1 ================================= 2 How To Release LLVM To The Public 3 ================================= 4 5 .. contents:: 6 :local: 7 :depth: 1 8 9 Introduction 10 ============ 11 12 This document contains information about successfully releasing LLVM --- 13 including subprojects: e.g., ``clang`` and ``dragonegg`` --- to the public. It 14 is the Release Manager's responsibility to ensure that a high quality build of 15 LLVM is released. 16 17 .. _timeline: 18 19 Release Timeline 20 ================ 21 22 LLVM is released on a time based schedule --- roughly every 6 months. We do 23 not normally have dot releases because of the nature of LLVM's incremental 24 development philosophy. That said, the only thing preventing dot releases for 25 critical bug fixes from happening is a lack of resources --- testers, 26 machines, time, etc. And, because of the high quality we desire for LLVM 27 releases, we cannot allow for a truncated form of release qualification. 28 29 The release process is roughly as follows: 30 31 * Set code freeze and branch creation date for 6 months after last code freeze 32 date. Announce release schedule to the LLVM community and update the website. 33 34 * Create release branch and begin release process. 35 36 * Send out release candidate sources for first round of testing. Testing lasts 37 7-10 days. During the first round of testing, any regressions found should be 38 fixed. Patches are merged from mainline into the release branch. Also, all 39 features need to be completed during this time. Any features not completed at 40 the end of the first round of testing will be removed or disabled for the 41 release. 42 43 * Generate and send out the second release candidate sources. Only *critial* 44 bugs found during this testing phase will be fixed. Any bugs introduced by 45 merged patches will be fixed. If so a third round of testing is needed. 46 47 * The release notes are updated. 48 49 * Finally, release! 50 51 Release Process 52 =============== 53 54 .. contents:: 55 :local: 56 57 Release Administrative Tasks 58 ---------------------------- 59 60 This section describes a few administrative tasks that need to be done for the 61 release process to begin. Specifically, it involves: 62 63 * Creating the release branch, 64 65 * Setting version numbers, and 66 67 * Tagging release candidates for the release team to begin testing. 68 69 Create Release Branch 70 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 71 72 Branch the Subversion trunk using the following procedure: 73 74 #. Remind developers that the release branching is imminent and to refrain from 75 committing patches that might break the build. E.g., new features, large 76 patches for works in progress, an overhaul of the type system, an exciting 77 new TableGen feature, etc. 78 79 #. Verify that the current Subversion trunk is in decent shape by 80 examining nightly tester and buildbot results. 81 82 #. Create the release branch for ``llvm``, ``clang``, the ``test-suite``, and 83 ``dragonegg`` from the last known good revision. The branch's name is 84 ``release_XY``, where ``X`` is the major and ``Y`` the minor release 85 numbers. The branches should be created using the following commands: 86 87 :: 88 89 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/trunk \ 90 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY 91 92 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/trunk \ 93 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY 94 95 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/trunk \ 96 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY 97 98 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/trunk \ 99 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY 100 101 #. Advise developers that they may now check their patches into the Subversion 102 tree again. 103 104 #. The Release Manager should switch to the release branch, because all changes 105 to the release will now be done in the branch. The easiest way to do this is 106 to grab a working copy using the following commands: 107 108 :: 109 110 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY llvm-X.Y 111 112 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY clang-X.Y 113 114 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY dragonegg-X.Y 115 116 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY test-suite-X.Y 117 118 Update LLVM Version 119 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 120 121 After creating the LLVM release branch, update the release branches' 122 ``autoconf`` and ``configure.ac`` versions from '``X.Ysvn``' to '``X.Y``'. 123 Update it on mainline as well to be the next version ('``X.Y+1svn``'). 124 Regenerate the configure scripts for both ``llvm`` and the ``test-suite``. 125 126 In addition, the version numbers of all the Bugzilla components must be updated 127 for the next release. 128 129 Build the LLVM Release Candidates 130 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 131 132 Create release candidates for ``llvm``, ``clang``, ``dragonegg``, and the LLVM 133 ``test-suite`` by tagging the branch with the respective release candidate 134 number. For instance, to create **Release Candidate 1** you would issue the 135 following commands: 136 137 :: 138 139 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY 140 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY \ 141 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 142 143 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY 144 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY \ 145 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 146 147 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY 148 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY \ 149 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 150 151 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY 152 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY \ 153 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 154 155 Similarly, **Release Candidate 2** would be named ``RC2`` and so on. This keeps 156 a permanent copy of the release candidate around for people to export and build 157 as they wish. The final released sources will be tagged in the ``RELEASE_XY`` 158 directory as ``Final`` (c.f. :ref:`tag`). 