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2 How To Release LLVM To The Public
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9 .. sectionauthor:: Tanya Lattner <tonic@nondot.org>,
10 Reid Spencer <rspencer@x10sys.com>,
11 John Criswell <criswell@cs.uiuc.edu> and
12 Bill Wendling <wendling@apple.com>
17 This document contains information about successfully releasing LLVM ---
18 including subprojects: e.g., ``clang`` and ``dragonegg`` --- to the public. It
19 is the Release Manager's responsibility to ensure that a high quality build of
27 LLVM is released on a time based schedule --- roughly every 6 months. We do
28 not normally have dot releases because of the nature of LLVM's incremental
29 development philosophy. That said, the only thing preventing dot releases for
30 critical bug fixes from happening is a lack of resources --- testers,
31 machines, time, etc. And, because of the high quality we desire for LLVM
32 releases, we cannot allow for a truncated form of release qualification.
34 The release process is roughly as follows:
36 * Set code freeze and branch creation date for 6 months after last code freeze
37 date. Announce release schedule to the LLVM community and update the website.
39 * Create release branch and begin release process.
41 * Send out release candidate sources for first round of testing. Testing lasts
42 7-10 days. During the first round of testing, any regressions found should be
43 fixed. Patches are merged from mainline into the release branch. Also, all
44 features need to be completed during this time. Any features not completed at
45 the end of the first round of testing will be removed or disabled for the
48 * Generate and send out the second release candidate sources. Only *critial*
49 bugs found during this testing phase will be fixed. Any bugs introduced by
50 merged patches will be fixed. If so a third round of testing is needed.
52 * The release notes are updated.
62 Release Administrative Tasks
63 ----------------------------
65 This section describes a few administrative tasks that need to be done for the
66 release process to begin. Specifically, it involves:
68 * Creating the release branch,
70 * Setting version numbers, and
72 * Tagging release candidates for the release team to begin testing.
77 Branch the Subversion trunk using the following procedure:
79 #. Remind developers that the release branching is imminent and to refrain from
80 committing patches that might break the build. E.g., new features, large
81 patches for works in progress, an overhaul of the type system, an exciting
82 new TableGen feature, etc.
84 #. Verify that the current Subversion trunk is in decent shape by
85 examining nightly tester and buildbot results.
87 #. Create the release branch for ``llvm``, ``clang``, the ``test-suite``, and
88 ``dragonegg`` from the last known good revision. The branch's name is
89 ``release_XY``, where ``X`` is the major and ``Y`` the minor release
90 numbers. The branches should be created using the following commands:
94 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/trunk \
95 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY
97 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/trunk \
98 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY
100 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/trunk \
101 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY
103 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/trunk \
104 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY
106 #. Advise developers that they may now check their patches into the Subversion
109 #. The Release Manager should switch to the release branch, because all changes
110 to the release will now be done in the branch. The easiest way to do this is
111 to grab a working copy using the following commands:
115 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY llvm-X.Y
117 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY clang-X.Y
119 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY dragonegg-X.Y
121 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY test-suite-X.Y
126 After creating the LLVM release branch, update the release branches'
127 ``autoconf`` and ``configure.ac`` versions from '``X.Ysvn``' to '``X.Y``'.
128 Update it on mainline as well to be the next version ('``X.Y+1svn``').
129 Regenerate the configure scripts for both ``llvm`` and the ``test-suite``.
131 In addition, the version numbers of all the Bugzilla components must be updated
132 for the next release.
134 Build the LLVM Release Candidates
135 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
137 Create release candidates for ``llvm``, ``clang``, ``dragonegg``, and the LLVM
138 ``test-suite`` by tagging the branch with the respective release candidate
139 number. For instance, to create **Release Candidate 1** you would issue the
144 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY
145 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY \
146 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
148 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY
149 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY \
150 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
152 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY
153 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY \
154 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
156 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY
157 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY \
158 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
160 Similarly, **Release Candidate 2** would be named ``RC2`` and so on. This keeps
161 a permanent copy of the release candidate around for people to export and build
162 as they wish. The final released sources will be tagged in the ``RELEASE_XY``
163 directory as ``Final`` (c.f. :ref:`tag`).
