/* Copyright (c) 2003,2005,2007 Theodore Roth
   All rights reserved.

   Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
   modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

   * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
     notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
   * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
     notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in
     the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
     distribution.

  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
  AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
  ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
  LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
  CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
  SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
  INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
  CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
  ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
  POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. */

/* $Id: rel-method.dox,v 1.9 2007/05/14 20:19:34 joerg_wunsch Exp $ */

/** \page release_method Release Numbering and Methodology

\section version_info Release Version Numbering Scheme

\subsection version_stable Stable Versions

A stable release will always have a minor number that is an even number. This
implies that you should be able to upgrade to a new version of the library
with the same major and minor numbers without fear that any of the APIs have
changed. The only changes that should be made to a stable branch are bug fixes
and under some circumstances, additional functionality (e.g. adding support
for a new device).

If major version number has changed, this implies that the required versions
of gcc and binutils have changed. Consult the README file in the toplevel
directory of the AVR Libc source for which versions are required.

\subsection version_dev Development Versions

The major version number of a development series is always the same as the
last stable release.

The minor version number of a development series is always an odd number and
is 1 more than the last stable release.

The patch version number of a development series is always 0 until a new
branch is cut at which point the patch number is changed to 90 to denote the
branch is approaching a release and the date appended to the version to denote
that it is still in development.

All versions in development in cvs will also always have the date appended as
a fourth version number. The format of the date will be YYYYMMDD.

So, the development version number will look like this:

\verbatim
1.1.0.20030825
\endverbatim

While a pre-release version number on a branch (destined to become either 1.2
or 2.0) will look like this:

\verbatim
1.1.90.20030828
\endverbatim

\section release_info Releasing AVR Libc

The information in this section is only relevant to AVR Libc developers and
can be ignored by end users.

\note In what follows, I assume you know how to use cvs and how to checkout
multiple source trees in a single directory without having them clobber each
other. If you don't know how to do this, you probably shouldn't be making
releases or cutting branches.

\subsection release_branch Creating a cvs branch

The following steps should be taken to cut a branch in cvs:

-# Check out a fresh source tree from cvs HEAD.
-# Update the NEWS file with pending release number and commit to cvs HEAD:<br>
   Change &quot;Changes since avr-libc-\<last_release\>:&quot; to 
   &quot;Changes in avr-libc-\<this_relelase\>:&quot;.
-# Set the branch-point tag (setting \<major\> and \<minor\> accordingly):<br>
   'cvs tag avr-libc-\<major\>_\<minor\>-branchpoint'
-# Create the branch:<br>
   'cvs tag -b avr-libc-\<major\>_\<minor\>-branch'
-# Update the package version in configure.ac and commit configure.ac to cvs
   HEAD:<br>
   Change minor number to next odd value.
-# Update the NEWS file and commit to cvs HEAD:<br>
   Add &quot;Changes since avr-libc-\<this_release\>:&quot;
-# Check out a new tree for the branch:<br>
   'cvs co -r avr-libc-\<major\>_\<minor\>-branch'
-# Update the package version in configure.ac and commit configure.ac to cvs
   branch:<br>
   Change the patch number to 90 to denote that this now a branch leading up
   to a release. Be sure to leave the \<date\> part of the version.
-# Bring the build system up to date by running bootstrap and configure.
-# Perform a 'make distcheck' and make sure it succeeds. This will create the
   snapshot source tarball. This should be considered the first release
   candidate.
-# Upload the snapshot tarball to savannah.
-# Announce the branch and the branch tag to the avr-libc-dev list so other
   developers can checkout the branch.

\note CVS tags do not allow the use of periods ('.').

\subsection release_rolling Making a release

A stable release will only be done on a branch, not from the cvs HEAD.

The following steps should be taken when making a release:

-# Make sure the source tree you are working from is on the correct branch:<br>
   'cvs update -r avr-libc-\<major\>_\<minor\>-branch'
-# Update the package version in configure.ac and commit it to cvs.
-# Update the gnu tool chain version requirements in the README and commit
   to cvs.
-# Update the ChangeLog file to note the release and commit to cvs on the
   branch:<br>
   Add &quot;Released avr-libc-\<this_release\>.&quot;
-# Update the NEWS file with pending release number and commit to cvs:<br>
   Change &quot;Changes since avr-libc-\<last_release\>:&quot; to
   &quot;Changes in avr-libc-\<this_relelase\>:&quot;.
-# Bring the build system up to date by running bootstrap and configure.
-# Perform a 'make distcheck' and make sure it succeeds. This will create the
   source tarball.
-# Tag the release:<br>
   'cvs tag avr-libc-\<major\>_\<minor\>_\<patch\>-release'
-# Upload the tarball to savannah.
-# Update the NEWS file, and commit to cvs:<br>
   Add &quot;Changes since avr-libc-\<major\>_\<minor\>_\<patch\>:&quot;
-# Generate the latest documentation and upload to savannah.
-# Announce the release.

The following hypothetical diagram should help clarify version and branch
relationships.

\image html releases.png "Release tree"
\image latex releases.eps "Release tree" width=5in

*/
