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 * Remove compatability module (ice-9 and-let*) eventually (when a
  11   major release with the real module (ice-9 and-let-star) has been out
  12   long enough, probably release 1.6).
  13
  14 * Deprecate `read-only-string?'.
  15
  16 After signal handling and threading have been fixed:
  17 - remove the code corresponding to GUILE_OLD_ASYNC_CLICK and the corresponding
  18   GUILE_OLD_ASYNC_CLICK macro.
  19
  20 In release 1.5:
  21 - remove deprecated macros: SCM_INPORTP, SCM_OUTPORTP, SCM_CRDY, SCM_ICHRP,
  22   SCM_ICHR, SCM_MAKICHR, SCM_SETJMPBUF, SCM_NSTRINGP, SCM_NRWSTRINGP,
  23   SCM_NVECTORP
  24 - remove gc-thunk (It has been replaced by after-gc-hook.)
  25 - remove scm_sysmissing
  26 - remove gh_int2scmb (replaced by gh_bool2scm)
  27 - remove scm_fseek (replaced by scm_seek)
  28 - remove scm_tag
  29 - remove code related to the name property of hooks.  Also, check init.c,
  30   since the dependency between hooks and objprop will then be eliminated.
  31 - remove deprecated function scm_list_star/list*  (use SRFI-1 compliant
  32   scm_cons_star/cons* instead.)
  33 - remove scm_tc16_flo, scm_tc_flo (guile always uses doubles to represent
  34   inexact real numbers)
  35 - remove scm_tc_dblr (replaced by scm_tc16_real)
  36 - remove scm_tc_dblc (replaced by scm_tc16_complex)
  37 - remove deprecated types, functions and macros from numbers.h:  scm_dblproc,
  38   SCM_UNEGFIXABLE, SCM_FLOBUFLEN, SCM_INEXP, SCM_CPLXP, SCM_REAL, SCM_IMAG,
  39   SCM_REALPART, scm_makdbl, SCM_SINGP, SCM_NUM2DBL, SCM_NO_BIGDIG
  40 - remove deprecated macro from tags.h: SCM_DOUBLE_CELLP
  41
  42 In release 1.6:
  43 - remove support for autoloading compiled-code modules:
  44     try-module-linked
  45     try-module-dynamic-link
  46     init-dynamic-module
  47     scm_register_module_xxx
  48     etc.
  49 - remove deprecated variables:
  50     scm_top_level_lookup_closure_var
  51 - remove deprecated functions:
  52     eval.c: scm_eval2, scm_eval_3
  53     load.c: scm_read_and_eval_x
  54     smob.c: scm_make_smob_type_mfpe, scm_set_smob_mfpe
  55     gc.c: scm_remember
  56     string.c: scm_makstr
  57 - remove deprecated procedures:
  58     boot-9.scm:eval-in-module
  59 - remove deprecated macros: SCM_OUTOFRANGE, SCM_NALLOC, SCM_HUP_SIGNAL,
  60   SCM_INT_SIGNAL, SCM_FPE_SIGNAL, SCM_BUS_SIGNAL, SCM_SEGV_SIGNAL,
  61   SCM_ALRM_SIGNAL, SCM_GC_SIGNAL, SCM_TICK_SIGNAL, SCM_SIG_ORD,
  62   SCM_ORD_SIG, SCM_NUM_SIGS, SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP, SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR,
  63   SCM_FREEP, SCM_NFREEP, SCM_CHARS, SCM_UCHARS, SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING,
  64   SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING_COPY, SCM_VALIDATE_NULLORROSTRING_COPY, SCM_ROLENGTH,
  65   SCM_LENGTH, SCM_HUGE_LENGTH, SCM_SUBSTRP, SCM_SUBSTR_STR, SCM_SUBSTR_OFFSET,
  66   SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR, SCM_ROSTRINGP, SCM_RWSTRINGP, SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING,
  67   SCM_ROCHARS, SCM_ROUCHARS, SCM_SETLENGTH, SCM_SETCHARS, SCM_LENGTH_MAX,
  68   SCM_GC8MARKP, SCM_SETGC8MARK, SCM_CLRGC8MARK, SCM_GCTYP16, SCM_GCCDR,
  69   SCM_SUBR_DOC, SCM_OPDIRP, SCM_VALIDATE_OPDIR, SCM_WTA, RETURN_SCM_WTA,
  70   SCM_WNA, SCM_FUNC_NAME, SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_COPY,
  71   SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_DEF_COPY, SCM_SLOPPY_CONSP, SCM_SLOPPY_NCONSP,
  72   SCM_SETAND_CDR, SCM_SETOR_CDR
  73 - remove scm_vector_set_length_x
  74 - remove function scm_call_catching_errors
  75   (replaced by catch functions from throw.[ch])
  76 - remove support for "#&" reader syntax in (ice-9 optargs).