165 The Release Manager may supply pre-packaged source tarballs for users. This can
166 be done with the following commands:
170 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 llvm-X.Yrc1
171 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 clang-X.Yrc1
172 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 dragonegg-X.Yrc1
173 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 llvm-test-X.Yrc1
175 $ tar -cvf - llvm-X.Yrc1 | gzip > llvm-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
176 $ tar -cvf - clang-X.Yrc1 | gzip > clang-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
177 $ tar -cvf - dragonegg-X.Yrc1 | gzip > dragonegg-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
178 $ tar -cvf - llvm-test-X.Yrc1 | gzip > llvm-test-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
183 The builds of ``llvm``, ``clang``, and ``dragonegg`` *must* be free of
184 errors and warnings in Debug, Release+Asserts, and Release builds. If all
185 builds are clean, then the release passes Build Qualification.
187 The ``make`` options for building the different modes:
189 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
191 +=================+=============================================+
192 | Debug | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=0`` |
193 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
194 | Release+Asserts | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=1`` |
195 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
196 | Release | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=1 DISABLE_ASSERTIONS=1`` |
197 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
202 Build ``Debug``, ``Release+Asserts``, and ``Release`` versions
203 of ``llvm`` on all supported platforms. Directions to build ``llvm``
204 are :ref:`here <getting_started>`.
206 Build Clang Binary Distribution
207 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
209 Creating the ``clang`` binary distribution (Debug/Release+Asserts/Release)
210 requires performing the following steps for each supported platform:
212 #. Build clang according to the directions `here
213 <http://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html>`__.
215 #. Build both a Debug and Release version of clang. The binary will be the
218 #. Package ``clang`` (details to follow).
220 Target Specific Build Details
221 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
223 The table below specifies which compilers are used for each Arch/OS combination
224 when qualifying the build of ``llvm``, ``clang``, and ``dragonegg``.
226 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
227 | Architecture | OS | compiler |
228 +==============+===============+======================+
229 | x86-32 | Mac OS 10.5 | gcc 4.0.1 |
230 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
231 | x86-32 | Linux | gcc 4.2.X, gcc 4.3.X |
232 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
233 | x86-32 | FreeBSD | gcc 4.2.X |
234 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
235 | x86-32 | mingw | gcc 3.4.5 |
236 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
237 | x86-64 | Mac OS 10.5 | gcc 4.0.1 |
238 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
239 | x86-64 | Linux | gcc 4.2.X, gcc 4.3.X |
240 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
241 | x86-64 | FreeBSD | gcc 4.2.X |
242 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
244 Release Qualification Criteria
245 ------------------------------
247 A release is qualified when it has no regressions from the previous release (or
248 baseline). Regressions are related to correctness first and performance second.
249 (We may tolerate some minor performance regressions if they are deemed
250 necessary for the general quality of the compiler.)
252 **Regressions are new failures in the set of tests that are used to qualify
253 each product and only include things on the list. Every release will have
254 some bugs in it. It is the reality of developing a complex piece of
255 software. We need a very concrete and definitive release criteria that
256 ensures we have monotonically improving quality on some metric. The metric we
257 use is described below. This doesn't mean that we don't care about other
258 criteria, but these are the criteria which we found to be most important and
259 which must be satisfied before a release can go out.**
264 LLVM is qualified when it has a clean test run without a front-end. And it has
265 no regressions when using either ``clang`` or ``dragonegg`` with the
266 ``test-suite`` from the previous release.
271 ``Clang`` is qualified when front-end specific tests in the ``llvm`` dejagnu
272 test suite all pass, clang's own test suite passes cleanly, and there are no
273 regressions in the ``test-suite``.
