Release process

The release process consists of several steps.

Entry conditions

Before starting the release process the develop branch must be ready for release, all unit tests, checkstyle, findbugs, pmd, etc. pass TravisCI.

Step 1 Create release branch in Github and merge it into the master branch.

1. Create a release branch from the develop branch. Release branches support preparation of a new production release. They allow for last-minute dotting of i's and crossing t's. Furthermore, they allow for minor bug fixes and preparing meta-data for a release (version number, build dates, etc.). By doing all of this work on a release branch, the develop branch is cleared to receive features for the next big release.

   $ git checkout -b release-3.0.1 develop

2. Update the version number in the pom.xml file, minor bug fixes, meta-data, etc. Ensure that the release branch passes all unit tests, checkstyle, findbugs, pmd, etc. Don't forget to update the Procfile file to point to the new wattdepot-version number.jar file.

3. Commit all the changes to the release branch.

   $ git commit -a -m "Bumped version to 3.0.1."

4. Switch to the master branch.

   $ git checkout master

5. Merge the release branch into master.

   $ git merge --no-ff release-3.0.1

6. Ensure that the master branch passes all unit tests, checkstyle, findbugs, pmd, etc.

   $ mvn package site

7. (Optional) Delete the old release branch.

   $ git branch -d release-3.0.1

8. Push the changes to Github.

   $ git push origin master

9. Check that continuous integration passes TravisCI.

Step 2 Upload the Release's Maven site directory to GitHub.

1. Move the target/site to a safe place (e.g. Your home directory).

2. Checkout the gh-pages branch.

3. Replace the old site directory with the updated target/site directory you saved.

4. Add all the changes to the gh-branch.

   $ git commit -a -m "Javadoc for 3.0.1"

5. Push the changes to the gh-pages branch.

   $ git push origin gh-pages.

6. Switch back the master branch.

   $ git checkout master

Step 3 Create a GitHub release.

1. Create the three WattDepot release files by running the following command.

$ mvn package -P rel

This will create WattDepot-<version>.tar.bz2, WattDepot-<version>.tar.gz and WattDepot-<version>.zip files in the target directory.

1. Go to the WattDepot GitHub page.

2. Click on the release(s) link in the toolbar.

3. On the Releases page click the Draft a new release button.

4. Fill out the Tag version input field with the version of the release (e.g. 3.0.1) on branch master.

5. Fill in the Release title (e.g. 'Release 3.0.1').

6. Fill in the description of the release.

7. Drag the WattDepot-<version>.tar.bz2, WattDepot-<version>.tar.gz and WattDepot-<version>.zip files to the "Attach binaries for this release by dropping them here." box.

8. Click the "This is a pre-release" checkbox if it is.

9. Click the "Publish release" button.