159 160 The Release Manager may supply pre-packaged source tarballs for users. This can 161 be done with the following commands: 162 163 :: 164 165 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 llvm-X.Yrc1 166 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 clang-X.Yrc1 167 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 dragonegg-X.Yrc1 168 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 llvm-test-X.Yrc1 169 170 $ tar -cvf - llvm-X.Yrc1 | gzip > llvm-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz 171 $ tar -cvf - clang-X.Yrc1 | gzip > clang-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz 172 $ tar -cvf - dragonegg-X.Yrc1 | gzip > dragonegg-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz 173 $ tar -cvf - llvm-test-X.Yrc1 | gzip > llvm-test-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz 174 175 Building the Release 176 -------------------- 177 178 The builds of ``llvm``, ``clang``, and ``dragonegg`` *must* be free of 179 errors and warnings in Debug, Release+Asserts, and Release builds. If all 180 builds are clean, then the release passes Build Qualification. 181 182 The ``make`` options for building the different modes: 183 184 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+ 185 | Mode | Options | 186 +=================+=============================================+ 187 | Debug | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=0`` | 188 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+ 189 | Release+Asserts | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=1`` | 190 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+ 191 | Release | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=1 DISABLE_ASSERTIONS=1`` | 192 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+ 193 194 Build LLVM 195 ^^^^^^^^^^ 196 197 Build ``Debug``, ``Release+Asserts``, and ``Release`` versions 198 of ``llvm`` on all supported platforms. Directions to build ``llvm`` 199 are :doc:`here <GettingStarted>`. 200 201 Build Clang Binary Distribution 202 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 203 204 Creating the ``clang`` binary distribution (Debug/Release+Asserts/Release) 205 requires performing the following steps for each supported platform: 206 207 #. Build clang according to the directions `here 208 <http://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html>`__. 209 210 #. Build both a Debug and Release version of clang. The binary will be the 211 Release build. 212 213 #. Package ``clang`` (details to follow). 214 215 Target Specific Build Details 216 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 217 218 The table below specifies which compilers are used for each Arch/OS combination 219 when qualifying the build of ``llvm``, ``clang``, and ``dragonegg``. 220 221 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 222 | Architecture | OS | compiler | 223 +==============+===============+======================+ 224 | x86-32 | Mac OS 10.5 | gcc 4.0.1 | 225 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 226 | x86-32 | Linux | gcc 4.2.X, gcc 4.3.X | 227 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 228 | x86-32 | FreeBSD | gcc 4.2.X | 229 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 230 | x86-32 | mingw | gcc 3.4.5 | 231 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 232 | x86-64 | Mac OS 10.5 | gcc 4.0.1 | 233 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 234 | x86-64 | Linux | gcc 4.2.X, gcc 4.3.X | 235 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 236 | x86-64 | FreeBSD | gcc 4.2.X | 237 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+ 238 239 Release Qualification Criteria 240 ------------------------------ 241 242 A release is qualified when it has no regressions from the previous release (or 243 baseline). Regressions are related to correctness first and performance second. 244 (We may tolerate some minor performance regressions if they are deemed 245 necessary for the general quality of the compiler.) 246 247 **Regressions are new failures in the set of tests that are used to qualify 248 each product and only include things on the list. Every release will have 249 some bugs in it. It is the reality of developing a complex piece of 250 software. We need a very concrete and definitive release criteria that 251 ensures we have monotonically improving quality on some metric. The metric we 252 use is described below. This doesn't mean that we don't care about other 253 criteria, but these are the criteria which we found to be most important and 254 which must be satisfied before a release can go out.** 255 256 Qualify LLVM 257 ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 258 259 LLVM is qualified when it has a clean test run without a front-end. And it has 260 no regressions when using either ``clang`` or ``dragonegg`` with the 261 ``test-suite`` from the previous release. 262 263 Qualify Clang 264 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 265 266 ``Clang`` is qualified when front-end specific tests in the ``llvm`` regression 267 test suite all pass, clang's own test suite passes cleanly, and there are no 268 regressions in the ``test-suite``. 