Privoxy Developer Manual
Prev |  | Next

# 6. Releasing a New Version

When we release versions of Privoxy, our work leaves our cozy secret lab and has to work in the cold RealWorld[tm]. Once it is released, there is no way to call it back, so it is very important that great care is taken to ensure that everything runs fine, and not to introduce problems in the very last minute.

So when releasing a new version, please adhere exactly to the procedure outlined in this chapter.

The following programs are required to follow this process: `ncftpput` (ncftp), `scp, ssh` (ssh), `gmake` (GNU's version of make), autoconf, cvs.

## 6.1. Version numbers

First you need to determine which version number the release will have. Privoxy version numbers consist of three numbers, separated by dots, like in X.Y.Z (e.g. 3.0.0), where:

- X, the version major, is rarely ever changed. It is increased by one if turning a development branch into stable substantially changes the functionality, user interface or configuration syntax. Majors 1 and 2 were Junkbuster, and 3 will be the first stable Privoxy release.

- Y, the version minor, represents the branch within the major version. At any point in time, there are two branches being maintained: The stable branch, with an even minor, say, 2N, in which no functionality is being added and only bug-fixes are made, and 2N+1, the development branch, in which the further development of Privoxy takes place. This enables us to turn the code upside down and inside out, while at the same time providing and maintaining a stable version. The minor is reset to zero (and one) when the major is incremented. When a development branch has matured to the point where it can be turned into stable, the old stable branch 2N is given up (i.e. no longer maintained), the former development branch 2N+1 becomes the new stable branch 2N+2, and a new development branch 2N+3 is opened.

- Z, the point or sub version, represents a release of the software within a branch. It is therefore incremented immediately before each code freeze. In development branches, only the even point versions correspond to actual releases, while the odd ones denote the evolving state of the sources on CVS in between. It follows that Z is odd on CVS in development branches most of the time. There, it gets increased to an even number immediately before a code freeze, and is increased to an odd number again immediately thereafter. This ensures that builds from CVS snapshots are easily distinguished from released versions. The point version is reset to zero when the minor changes.

  Stable branches work a little differently, since there should be little to no development happening in such branches. Remember, only bugfixes, which presumably should have had some testing before being committed. Stable branches will then have their version reported as `0.0.0`, during that period between releases when changes are being added. This is to denote that this code is not for release. Then as the release nears, the version is bumped according: e.g. `3.0.1 -> 0.0.0 -> 3.0.2`.

In summary, the main CVS trunk is the development branch where new features are being worked on for the next stable series. This should almost always be where the most activity takes place. There is always at least one stable branch from the trunk, e.g now it is `3.0`, which is only used to release stable versions. Once the initial *.0 release of the stable branch has been done, then as a rule, only bugfixes that have had prior testing should be committed to the stable branch. Once there are enough bugfixes to justify a new release, the version of this branch is again incremented Example: 3.0.0 -> 3.0.1 -> 3.0.2, etc are all stable releases from within the stable branch. 3.1.x is currently the main trunk, and where work on 3.2.x is taking place. If any questions, please post to the devel list before committing to a stable branch!

Developers should remember too that if they commit a bugfix to the stable branch, this will more than likely require a separate submission to the main trunk, since these are separate development trees within CVS. If you are working on both, then this would require at least two separate check outs (i.e main trunk, and the stable release branch, which is `v_3_0_branch` at the moment).

## 6.2. Before the Release: Freeze

The following must be done by one of the developers prior to each new release.

- Make sure that everybody who has worked on the code in the last couple of days has had a chance to yell "no!" in case they have pending changes/fixes in their pipelines. Announce the freeze so that nobody will interfere with last minute changes.

- Increment the version number (point from odd to even in development branches!) in `configure.in`. (RPM spec files will need to be incremented as well.)

