RELEASE

   1 This is a checklist for making Guile releases.
   2 It's specific to the FSF's development environment; please don't put
   3 it in the distribution.
   4
   5 Maybe we should name Guile releases after entertaining poisons:
   6 absinthe, etc.  However, the first release containing the module
   7 system should be called Godot: "This is the one you've been waiting
   8 for."
   9
  10 === Eventually:
  11
  12 * Deprecate `read-only-string?'.
  13
  14 After signal handling and threading have been fixed:
  15 - remove the code corresponding to GUILE_OLD_ASYNC_CLICK and the corresponding
  16   GUILE_OLD_ASYNC_CLICK macro.
  17
  18 === In release 1.6.0:
  19
  20 - Make sure that the deprecation mechanism explained in INSTALL and
  21   README is completed and works.
  22
  23 === In release 1.8.0:
  24
  25 - remove deprecated subr and gsubr functions
  26     in procs.h, procs.c: scm_make_subr, scm_make_subr_opt,
  27       scm_make_subr_with_generic,
  28     in gsubr.h, gsubr.c: scm_make_gsubr, scm_make_gsubr_with_generic.
  29
  30 - remove deprecated C interface to modules
  31     in modules.h, modules.c:
  32       root_module_lookup_closure, scm_sym_app, scm_sym_modules,
  33       module_prefix, make_modules_in_var, beautify_user_module_x_var,
  34       scm_the_root_module, scm_make_module, scm_ensure_user_module,
  35       scm_load_scheme_module
  36
  37 - remove vcell and obarray support.
  38   Remove all code bracketed by `#if SCM_ENABLE_VCELLS'.
  39   Remove SCM_ENABLE_VCELLS itself.
  40   Also remove `variable-set-name-hint' completely.
  41
  42 - remove compatability module (ice-9 and-let*).  It
  43   has been replaced by (ice-9 and-let-star) and/or (srfi srfi-2).
  44
  45 - remove support for autoloading compiled-code modules:
  46     try-module-linked
  47     try-module-dynamic-link
  48     init-dynamic-module
  49     scm_register_module_xxx
  50     scm_registered_modules
  51     scm_clear_registered_modules
  52
  53 - remove deprecated variables:
  54     scm_top_level_lookup_closure_var
  55     scm_scm_system_transformer
  56     Remove all code that still sets them:
  57      `use-syntax', scm_set_current_module, ...
  58
  59 - remove deprecated functions:
  60     eval.c: scm_eval2, scm_eval_3
  61     load.c: scm_read_and_eval_x
  62     smob.c: scm_make_smob_type_mfpe, scm_set_smob_mfpe
  63     gc.c: scm_remember
  64     string.c: scm_makstr
  65 - remove deprecated procedures:
  66     boot-9.scm: eval-in-module, id, -1+, return-it, string-character-length,
  67       flags
  68 - remove deprecated macros: SCM_OUTOFRANGE, SCM_NALLOC, SCM_HUP_SIGNAL,
  69   SCM_INT_SIGNAL, SCM_FPE_SIGNAL, SCM_BUS_SIGNAL, SCM_SEGV_SIGNAL,
  70   SCM_ALRM_SIGNAL, SCM_GC_SIGNAL, SCM_TICK_SIGNAL, SCM_SIG_ORD,
  71   SCM_ORD_SIG, SCM_NUM_SIGS, SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP, SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR,
  72   SCM_FREEP, SCM_NFREEP, SCM_CHARS, SCM_UCHARS, SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING,
  73   SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING_COPY, SCM_VALIDATE_NULLORROSTRING_COPY, SCM_ROLENGTH,
  74   SCM_LENGTH, SCM_HUGE_LENGTH, SCM_SUBSTRP, SCM_SUBSTR_STR, SCM_SUBSTR_OFFSET,
  75   SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR, SCM_ROSTRINGP, SCM_RWSTRINGP, SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING,
  76   SCM_ROCHARS, SCM_ROUCHARS, SCM_SETLENGTH, SCM_SETCHARS, SCM_LENGTH_MAX,
  77   SCM_GC8MARKP, SCM_SETGC8MARK, SCM_CLRGC8MARK, SCM_GCTYP16, SCM_GCCDR,
  78   SCM_SUBR_DOC, SCM_OPDIRP, SCM_VALIDATE_OPDIR, SCM_WTA, RETURN_SCM_WTA,
  79   SCM_WNA, SCM_FUNC_NAME, SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_COPY,
  80   SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_DEF_COPY, SCM_SLOPPY_CONSP, SCM_SLOPPY_NCONSP,
  81   SCM_SETAND_CDR, SCM_SETOR_CDR, SCM_SETAND_CAR, SCM_SETOR_CAR,
  82   SCM_ARRAY_CONTIGUOUS
  83 - remove scm_vector_set_length_x
  84 - remove function scm_call_catching_errors
  85   (replaced by catch functions from throw.[ch])
  86 - remove support for "#&" reader syntax in (ice-9 optargs).
