RELEASING.md

Log4Net Release procedure

This serves to document the release procedure for log4net, which is probably more of interest to maintainers than anyone else, but I've found that there are enough moving parts and time between releases to make the process more difficult than it needs to be. Some parts are automated and others can be in the future.

Assuming the code is in a place where a release can be made, for the imagined release version 3.2.1:

1. Update the documentation under src/site
   • minimally, this means at least:
     • src/changelog
       • copy an existing release folder & think about:
         • what does this release change?
         • bug fixes?
         • enhancements
         • don't forget to mention contributors
           • people who reported issues
           • people who created pull requests
           • people who suggested code that was implemented
2. Build release artifacts with scripts/build-release.ps1
   • the scripts works on Linux and Windows
   • Prerequisites
     • PowerShell
       • https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-on-windows
       • https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/install-ubuntu
     • zip (http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gnuwin32/zip-3.0-bin.zip)
3. Clone out the log4net doc repo (https://github.com/apache/logging-log4net-site)
   • check out the asf-staging branch
   • create a folder which includes the version, eg log4net-3.2.1
4. Copy the contents of target/site from this repo into the folder created in (4)
   • remember to either update or link in sdk docs from a prior release
5. Update the symlinks in the base of the docs repo, ie:
   • 3.2.x -> 3.2.1
   • 3.x -> 3.2.1
6. update the doap_log4net.rdf to point to the new release
7. update the .htaccess file
   • the trailing RewriteRule should point to the new log4net-3.2.1 folder
8. push the asf-staging branch to github and wait a bit
   • after a minute or two, check the updates at https://logging.staged.apache.org/log4net
     • are you seeing the correct releases page?
     • download links should (at this point) not work
9. create an rc-releasd at GitHub with a tag like rc/3.2.1-rc1
   • attach all the files from the build/artifacts folder, including signatures
10. get the artifacts in build/artifacts up to https://downloads.apache.org/logging/log4net/
    • svn co https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/logging -N apache-dist-logging-dev
    • cd apache-dist-logging-dev
    • svn up log4net
    • svn delete *
    • mkdir 3.2.1
    • copy all artifacts to the new folder
    • svn add *
    • svn commit -m 'log4net 3.2.1'
    • check https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/logging/log4net/3.2.1/
11. raise a vote on the log4net mailing list (dev@logging.apache.org) - see MailTemplate.txt
12. wait
13. when the vote has 3 or more +1's, it's time to go live!
14. copy the apache artifacts (binary and source) to the release svn repo and commit
    • svn co https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/logging -N apache-dist-logging-release
    • cd apache-dist-logging-release
    • svn up log4net
    • svn delete old items
    • copy all artifacts to the new folder
    • svn add *
    • svn commit
15. push the .nupkg to nuget.org
    • via dotnet: dotnet nuget push <path to package> -s nuget.org -k <your nuget api key>
    • via nuget: nuget push <path to package> -Source nuget.org -ApiKey <your nuget api key>
16. don't forget to make the docs live: in the logging-log4net-site folder:
    • git checkout asf-site
    • git pull --rebase
    • git merge asf-staging
17. rename the release at github, eg to rel/3.2.1
    • double-check that the rel tag is created
18. apply the next version by calling ./scripts/update-version.ps1 3.2.1 3.2.2