- If `default.action` has changed since last release (i.e. software release or standalone actions file release), bump up its version info to A.B in this line:

        {+add-header{X-Actions-File-Version: A.B} -filter -no-popups}

  Then change the version info in doc/webserver/actions/index.php, line: '$required_actions_file_version = "A.B";'

- All documentation should be rebuild after the version bump. Finished docs should be then be committed to CVS (for those without the ability to build these). Some docs may require rather obscure processing tools. `config`, the man page (and the html version of the man page), and the PDF docs fall in this category. REAMDE, the man page, AUTHORS, and config should all also be committed to CVS for other packagers. The formal docs should be uploaded to the webserver. See the Section "Updating the webserver" in this manual for details.

- The User Manual is also used for context sensitive help for the CGI editor. This is version sensitive, so that the user will get appropriate help for his/her release. So with each release a fresh version should be uploaded to the webserver (this is in addition to the main User Manual link from the main page since we need to keep manuals for various versions available). The CGI pages will link to something like `http://privoxy.org/$(VERSION)/user-manual/`. This will need to be updated for each new release. There is no Makefile target for this at this time!!! It needs to be done manually.

- All developers should look at the `ChangeLog` and make sure noteworthy changes are referenced.

- Commit all files that were changed in the above steps!

- Tag all files in CVS with the version number with "cvs tag v_X_Y_Z". Don't use vX_Y_Z, ver_X_Y_Z, v_X.Y.Z (won't work) etc.

- If the release was in a development branch, increase the point version from even to odd (X.Y.(Z+1)) again in `configure.in` and commit your change.

- On the webserver, copy the user manual to a new top-level directory called `X.Y.Z`. This ensures that help links from the CGI pages, which have the version as a prefix, will go into the right version of the manual. If this is a development branch release, also symlink `X.Y.(Z-1)` to `X.Y.Z` and `X.Y.(Z+1)` to `.` (i.e. dot).

## 6.3. Building and Releasing the Packages

Now the individual packages can be built and released. Note that for GPL reasons the first package to be released is always the source tarball.

For all types of packages, including the source tarball, you must make sure that you build from clean sources by exporting the right version from CVS into an empty directory (just press return when asked for a password):

      mkdir dist # delete or choose different name if it already exists
      cd dist
      cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@ijbswa.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login
      cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@ijbswa.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa export -r v_X_Y_Z current

Do NOT change a single bit, including, but not limited to version information after export from CVS. This is to make sure that all release packages, and with them, all future bug reports, are based on exactly the same code.

Warning
Every significant release of Privoxy has included at least one package that either had incorrect versions of files, missing files, or incidental leftovers from a previous build process that gave unknown numbers of users headaches to try to figure out what was wrong. PLEASE, make sure you are using pristene sources, and are following the prescribed process!

Please find additional instructions for the source tarball and the individual platform dependent binary packages below. And details on the Sourceforge release process below that.

### 6.3.1. Note on Privoxy Packaging

Please keep these general guidelines in mind when putting together your package. These apply to all platforms!

- Privoxy requires write access to: all `*.action` files, all logfiles, and the `trust` file. You will need to determine the best way to do this for your platform.

- Please include up to date documentation. At a bare minimum:

  `LICENSE` (top-level directory)

  `README` (top-level directory)

  `AUTHORS` (top-level directory)

  `man page` (top-level directory, Unix-like platforms only)

  `The User Manual` (doc/webserver/user-manual/)

  `FAQ` (doc/webserver/faq/)

  Also suggested: `Developer Manual` (doc/webserver/developer-manual) and `ChangeLog` (top-level directory). `FAQ` and the manuals are HTML docs. There are also text versions in `doc/text/` which could conceivably also be included.

  The documentation has been designed such that the manuals are linked to each other from parallel directories, and should be packaged that way. `privoxy-index.html` can also be included and can serve as a focal point for docs and other links of interest (and possibly renamed to `index.html`). This should be one level up from the manuals. There is a link also on this page to an HTMLized version of the man page. To avoid 404 for this, it is in CVS as `doc/webserver/man-page/privoxy-man-page.html`, and should be included along with the manuals. There is also a css stylesheets that can be included for better presentation: `p_doc.css`. This should be in the same directory with `privoxy-index.html`, (i.e. one level up from the manual directories).

- `user.action` and `user.filter` are designed for local preferences. Make sure these do not get overwritten! `config` should not be overwritten either. This has especially important configuration data in it. `trust` should be left in tact as well.

