceed with the next steps if you are confident that
384 28. Upload the tarballs (and signatures) to sourceware.org:
387 cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
388 put binutils-2.4*.tar.*
389 chmod 644 binutils-2.4*.tar.*
392 FIXME: Are the signatures (created by the gnupload script in step 27)
393 needed ? [The above commands upload them and nobody has complained,
394 so suggest that they are retained].
396 29. Update web pages. For sourceware.org:
398 Clone the documentation (if you have not already done so):
400 git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-htdocs
402 Create a new docs sub-directory and move into it:
408 Copy the index.html from the previous release
410 cp ../docs/index.html .
412 Update the index.html file to reference this new release and to
413 point back to the current (now old) release.
415 If necessary make the html documentation locally with the "make
416 html" command. (This should have been done by step 25 above).
418 Copy in the documentation files:
420 cp -r <build-dir>/gas/doc/as .
421 cp <build-dir>/gas/doc/as.html .
422 cp <build-dir>/gas/doc/as.pdf .
424 cp -r <build-dir>/bfd/doc/bfd .
425 cp <build-dir>/bfd/doc/bfd.html .
426 cp <build-dir>/bfd/doc/bfd.pdf .
428 cp -r <build-dir>/binutils/binutils_html binutils [NB/ Path not like others]
429 cp <build-dir>/binutils/doc/binutils.html .
430 cp <build-dir>/binutils/doc/binutils.pdf .
432 cp -r <build-dir>/gprof/doc/gprof .
433 cp <build-dir>/gprof/doc/gprof.html .
434 cp <build-dir>/gprof/doc/gprof.pdf .
436 cp -r <build-dir>/ld/doc/ld .
437 cp <build-dir>/ld/doc/ld.html .
438 cp <build-dir>/ld/doc/ld.pdf .
440 [NB/ The gprofng documentation does not have a node-per-page selection]
441 cp <build-dir>/gprofng/doc/gprof.html .
442 cp <build-dir>/gprofng/doc/gprof.pdf .
444 cp <build-dir>/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.html .
445 cp <build-dir>/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.pdf .
447 cp <build-dir>/libsframe/doc/sframe-spec.html .
448 cp <build-dir>/libsframe/doc/sframe-spec.pdf .
450 Update the symbolic link.
452 cd .. [Should now be in be in binutils-htdocs/ ]
456 Edit index.html file to change the links to point to the new
457 release, mention any new features, update dates and so on.
459 Check that the new web page is correct:
461 file:///<path-to-binutils-htdocs>/index.html
463 Add the new directories and files, commit and push the changes:
466 git commit -m"Update documenation for the 2.4x release"
470 29.1 For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
471 and ask them to copy the change(s):
472 ---------------------------------------
475 Please could the GNU Binutils webpage at:
477 https://www.gnu.org/software/binutils/binutils.html
479 be updated to indicate that there is now a newer version available
480 (2.4x). I have already updated the related page on the sourceware
481 website so this might be useful as a template:
483 https://sourceware.org/binutils/
488 --------------------------------------
490 30. Send emails to binutils@sourceware.org, info-gnu@gnu.org and
491 David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
492 Sign the email and include the checksum:
494 sha256sum binutils-2.4*.tar.*
496 (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
497 social media). Something like this:
498 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
501 We are pleased to announce that version 2.4x of the GNU Binutils project
502 sources have been released and are now available for download at:
504 https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
505 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
509 As an experiment these tarballs were made with the new "-r <date>"
510 option supported by the src-release.sh script. This attempts to make
511 reproducible tarballs by sorting the files and passing the
512 "--mtime=<date>" option to tar. The date used for these tarballs was
515 git log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:%F bfd/version.m4
517 This release contains numerous bug fixes, and also the
518 following new features:
520 <extract info from the NEWS files>
522 For more information see:
524 https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=gas/NEWS;;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
525 https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=ld/NEWS;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
526 https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=blob_plain;f=binutils/NEWS;hb=refs/tags/binutils-2_4x
528 Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
529 present, for helping to make this release possible.
531 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
533 31. Clean up the source tree:
537 32. Edit bfd/development.sh on the branch and set the development flag
538 to "true". (Leave the experimental flag set to "false"). Also bump
539 the version in bfd/version.m4 by adding a trailing .0, so that the
540 date suffix keeps the version lower than the trunk version.
541 Regenerate files. Commit these changes.
543 33. Email the binutils list telling everyone that the 2.4x branch
544 is now open for business as usual and that patches no longer
545 need special approval.
547 34. Examine the bfd/config.bfd file in the mainline sources and move
548 any pending obsolete targets into the definitely obsolete
549 section. Create a changelog entry and commit.
551 Sit back and relax, you are all done.
552 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
553 How to perform a POINT release.
554 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
556 A point release is easier than a normal release since a lot of the
557 work has already been done. The branch has been created, the
558 translations updated and the documentation uploaded. So the procedure
561 0. Decide that a point release is necessary.
563 Usually this only happens when a sufficient number of serious
564 bugs have been found and fixed since the previous release, and a
565 new official release is not imminent.
567 1. Tell the community that a point release is happening. Ask
568 maintainers to ensure that their ports are up to date on the
569 release branch. Ask the community if there are any bug fixes
570 which are missing from the branch. Allow some time for the
571 responses to this step.
573 2. Make sure that the branch sources build, test and install
576 2.5 Prepare a list of the bugs which have been fixed. This
577 will be needed for step 8.
579 3. In the branch sources:
581 a. Update the minor release number in bfd/version.m4.
582 b. Edit bfd/development.sh, set "development=false".
583 c. Regenerate the configure files.
584 d. Remove spurious autom4te.cache files:
588 e. Commit the updates along with a "this-is-the-2.3x.y-release"
589 note in all of the changelogs.
590 f. Tag the branch with the new release number:
592 git tag -a binutils-2_3x_y
593 [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
594 git push origin binutils-2_3x_y
596 g. Check that your file creation mask will create the
597 correct file permissions. Ie:
601 h. Create the release tarballs:
603 ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils
605 i. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
608 j. Clean the source tree again
612 k. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=true".
613 l. Commit this change.
615 4. [If paranoid - upload the tarballs to one of the FTP servers and
616 ask people to test it before going on to step 5].
618 5. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.
620 gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-*.tar.*
622 The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.
624 6. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:
627 cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
629 chmod 644 binutils-*.tar.*
632 It is OK to upload the signatures as well.
634 7. Update web pages. For sourceware.org:
636 * Clone the binutils documentation: git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-htdocs
637 * Edit index.html and update the latest release number (if this
638 is a latest release).
639 * Add new documentation (if necessary).
640 * Commit and push the changes.
642 For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
643 and ask them to make the change(s).
645 8. Send an emails to the binutils list, info-gnu@gnu.org and
646 David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
647 (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
648 social media). Something like this:
650 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
653 We are pleased to announce that version 2.3x.y of the GNU Binutils
654 project sources have been released and are now available for download at:
656 https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
657 https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/
659 This is a point release over the previous 2.3x version, containing bug
660 fixes but no new features.
662 Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
663 present, for helping to make this release possible.
665 Here is a list of the bugs that have been fixed:
670 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
672 9. Create a new Bugzilla entry for the point release.
674 https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils
676 And a new milestone too:
678 https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editmilestones.cgi?product=binutils
680 Copyright (C) 2017-2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
682 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
683 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
684 notice and this notice are preserved.