269 270 Specific Target Qualification Details 271 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 272 273 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+ 274 | Architecture | OS | clang baseline | tests | 275 +==============+=============+================+=============================+ 276 | x86-32 | Linux | last release | llvm regression tests, | 277 | | | | clang regression tests, | 278 | | | | test-suite (including spec) | 279 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+ 280 | x86-32 | FreeBSD | last release | llvm regression tests, | 281 | | | | clang regression tests, | 282 | | | | test-suite | 283 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+ 284 | x86-32 | mingw | none | QT | 285 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+ 286 | x86-64 | Mac OS 10.X | last release | llvm regression tests, | 287 | | | | clang regression tests, | 288 | | | | test-suite (including spec) | 289 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+ 290 | x86-64 | Linux | last release | llvm regression tests, | 291 | | | | clang regression tests, | 292 | | | | test-suite (including spec) | 293 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+ 294 | x86-64 | FreeBSD | last release | llvm regression tests, | 295 | | | | clang regression tests, | 296 | | | | test-suite | 297 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+ 298 299 Community Testing 300 ----------------- 301 302 Once all testing has been completed and appropriate bugs filed, the release 303 candidate tarballs are put on the website and the LLVM community is notified. 304 Ask that all LLVM developers test the release in 2 ways: 305 306 #. Download ``llvm-X.Y``, ``llvm-test-X.Y``, and the appropriate ``clang`` 307 binary. Build LLVM. Run ``make check`` and the full LLVM test suite (``make 308 TEST=nightly report``). 309 310 #. Download ``llvm-X.Y``, ``llvm-test-X.Y``, and the ``clang`` sources. Compile 311 everything. Run ``make check`` and the full LLVM test suite (``make 312 TEST=nightly report``). 313 314 Ask LLVM developers to submit the test suite report and ``make check`` results 315 to the list. Verify that there are no regressions from the previous release. 316 The results are not used to qualify a release, but to spot other potential 317 problems. For unsupported targets, verify that ``make check`` is at least 318 clean. 319 320 During the first round of testing, all regressions must be fixed before the 321 second release candidate is tagged. 322 323 If this is the second round of testing, the testing is only to ensure that bug 324 fixes previously merged in have not created new major problems. *This is not 325 the time to solve additional and unrelated bugs!* If no patches are merged in, 326 the release is determined to be ready and the release manager may move onto the 327 next stage. 328 329 Release Patch Rules 330 ------------------- 331 332 Below are the rules regarding patching the release branch: 333 334 #. Patches applied to the release branch may only be applied by the release 335 manager. 336 337 #. During the first round of testing, patches that fix regressions or that are 338 small and relatively risk free (verified by the appropriate code owner) are 339 applied to the branch. Code owners are asked to be very conservative in 340 approving patches for the branch. We reserve the right to reject any patch 341 that does not fix a regression as previously defined. 342 343 #. During the remaining rounds of testing, only patches that fix critical 344 regressions may be applied. 345 346 Release Final Tasks 347 ------------------- 348 349 The final stages of the release process involves tagging the "final" release 350 branch, updating documentation that refers to the release, and updating the 351 demo page. 352 353 Update Documentation 354 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 355 356 Review the documentation and ensure that it is up to date. The "Release Notes" 357 must be updated to reflect new features, bug fixes, new known issues, and 358 changes in the list of supported platforms. The "Getting Started Guide" should 359 be updated to reflect the new release version number tag available from 360 Subversion and changes in basic system requirements. Merge both changes from 361 mainline into the release branch. 362 363 .. _tag: 364 365 Tag the LLVM Final Release 366 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 367 368 Tag the final release sources using the following procedure: 369 370 :: 371 372 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY \ 373 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final 374 375 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY \ 376 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final 377 378 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY \ 379 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final 380 381 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY \ 382 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final 383 384 Update the LLVM Demo Page 385 ------------------------- 386 387 The LLVM demo page must be updated to use the new release. This consists of 388 using the new ``clang`` binary and building LLVM. 389 390 Update the LLVM Website 391 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 392 393 The website must be updated before the release announcement is sent out. Here 394 is what to do: 395 396 #. Check out the ``www`` module from Subversion. 397 398 #. Create a new subdirectory ``X.Y`` in the releases directory. 399 400 #. Commit the ``llvm``, ``test-suite``, ``clang`` source, ``clang binaries``, 401 ``dragonegg`` source, and ``dragonegg`` binaries in this new directory. 402 403 #. Copy and commit the ``llvm/docs`` and ``LICENSE.txt`` files into this new 404 directory. The docs should be built with ``BUILD_FOR_WEBSITE=1``. 405 406 #. Commit the ``index.html`` to the ``release/X.Y`` directory to redirect (use 407 from previous release). 408 409 #. Update the ``releases/download.html`` file with the new release. 410 411 #. Update the ``releases/index.html`` with the new release and link to release 412 documentation. 413 414 #. Finally, update the main page (``index.html`` and sidebar) to point to the 415 new release and release announcement. Make sure this all gets committed back 416 into Subversion. 417 418 Announce the Release 419 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 420 421 Have Chris send out the release announcement when everything is finished. 422 423