- Other configuration files (`default.action` and `default.filter`) should be installed as the new defaults, but all previously installed configuration files should be preserved as backups. This is just good manners :-) These files are likely to change between releases and contain important new features and bug fixes.

- Please check platform specific notes in this doc, if you haven't done "Privoxy" packaging before for other platform specific issues. Conversely, please add any notes that you know are important for your platform (or contact one of the doc maintainers to do this if you can't).

- Packagers should do a "clean" install of their package after building it. So any previous installs should be removed first to ensure the integrity of the newly built package. Then run the package for a while to make sure there are no obvious problems, before uploading.

### 6.3.2. Source Tarball

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then run:

      cd current
      autoheader && autoconf && ./configure

Then do:

      make tarball-dist

To upload the package to Sourceforge, simply issue

      make tarball-upload

Go to the displayed URL and release the file publicly on Sourceforge. For the change log field, use the relevant section of the `ChangeLog` file.

### 6.3.3. SuSE, Conectiva or Red Hat RPM

In following text, replace `dist` with either "rh" for Red Hat or "suse" for SuSE.

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above).

As the only exception to not changing anything after export from CVS, now examine the file `privoxy-``dist``.spec` and make sure that the version information and the RPM release number are correct. The RPM release numbers for each version start at one. Hence it must be reset to one if this is the first RPM for `dist` which is built from version X.Y.Z. Check the file list if unsure. Else, it must be set to the highest already available RPM release number for that version plus one.

Then run:

      cd current
      autoheader && autoconf && ./configure

Then do

      make dist-dist

To upload the package to Sourceforge, simply issue

      make dist-upload rpm_packagerev

where `rpm_packagerev` is the RPM release number as determined above. Go to the displayed URL and release the file publicly on Sourceforge. Use the release notes and change log from the source tarball package.

### 6.3.4. OS/2

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then get the OS/2 Setup module:

      cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@ijbswa.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co os2setup

You will need a mix of development tools. The main compilation takes place with IBM Visual Age C++. Some ancillary work takes place with GNU tools, available from various sources like hobbes.nmsu.edu. Specificially, you will need `autoheader`, `autoconf` and `sh` tools. The packaging takes place with WarpIN, available from various sources, including its home page: xworkplace.

Change directory to the `os2setup` directory. Edit the os2build.cmd file to set the final executable filename. For example,

      installExeName='privoxyos2_setup_X.Y.Z.exe'

Next, edit the `IJB.wis` file so the release number matches in the `PACKAGEID` section:

      PACKAGEID="Privoxy Team\Privoxy\Privoxy Package\X\Y\Z"

You're now ready to build. Run:

      os2build

You will find the WarpIN-installable executable in the `./files` directory. Upload this anonymously to `uploads.sourceforge.net/incoming`, create a release for it, and you're done. Use the release notes and Change Log from the source tarball package.

### 6.3.5. Solaris

Login to Sourceforge's compilefarm via ssh:

      ssh cf.sourceforge.net

Choose the right operating system (not the Debian one). When logged in, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then run:

      cd current
      autoheader && autoconf && ./configure

Then run

      gmake solaris-dist

which creates a gzip'ed tar archive. Sadly, you cannot use make solaris-upload on the Sourceforge machine (no ncftpput). You now have to manually upload the archive to Sourceforge's ftp server and release the file publicly. Use the release notes and Change Log from the source tarball package.

### 6.3.6. Windows

You should ensure you have the latest version of Cygwin (from http://www.cygwin.com/). Run the following commands from within a Cygwin bash shell.

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then get the Windows setup module:

      cvs -z3  -d:pserver:anonymous@ijbswa.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co winsetup

Then you can build the package. This is fully automated, and is controlled by `winsetup/GNUmakefile`. All you need to do is:

      cd winsetup
      make

Now you can manually rename `privoxy_setup.exe` to `privoxy_setup_X_Y_Z.exe`, and upload it to SourceForge. When releasing the package on SourceForge, use the release notes and Change Log from the source tarball package.