275 Specific Target Qualification Details
276 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
278 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
279 | Architecture | OS | clang baseline | tests |
280 +==============+=============+================+=============================+
281 | x86-32 | Linux | last release | llvm dejagnu, |
282 | | | | clang tests, |
283 | | | | test-suite (including spec) |
284 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
285 | x86-32 | FreeBSD | last release | llvm dejagnu, |
286 | | | | clang tests, |
288 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
289 | x86-32 | mingw | none | QT |
290 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
291 | x86-64 | Mac OS 10.X | last release | llvm dejagnu, |
292 | | | | clang tests, |
293 | | | | test-suite (including spec) |
294 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
295 | x86-64 | Linux | last release | llvm dejagnu, |
296 | | | | clang tests, |
297 | | | | test-suite (including spec) |
298 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
299 | x86-64 | FreeBSD | last release | llvm dejagnu, |
300 | | | | clang tests, |
302 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
307 Once all testing has been completed and appropriate bugs filed, the release
308 candidate tarballs are put on the website and the LLVM community is notified.
309 Ask that all LLVM developers test the release in 2 ways:
311 #. Download ``llvm-X.Y``, ``llvm-test-X.Y``, and the appropriate ``clang``
312 binary. Build LLVM. Run ``make check`` and the full LLVM test suite (``make
313 TEST=nightly report``).
315 #. Download ``llvm-X.Y``, ``llvm-test-X.Y``, and the ``clang`` sources. Compile
316 everything. Run ``make check`` and the full LLVM test suite (``make
317 TEST=nightly report``).
319 Ask LLVM developers to submit the test suite report and ``make check`` results
320 to the list. Verify that there are no regressions from the previous release.
321 The results are not used to qualify a release, but to spot other potential
322 problems. For unsupported targets, verify that ``make check`` is at least
325 During the first round of testing, all regressions must be fixed before the
326 second release candidate is tagged.
328 If this is the second round of testing, the testing is only to ensure that bug
329 fixes previously merged in have not created new major problems. *This is not
330 the time to solve additional and unrelated bugs!* If no patches are merged in,
331 the release is determined to be ready and the release manager may move onto the
337 Below are the rules regarding patching the release branch:
339 #. Patches applied to the release branch may only be applied by the release
342 #. During the first round of testing, patches that fix regressions or that are
343 small and relatively risk free (verified by the appropriate code owner) are
344 applied to the branch. Code owners are asked to be very conservative in
345 approving patches for the branch. We reserve the right to reject any patch
346 that does not fix a regression as previously defined.
348 #. During the remaining rounds of testing, only patches that fix critical
349 regressions may be applied.
354 The final stages of the release process involves tagging the "final" release
355 branch, updating documentation that refers to the release, and updating the
361 Review the documentation and ensure that it is up to date. The "Release Notes"
362 must be updated to reflect new features, bug fixes, new known issues, and
363 changes in the list of supported platforms. The "Getting Started Guide" should
364 be updated to reflect the new release version number tag available from
365 Subversion and changes in basic system requirements. Merge both changes from
366 mainline into the release branch.
370 Tag the LLVM Final Release
371 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
373 Tag the final release sources using the following procedure:
377 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY \
378 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
380 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY \
381 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
383 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY \
384 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
386 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY \
387 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
389 Update the LLVM Demo Page
390 -------------------------
392 The LLVM demo page must be updated to use the new release. This consists of
393 using the new ``clang`` binary and building LLVM.
395 Update the LLVM Website
396 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
398 The website must be updated before the release announcement is sent out. Here
401 #. Check out the ``www`` module from Subversion.
403 #. Create a new subdirectory ``X.Y`` in the releases directory.
405 #. Commit the ``llvm``, ``test-suite``, ``clang`` source, ``clang binaries``,
406 ``dragonegg`` source, and ``dragonegg`` binaries in this new directory.
408 #. Copy and commit the ``llvm/docs`` and ``LICENSE.txt`` files into this new
409 directory. The docs should be built with ``BUILD_FOR_WEBSITE=1``.
411 #. Commit the ``index.html`` to the ``release/X.Y`` directory to redirect (use
412 from previous release).
414 #. Update the ``releases/download.html`` file with the new release.
416 #. Update the ``releases/index.html`` with the new release and link to release
419 #. Finally, update the main page (``index.html`` and sidebar) to point to the
420 new release and release announcement. Make sure this all gets committed back
426 Have Chris send out the release announcement when everything is finished.