  77 - remove scm_make_shared_substring
  78 - remove scm_read_only_string_p
  79 - remove scm_strhash
  80 - remove scm_tc7_ssymbol
  81 - remove scm_tc7_msymbol
  82 - remove scm_tcs_symbols
  83 - remove scm_sloppy_memq, scm_sloppy_memv, scm_sloppy_member
  84 - consider removing the automatic loading of (ice-9 rdelim) when guile
  85   starts up.  This would be a brave move, since a lot of code will
  86   assume that read-line is available by default.  However it would make
  87   it easier to use alternative implementations of this module, e.g., a
  88   strictly scsh-compatible version which uses multiple values.  For
  89   interactive use it would be easy to load the module in ~/.guile.
  90 - remove scm_close_all_ports_except
  91 - remove scm_strprint_obj
  92 - remove SCM_CONST_LONG
  93 - remove scm_wta
  94
  95 Modules sort.c and random.c should be factored out into separate
  96 modules (but still be distributed with guile-core) when we get a new
  97 module system.
  98
  99 Platforms for test builds:
 100 SunOS (gcc and pcc) --- galapas.ai.mit.edu
 101 Solaris (gcc and SUN cc) --- saturn.ai.mit.edu
 102 NetBSD (gcc) --- repo-man.ai.mit.edu (use /home/repo/jimb)
 103 HP/UX (gcc, HP cc) --- nutrimat.gnu.ai.mit.edu
 104
 105 These gentlemen have kindly offered to do pre-release testing:
 106
 107 Tom Tromey <tromey@cygnus.com>:
 108
 109   alphaev5-unknown-linux-gnu
 110   hppa1.1-hp-hpux10.20
 111   hppa1.1-hp-hpux11.00
 112   mips-sgi-irix5.3
 113   powerpc-ibm-aix4.2.0.0
 114   powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu
 115   sparc-sun-solaris2.6
 116   i686-pc-linux-gnu
 117   mips-sgi-irix6.3
 118   sparc-sun-sunos4.1.4
 119
 120 Ian Grant <I.A.N.Grant@damtp.cam.ac.uk>:
 121
 122   alpha-dec-osf4.0e
 123
 124 Julian Satchell <satchell@merry.dra.hmg.gb>:
 125
 126   dec-mips-ultrix
 127
 128 Perry Metzger <perry@piermont.com>
 129
 130   NetBSD
 131
 132
 133 Release Checklists ===================================================
 134
 135 There are basically two phases to doing a release:
 136
 137 * "SPIFFING": Updating NEWS, README, INSTALL.  Running tests.  Getting
 138   people to try builds on various machines.  Getting everything
 139   straightened up.
 140
 141 * "PUNTING": Updating the version numbers.  Tagging the sources.  Asking
 142   the FSF to put the disty on ftp.gnu.org.  Posting announcements.
 143
 144 The "Spiffing" phase you might go through several times as you
 145 discover problems.  The "Punting" phase you do only once.
 146
 147
 148 Spiffing checklist:
 149
 150 * Do a `cvs update -A', to get rid of any sticky tags in your working
 151   directory.
 152 * Check for files that have changed a lot, but do not have up-to-date
 153   copyright notices.  This can be as simple as doing:
 154         grep 'Copyright' * | grep -v 1999
 155   and looking for files you know you've worked on a lot.
 156 * Make sure NEWS, INSTALL and the docs are up to date:
 157   + Scan the ChangeLogs for user-visible changes, marked with an asterisk
 158     at the left margin.
