If you are acting as a Release Manager, you should be familiar with the Apache Software Foundation‘s (ASF) Release Creation Process and Release Policy. The detailed instructions and scripts we provide for Release Managers are designed to implement the ASF’s policies and procedures in the specific context of the OpenWhisk project. However, it is still essential that each Release Manager understands the rationale underlying the steps they are executing.
All released source code has to be compliant with Apache Licensing Policy. In part this is done by adding the LICENSE file and NOTICE file to each git repository and by adding Licensing headers to each source code file. Please see License Compliance for detailed information on Apache OpenWhisk project policies, rules and guidelines.
Artifacts for project repository source code and any compiled binaries are packaged separately with each artifact being signed cryptographically.
All Releases must be formally approved via a PMC vote on the dev list. A successful release vote must have a minimum of three positive binding votes and more positive than negative binding votes MUST be cast.
All release artifacts must be uploaded to project’s designated subdirectory in the Apache distribution channel (https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/).
Specifically, the Apache OpenWhisk project has a subdirectory to publish both candidate (staged) releases: https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/openwhisk/ and approved releases: https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/openwhisk/.
Release announcements should not directly refer to the main Apache dist server for mirrored artifacts (the sources.tar.gz files). Instead they should refer to the OpenWhisk project download page https://apache.openwhisk.org/downloads which is configured to redirect download requests to Apache dist mirrors or otherwise incorporate a mirroring enabled URL.
Before creating release artifacts, the Release Manager should initiate a community discussion to confirm that we are ready to release the component(s). It is also good practice to do a quick check of the repositories to confirm they are release-ready to reduce the odds of needing multiple release candidates.
The contents of a release are defined by a JSON configuration file. To create one for your release, make a copy of config_template.json and edit to provide the version information, list of repositories, and details for each repository. After creating your config, commit it to ../release-configs to provide historical documentation of project releases.
{
"versioning": {
"version": "X.Y.Z",
"pre_release_version": "rc1"
},
"RepoList": [
"openwhisk-repo-name-one",
"openwhisk-repo-name-two"
],
"openwhisk_repo_name_one": {
"name": "OpenWhisk Repo Name",
"hash": "<GIT COMMIT HASH>",
"repository": "https://github.com/apache/openwhisk-<REPO-NAME-ONE>.git",
"branch": "master"
},
"openwhisk_repo_name_two": {
"name": "OpenWhisk Repo Two",
"hash": "<GIT COMMIT HASH>",
"repository": "https://github.com/apache/openwhisk-<REPO-NAME-TWO>.git",
"branch": "master"
}
}
RepoList, we name-mangle it to convert - into _ and use the mangled name as a key whose value is an object that definesFrom the tools directory, execute the script build_release.sh providing the config.json file as an argument. Using ../stagingArea as scratch space, this script will clone the source repositories, package them into compressed tarballs, and create the checksum and detached PGP signature files.
./build_release.sh ../release-configs/<MY_RELEASE_CONFIG>.json
Next, verify the release artifacts by running local_verify.sh. This script will run rcverify.sh against your local artifacts.
./local_verify.sh ../release-configs/<MY_RELEASE_CONFIG>.json
TODO: We should also run Apache Rat as part of local_verify.sh; for now it is a recommended best practice to run Apache Rat by hand on each of your .tar.gz files.
If the release candidates pass all checks, commit them to the staging svn:
./upload_to_staging.sh ../release-configs/<MY_RELEASE_CONFIG>.json
Initiate a release vote on the dev list. Use the gen-release-vote.py script to create the body of the voting email.
When the vote can be closed (at least 72 hours and minimum number of binding votes cast), the Release Manager will respond to the voting thread modifying the subject to start with [RESULT][VOTE]... announcing the result of the vote. If the vote has sufficient -1 votes cast, the Release Manager may declare that the vote has failed without waiting the full 72 hours.
If the vote is successful, the Release Manager proceeds with publishing the release and cleaning up as described below.
It the vote is unsuccessful, correct whatever issues were raised and restart the process with new candidate releases. Update your config.json file by incrementing the rc number and changing git hashes.
After a successful vote, the release manager will commit the artifacts being released to the openwhisk subdir of the Apache dist svn.
The upload_to_dist.sh script automates the copy & svn add operations, but it assumes that every file found in the release candidate subdir should be released. If this is not true (e.g., multiple parallel release votes), then the upload must be performed manually.
./upload_to_dist.sh ../release-configs/<MY_RELEASE_CONFIG>.json
Assuming the expected set of files were added, commit them:
cd ../stagingArea/svn_release && svn commit -m "Apache OpenWhisk X.Y.Z release of <Component Description>"
Relatively soon after doing the svn commit, you should receive an email like the one shown below from reporter.apache.org asking you to add release data to its database information.
Hi, This is an automated email from reporter.apache.org. I see that you just pushed something to our release repository for the 'openwhisk' project in the following commit: r35971 at 2019-09-23 16:07:53 +0000 (Mon, 23 Sep 2019) Apache OpenWhisk CLI Group v1.0.0 If you are a PMC member of this project, we ask that you log on to: <URL ELIDED> and add your release data (version and date) to the database. ...elided rest of email...
Please follow the link and perform the update; this information is quite useful for drafting our periodic reports to the ASF Board.
Each GitHub repository needs to be tagged. Unfortunately, the naming conventions for tagging vary across the OpenWhisk project repositories and therefore we have not yet attempted to automate this step.
For each released repository, the Release Manager should examine the existing set of tags (git tag) and then add a new tag following the same convention using the git commit hash from <MY_RELEASE_CONFIG>.json. After tagging a repo, push the tag.
Many of the GitHub repositories are configured to build binary artifacts in response to new tags being committed. Monitor the build process and ensure that all expected artifacts are created for each tag you commit.
There are some slightly outdated, but much more detailed comments on release tagging available if you need a reminder of the git commands to use.
After pushing the tags, you should go to the GitHub Releases for each released project and “Draft a new release” using the tag you just pushed. If the project contains a CHANGELOG or RELEASENOTES, copy that information into the release description.
If the components you released build docker images, then you should build the docker images locally, tag them with the release version (following the naming scheme for the repo), push the new images to dockerhub using the whiskbot dockerhub id, and update the latest tag to point to the new images.
If you have published new images to dockerhub, submit PRs to openwhisk-deploy-kube and openwhisk-devtools (docker-compose) to use the new images.
The openwhisk-client-js and openwhisk-composer project release npm packages built from each source release. The Release Manager should build and publish these packages manually using the openwhisk-bot credentials found in the npmjs.txt file in the accounts subdir of the PMC private svn.
If you released a new version of openwhisk-cli, then submit a PR to Homebrew to publish the new cli version.
Submit a PR to openwhisk-website to update the Downloads page to refer to the newly released versions.
For all normal releases you should wait at least 24 hours before announcing the release to allow time for Apache Dist mirrors to be updated with the newly released artifacts. You must also wait until the PR to update the website has been merged and the change appears on the website (successful Jenkins job to rebuild website).
When announcing a release, you must use the URL of the OpenWhisk Downloads page (or some other URL that supports mirroring). Do not include a direct link to the dist.apache.org svn server.
Releases should always be announced to dev@openwhisk.apache.org. Releases can optionally be announced to announce@apache.org at the discretion of the release manager.