  87 - remove scm_make_shared_substring
  88 - remove scm_read_only_string_p
  89 - remove scm_strhash
  90 - remove scm_tc7_ssymbol
  91 - remove scm_tc7_msymbol
  92 - remove scm_tcs_symbols
  93 - remove scm_sloppy_memq, scm_sloppy_memv, scm_sloppy_member
  94 - consider removing the automatic loading of (ice-9 rdelim) when guile
  95   starts up.  This would be a brave move, since a lot of code will
  96   assume that read-line is available by default.  However it would make
  97   it easier to use alternative implementations of this module, e.g., a
  98   strictly scsh-compatible version which uses multiple values.  For
  99   interactive use it would be easy to load the module in ~/.guile.
 100 - remove scm_close_all_ports_except
 101 - remove scm_strprint_obj
 102 - remove SCM_CONST_LONG
 103 - remove scm_wta
 104 - remove deprecated typedefs: long_long, ulong_long, scm_sizet
 105 - remove deprecated macros: scm_contregs, scm_port_rw_active,
 106   scm_port, scm_ptob_descriptor, scm_debug_info, scm_debug_frame,
 107   scm_fport, SCM_FIXNUM_BIT, scm_option, scm_subr_entry, scm_rstate,
 108   scm_rng, scm_i_rstate, scm_srcprops, scm_srcprops_chunk,
 109   scm_info_frame, scm_stack, scm_array, scm_array_dim.
 110 - remove deprecated functions: scm_mkbig, scm_big2num, scm_adjbig,
 111   scm_normbig, scm_copybig, scm_2ulong2big, scm_dbl2big, scm_big2dbl.
 112 - remove deprecated functions: scm_protect_object,
 113   scm_unprotect_object, scm_create_hook.
 114
 115 Modules sort.c and random.c should be factored out into separate
 116 modules (but still be distributed with guile-core) when we get a new
 117 module system.
 118
 119 Platforms for test builds:
 120 SunOS (gcc and pcc) --- galapas.ai.mit.edu
 121 Solaris (gcc and SUN cc) --- saturn.ai.mit.edu
 122 NetBSD (gcc) --- repo-man.ai.mit.edu (use /home/repo/jimb)
 123 HP/UX (gcc, HP cc) --- nutrimat.gnu.ai.mit.edu
 124
 125 These gentlemen have kindly offered to do pre-release testing:
 126
 127 Tom Tromey <tromey@cygnus.com>:
 128
 129   alphaev5-unknown-linux-gnu
 130   hppa1.1-hp-hpux10.20
 131   hppa1.1-hp-hpux11.00
 132   mips-sgi-irix5.3
 133   powerpc-ibm-aix4.2.0.0
 134   powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu
 135   sparc-sun-solaris2.6
 136   i686-pc-linux-gnu
 137   mips-sgi-irix6.3
 138   sparc-sun-sunos4.1.4
 139
 140 Ian Grant <I.A.N.Grant@damtp.cam.ac.uk>:
 141
 142   alpha-dec-osf4.0e
 143
 144 Julian Satchell <satchell@merry.dra.hmg.gb>:
 145
 146   dec-mips-ultrix
 147
 148 Perry Metzger <perry@piermont.com>
 149
 150   NetBSD
 151
 152
 153 Release Checklists ===================================================
 154
 155 There are basically two phases to doing a release:
 156
 157 * "SPIFFING": Updating NEWS, README, INSTALL.  Running tests.  Getting
 158   people to try builds on various machines.  Getting everything
 159   straightened up.
 160
 161 * "PUNTING": Updating the version numbers.  Tagging the sources.  Asking
 162   the FSF to put the disty on ftp.gnu.org.  Posting announcements.
 163
 164 The "Spiffing" phase you might go through several times as you
 165 discover problems.  The "Punting" phase you do only once.
 166
 167
 168 Spiffing checklist:
 169
 170 * Do a `cvs update -A', to get rid of any sticky tags in your working
 171   directory.