### 6.3.7. Debian

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then add a log entry to `debian/changelog`, if it is not already there, for example by running:

      debchange -v 3.0.16-stable-1 "New upstream version"

Then, run:

      dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -us -uc -b

This will create `../privoxy_3.0.16-stable-1_i386.deb` which can be uploaded. To upload the package to Sourceforge, simply issue

      make debian-upload

### 6.3.8. Mac OS X

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then get the Mac OS X setup module:

      cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@ijbswa.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co osxsetup

Then run:

      cd osxsetup
      build

This will run `autoheader`, `autoconf` and `configure` as well as `make`. Finally, it will copy over the necessary files to the ./osxsetup/files directory for further processing by `PackageMaker`.

Bring up PackageMaker with the PrivoxyPackage.pmsp definition file, modify the package name to match the release, and hit the "Create package" button. If you specify ./Privoxy.pkg as the output package name, you can then create the distributable zip file with the command:

      zip -r privoxyosx_setup_x.y.z.zip Privoxy.pkg

You can then upload `privoxyosx_setup_x.y.z.zip` anonymously to `uploads.sourceforge.net/incoming`, create a release for it, and you're done. Use the release notes and Change Log from the source tarball package.

### 6.3.9. FreeBSD

Login to Sourceforge's compile-farm via ssh:

      ssh cf.sourceforge.net

Choose the right operating system. When logged in, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then run:

      cd current
      autoheader && autoconf && ./configure

Then run:

      gmake freebsd-dist

which creates a gzip'ed tar archive. Sadly, you cannot use make freebsd-upload on the Sourceforge machine (no ncftpput). You now have to manually upload the archive to Sourceforge's ftp server and release the file publicly. Use the release notes and Change Log from the source tarball package.

### 6.3.10. HP-UX 11

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then run:

      cd current
      autoheader && autoconf && ./configure

Then do FIXME.

### 6.3.11. Amiga OS

First, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then run:

      cd current
      autoheader && autoconf && ./configure

Then do FIXME.

### 6.3.12. AIX

Login to Sourceforge's compilefarm via ssh:

      ssh cf.sourceforge.net

Choose the right operating system. When logged in, make sure that you have freshly exported the right version into an empty directory. (See "Building and releasing packages" above). Then run:

      cd current
      autoheader && autoconf && ./configure

Then run:

      make aix-dist

which creates a gzip'ed tar archive. Sadly, you cannot use make aix-upload on the Sourceforge machine (no ncftpput). You now have to manually upload the archive to Sourceforge's ftp server and release the file publicly. Use the release notes and Change Log from the source tarball package.

## 6.4. Uploading and Releasing Your Package

After the package is ready, it is time to upload it to SourceForge, and go through the release steps. The upload is done via FTP:

- Upload to: ftp://upload.sourceforge.net/incoming

- user: `anonymous`

- password: `ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net`

Or use the make targets as described above.

Once this done go to https://sourceforge.net/project/admin/editpackages.php?group_id=11118, making sure you are logged in. Find your target platform in the second column, and click `Add Release`. You will then need to create a new release for your package, using the format of `$VERSION ($CODE_STATUS)`, e.g. 3.0.16 (beta).

Now just follow the prompts. Be sure to add any appropriate Release notes. You should see your freshly uploaded packages in "Step 2. Add Files To This Release". Check the appropriate box(es). Remember at each step to hit the "Refresh/Submit" buttons! You should now see your file(s) listed in Step 3. Fill out the forms with the appropriate information for your platform, being sure to hit "Update" for each file. If anyone is monitoring your platform, check the "email" box at the very bottom to notify them of the new package. This should do it!

If you have made errors, or need to make changes, you can go through essentially the same steps, but select `Edit Release`, instead of `Add Release`.

## 6.5. After the Release

When all (or: most of the) packages have been uploaded and made available, send an email to the announce mailing list, Subject: "Version X.Y.Z available for download". Be sure to include the download location, the release notes and the Changelog. Also, post an updated News item on the project page Sourceforge, and update the Home page and docs linked from the Home page (see below). Other news sites and release oriented sites, such as Freshmeat, should also be notified.

Prev | Home | Next
Testing Guidelines |  | Update the Webserver