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 2.0.123:

1. Update the documentation under src/site
   • minimally, this means at least:
     • src/site/xdoc/release/release-notes.xml
       • copy an existing release section & 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
     • src/site/xdoc/download_log4net.xml
       • you should be able to search & replace on the prior version for the new one you're about to create
2. Update the log4net.csproj file with this new version
3. Build release artifacts with npm run release
   • if this doesn't work, you may need to npm ci first!
   • currently, this must happen on a windows machine because of older .net framework requirements which cannot be met on a Linux machine (or at least, I haven't figured out how - in particular CF)
   • TODO: the following are still manual and need to be built into the release script:
     • log4net.build: update package.version property
     • log4net.shfbproj: update HtmlHelpName
     • pom.xml: update version
4. Sign release artifacts (zips & nupkg) under build/artifacts
   • eg gpg --argmor --output log4net-2.0.123.nupkg.asc --detach-sig log4net-2.0.123.nupkg
   • there is an accompanying sign-log4net-libraries.sh which you could invoke if you cd into the build/artifacts folder
     • I build on Windows and sign on Linux as my build machine belongs to my company and I don't want to store keys there. Always protect your keys fervently!
5. 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-2.0.123
6. Copy the contents of target/site from this repo into the folder created in (5)
   • remember to either update or link in sdk docs from a prior release
7. Update the symlinks in the base of the docs repo, ie:
   • 2.0.x -> 2.0.123
   • 2.x -> 2.0.123
8. update the doap_log4net.rdf to point to the new release
   • (copy-paste-modify an existing release)
9. update the .htaccess file
   • the trailing RewriteRule should point to the new log4net-2.0.123 folder
10. 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?
      • are you seeing the correct downloads page?
      • download links should (at this point) not work
11. create an rc-releasd at GitHub with a tag like rc/2.0.123-rc1
    • attach all the files from the build/artifacts folder, including signatures
12. 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
    • copy in source & binary artifacts to respective locations
    • svn delete old items (or defer this until after the vote completes)
    • svn commit
13. raise a vote on the log4net mailing list (dev@logging.apache.org) - see MailTemplate.txt
14. wait
15. when the vote has 3 or more +1‘s, it’s time to go live!
16. 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
    • copy in source & binary artifacts to respective locations
    • svn delete old items
    • svn commit
17. 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>
18. 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
19. rename the release at github, eg to rel/2.0.123
    • double-check that the rel tag is created