 172 * Check for files that have changed a lot, but do not have up-to-date
 173   copyright notices.  This can be as simple as doing:
 174         grep 'Copyright' * | grep -v 1999
 175   and looking for files you know you've worked on a lot.
 176 * Make sure NEWS, INSTALL, AUTHORS and THANKS and the docs are up to date:
 177   + Scan the ChangeLogs for user-visible changes, marked with an asterisk
 178     at the left margin.
 179   + Update NEWS and the Texinfo documentation as appropriate.
 180   + Remove the user-visible markers from the log entries once they're
 181     documented.
 182   + Check for any [[incomplete]] sections of NEWS.
 183   + Fact-check INSTALL.
 184   + Make sure AUTHORS and THANKS are up-to-date.
 185 * Make sure the downloading addresses and filenames in README are
 186   current.  (But don't bump the version number yet.  We do that below.)
 187 * Check that the versions of aclocal, automake, autoconf, and autoheader
 188   in your PATH match those given in HACKING.  Note that the `make
 189   dist' process always invokes these tools, even when all the
 190   generated files are up to date.
 191 * Rebuild all generated files in the source tree:
 192   + Install the .m4 files where aclocal will find them.
 193   + Run aclocal.
 194   + Run autoconf.
 195   + Run autoheader.
 196   + Run automake.
 197 * Verify that Guile builds and runs in your working directory.
 198 * Run the test suite, in guile-core/test-suite.
 199 * Commit all changes to the CVS repository.
 200 * Build a test distribution.
 201   + BEFORE doing 'make dist', configure the source tree for build
 202     in the same tree with configuration options
 203     --enable-maintainer-mode --enable-debug-malloc --with-threads.
 204   + Make sure that readline was enabled correctly.
 205   + Build the tree.
 206     (If the above steps are not done, the dependencies won't be properly
 207     included in the generated Makefile.in files.)
 208   + Then do 'make dist'.
 209   + Check that the dependencies in guile-readline/Makefile look OK.
 210     (We currently use a kludge which edits the dependencies generated
 211     by automake so that Guile can be built in a directory separate
 212     from the source tree also with non-GNU make programs.)
 213 * Give the test disty to various people to try.  Here's what you should do:
 214   + Unset GUILE_LOAD_PATH.
 215   + Remove automake and autoconf from your path, or turn off their
 216     execute bits, or something.  (Users must be able to build the
 217     disty without installing those tools.)
 218   + Configure, make, and install.
 219   + Make sure LD_LIBRARY_PATH doesn't include anything unnecessary.
 220   + Run the test suite on the installed version.
 221   + You might try the example code in the doc directory.
 222
 223 Once you've got a disty that seems pretty solid:
 224
 225 * Choose new interface numbers for shared libraries.
 226 * Update the version numbers in GUILE-VERSION and README.  (There are
 227   many places in README that need updating!)  The Guile version
 228   number should have one of the following forms:
 229     N.M                      - a major release
 230     N.M.L, where L is even   - a minor release
 231     N.M.L, where L is odd    - sources from CVS or nightly snapshot
 232 * Reformat the names in THANKS.
 233 * Do a `cvs update -A' of the whole tree, to look for any stray
 234   uncommitted or accidental changes.
 235 * Commit your changes.
 236 * Make one last test distribution.
 237
 238 Punting checklist:
 239
 240 * Add "Guile N.M released." entry to the top-level ChangeLog, and commit it.
 241 * Tag the entire source tree with a tag of the form "release_N_M"
 242   or "release_N_M_L".
 243 * Do a 'make dist'.
 244 * Put the distribution up for FTP somewhere, and send mail to
 245   ftp-upload@gnu.org, asking them to put it on prep.
 246 * Send an announcement message to gnu-announce@gnu.org.  Put a brief
 247   summary of the changes in this release first, then "Obtaining
 248   Guile", "Thanks", "About This Distribution," and "Nightly
 249   Snapshots."  If I remember correctly, the moderator will delay it
 250   until the distribution appears on ftp.gnu.org.  The announcement
 251   text should be mostly taken from Guile's README file.
 252 * Notify freshmeat.net, although they're probably watching anyway.
 253   (They got the 1.3 release just fine.)  I have no idea if
 254   www.bowerbird.com.au will be something anyone refers to, but Guile
 255   does have an entry there.
 256 * Tweak the version numbers in GUILE-VERSION, and README to indicate
 257   that the sources are a snapshot again.  Snapshots should have
 258   version numbers of the form "N.M.L", where L is odd.
 259 * Start a new section of the NEWS file.
 260 * Start a new THANKS file.