 159   + Update NEWS and the Texinfo documentation as appropriate.
 160   + Remove the user-visible markers from the log entries once they're
 161     documented.
 162   + Check for any [[incomplete]] sections of NEWS.
 163   + Fact-check INSTALL.
 164 * Make sure the downloading addresses and filenames in README are
 165   current.  (But don't bump the version number yet.  We do that below.)
 166 * Check that the versions of aclocal, automake, autoconf, and autoheader
 167   in your PATH match those given in HACKING.  Note that the `make
 168   dist' process always invokes these tools, even when all the
 169   generated files are up to date.
 170 * Rebuild all generated files in the source tree:
 171   + Install the .m4 files where aclocal will find them.
 172   + Run aclocal.
 173   + Run autoconf.
 174   + Run autoheader.
 175   + Run automake.
 176 * Verify that Guile builds and runs in your working directory.
 177 * Run the test suite, in guile-core/test-suite.
 178 * Commit all changes to the CVS repository.
 179 * Build a test distribution.
 180   + BEFORE doing 'make dist', configure the source tree for build
 181     in the same tree with configuration options
 182     --enable-maintainer-mode --enable-debug-malloc --with-threads.
 183   + Make sure that readline was enabled correctly.
 184   + Build the tree.
 185     (If the above steps are not done, the dependencies won't be properly
 186     included in the generated Makefile.in files.)
 187   + Then do 'make dist'.
 188   + Check that the dependencies in guile-readline/Makefile look OK.
 189     (We currently use a kludge which edits the dependencies generated
 190     by automake so that Guile can be built in a directory separate
 191     from the source tree also with non-GNU make programs.)
 192 * Give the test disty to various people to try.  Here's what you should do:
 193   + Unset GUILE_LOAD_PATH.
 194   + Remove automake and autoconf from your path, or turn off their
 195     execute bits, or something.  (Users must be able to build the
 196     disty without installing those tools.)
 197   + Configure, make, and install.
 198   + Make sure LD_LIBRARY_PATH doesn't include anything unnecessary.
 199   + Run the test suite on the installed version.
 200   + You might try the example code in the doc directory.
 201
 202 Once you've got a disty that seems pretty solid:
 203
 204 * Choose new interface numbers for shared libraries.
 205 * Update the version numbers in GUILE-VERSION and README.  (There are
 206   many places in README that need updating!)  The Guile version
 207   number should have one of the following forms:
 208     N.M                      - a major release
 209     N.M.L, where L is even   - a minor release
 210     N.M.L, where L is odd    - sources from CVS or nightly snapshot
 211 * Reformat the names in THANKS.
 212 * Do a `cvs update -A' of the whole tree, to look for any stray
 213   uncommitted or accidental changes.
 214 * Commit your changes.
 215 * Make one last test distribution.
 216
 217 Punting checklist:
 218
 219 * Add "Guile N.M released." entry to the top-level ChangeLog, and commit it.
 220 * Tag the entire source tree with a tag of the form "release_N_M"
 221   or "release_N_M_L".
 222 * Do a 'make dist'.
 223 * Put the distribution up for FTP somewhere, and send mail to
 224   ftp-upload@gnu.org, asking them to put it on prep.
 225 * Send an announcement message to gnu-announce@gnu.org.  Put a brief
 226   summary of the changes in this release first, then "Obtaining
 227   Guile", "Thanks", "About This Distribution," and "Nightly
 228   Snapshots."  If I remember correctly, the moderator will delay it
 229   until the distribution appears on ftp.gnu.org.  The announcement
 230   text should be mostly taken from Guile's README file.
 231 * Notify freshmeat.net, although they're probably watching anyway.
 232   (They got the 1.3 release just fine.)  I have no idea if
 233   www.bowerbird.com.au will be something anyone refers to, but Guile
 234   does have an entry there.
 235 * Tweak the version numbers in GUILE-VERSION, and README to indicate
 236   that the sources are a snapshot again.  Snapshots should have
 237   version numbers of the form "N.M.L", where L is odd.
 238 * Start a new section of the NEWS file.
 239 * Start a new THANKS file.