Merge pull request #1110 from bigchaindb/release-process-updates

[RFC] - Release process changes for Minor / Patch release

Release_Process.md

@@ -1,23 +1,52 @@
 # Our Release Process
 
-This is a summary of the steps we go through to release a new version of BigchainDB Server.
+The release process for BigchainDB server differs slightly depending on whether it's a minor or a patch release.
 
-1. Update the `CHANGELOG.md` file
-1. Update the version numbers in `bigchaindb/version.py`. Note that we try to use [semantic versioning](http://semver.org/) (i.e. MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)
-1. Go to the [bigchaindb/bigchaindb Releases page on GitHub](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb/releases)
-   and click the "Draft a new release" button
-1. Name the tag something like v0.7.0
-1. The target should be a specific commit: the one when the update of `bigchaindb/version.py` got merged into master
-1. The release title should be something like v0.7.0
-1. The description should be copied from the `CHANGELOG.md` file updated above
-1. Generate and send the latest `bigchaindb` package to PyPI. Dimi and Sylvain can do this, maybe others
-1. Login to readthedocs.org as a maintainer of the BigchainDB Server docs.
-   Go to Admin --> Versions and under **Choose Active Versions**, make sure that the new version's tag is
-   "Active" and "Public"
+BigchainDB follows [semantic versioning](http://semver.org/) (i.e. MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH), taking into account
+that [major version 0.x does not export a stable API](http://semver.org/#spec-item-4).
 
-After the release:
+## Minor release
 
-1. Update `bigchaindb/version.py` again, to be something like 0.8.0.dev (with a dev on the end).
+A minor release is preceeded by a feature freeze and created from the 'master' branch. This is a summary of the steps we go through to release a new minor version of BigchainDB Server.
+
+1. Update the `CHANGELOG.md` file in master
+1. Create and checkout a new branch for the release, named after the minor version, without preceeding 'v', ie: `git checkout -b 0.9`
+1. Commit changes and push new branch to Github
+1. Follow steps outlined in [Common Steps](#common-steps)
+1. In 'master' branch, Edit `bigchaindb/version.py`, increment the minor version to the next planned release ie: `0.10.0.dev'.
 This is so people reading the latest docs will know that they're for the latest (master branch)
 version of BigchainDB Server, not the docs at the time of the most recent release (which are also
 available).
+
+Congratulations, you have released BigchainDB!
+
+## Patch release
+
+A patch release is similar to a minor release, but piggybacks on an existing minor release branch:
+
+1. Check out the minor release branch
+1. Apply the changes you want, ie using `git cherry-pick`.
+1. Update the `CHANGELOG.md` file
+1. Increment the patch version in `bigchaindb/version.py`, ie: "0.9.1"
+1. Follow steps outlined in [Common Steps](#common-steps)
+
+## Common steps
+
+These steps are common between minor and patch releases:
+
+1. Go to the [bigchaindb/bigchaindb Releases page on GitHub](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb/releases)
+   and click the "Draft a new release" button
+1. Fill in the details:
+   - Tag version: version number preceeded by 'v', ie: "v0.9.1"
+   - Target: the release branch that was just pushed
+   - Title: Same as tag name
+   - Description: The body of the changelog entry (Added, Changed etc)
+1. Publish the release on Github
+1. Generate the release tarball with `python setup.py sdist`. Upload the release to Pypi.
+1. Login to readthedocs.org as a maintainer of the BigchainDB Server docs.
+   Go to Admin --> Versions and under **Choose Active Versions**, make sure that the new version's tag is
+   "Active" and "Public", and make sure the new version's branch
+   (without the 'v' in front) is _not_ active
+1. Also in readthedocs.org, go to Admin --> Advanced Settings
+   and make sure that "Default branch:" (i.e. what "latest" points to)
+   is set to the new release's tag, e.g. `v0.9.1`. (Don't miss the 'v' in front.)