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This page contains details about how to release a new version of [[FlightGear]] into the wild. It is a continous work in progress to be improved with every new release.  
{{GitStatus}}
{{Out of date}}
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{{Release}}
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The '''release plan''' is the process by which a new version of [[FlightGear]] is released. The release plan is actually a continual work-in-progress, and is refined with every new release and how much available resource and interest there is.


[[File:ReleasePlan.jpg|thumb|250px|The original plan]]
[[File:ReleasePlan.jpg|thumb|250px|The original release plan.]]
This release plan was originally developed by Mathias Fröhlich, Martin Spott, Thorsten Brehm and Torsten Dreyer during LinuxTag 2011.
FlightGear has had multiple release plans over [[FlightGear History|history]].
* Originally, releases were sporadic, irregular and took many months of manual preparation.
* Subsequently a release plan was developed by Mathias Fröhlich, Martin Spott, Thorsten Brehm and Torsten Dreyer during [[LinuxTag]] 2011.
* A more regular plan was proposed by Torsten Dreyer after the 3.6 release was [[FlightGear Newsletter November 2015#FlightGear v3.6 canceled|cancelled]].
* Currently "Long Term Support" (LTS) releases are generated every ~24 months, with intermittent "preview" releases between them which receive less testing and support.


If you think you have something to contribute to the release process, feel free to <span class=plainlinks>[{{SERVER}}{{localurl:{{NAMESPACE}}:{{PAGENAME}}|action=edit}} edit this page]</span>. Please discuss this concept at the mailing-list.
To suggest improvements and/or changes to the release plan, it is recommended to get in touch via the [[mailing list]]. Improvements can be based on the [[Release plan/Lessons learned|lessons learned]] from previous releases. However, do not underestimate the amount of effort go create a new release!  Most of the burden falls on a few people.


=== General Release Concept ===
== General release concept ==
New FlightGear releases will be scheduled twice a year. The magic number to remember is 17 (we tried 42, but that didn't turn out so well. 17 is perfect: 1 is not a prime, 7 is a prime and so is 17). On the 17th of January (1) and July (7) a new release branch will be created for SimGear, FlightGear and FGDATA.  
At any given time there are two release "stream":
* A Long Term Support (LTS) release stream. This is a stable release to which bug fixes are applied, and will be active for up to two years. Most users and aircraft developers use this release.  Currently 2020.3.
* A "preview" release, based on the development branch "next".  This is for those interested in the latest developments.  There is not currently a preview release.


After branching, we will allow one month for bug fixing in the release branch, so building and packing of the binaries and FGDATA will take place around February, 18th and August, 18th. Allowing a few days for distribution of the files, new versions should be publically available around the 20th of February and August.
== Version numbers ==
FlightGear version numbers consist of three digits, separated by dots:


The development stream of SimGear, FlightGear and FGDATA will be set into a frozen state one month before the branch-day (17th) to let the dust of development settle and to allow fixing the most annoying bugs in the code. During this period, developers are requested not to add any new features, subsystems or alike. Immediately after the stream has branched for the release, development in the main stream (next/master) is open for major changes until one month before the next branch-day. This results in a duty cycle of 5 month developing and 1 month thinking.
* '''Year''' (<u>2020</u>.1.0): The year the version was released.
* '''Number''' (2020.<u>1</u>.0): Which release of the year the version is.
* '''Revision''' (2020.1.<u>0</u>): The patch revision on that release.


=== Version Numbers ===
{{note|In general, release are referred to by their first two digits (e.g., 2020.3). However, when filing a bug report or debugging problems, it is a good idea to give the full release number.}}
Releases will have even version numbers (2.2.0, 2.4.0, 2.6.0), bugfix releases will increase their least significant digit (2.2.0, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3).
The Development stream uses odd version numbers and is usually one number higher than the current release (Released is 2.4.0, development stream is 2.5.0, next release will be 2.6.0).


The Major version number will be increased after significant changes to the functionality of the software.
== Detailed time schedule and checklist ==
# Just after an LTS is generated, the next default airport is decided on by a poll on the forum. The next LTS release will be named after it.
# A series of "preview" releases generated for cutting edge users. For each release:
## A release branch is cut from "next".  E.g. release/2021.1
## The version files are incremented. 
## Builds are generated.
# When a new LTS preview is declared (after ~12 months):
## A release branch is cut from "next".  E.g. release/2022.1
## The version files are incremented. 
## Builds are generated for the preview LTS.  Testing of aircraft against these releases is strongly encouraged.
## Additional branches are created for subsequent releases from the original release branch (e.g. release/2022.1 -> release/2022.2)
## Fixes are merged into the release branch as well as "next"
## Further builds and release are generated until an LTS is declared (e.g release/2022.3). 
## fgaddon is branched and a new catalog generated.


=== Detailed Time Schedule and Checklist ===
# '''Dec/Jun 17th:''' Development stream is declared "frozen" or "yellow"
#:Send a mail to the flightgear-devel mailing-list to announce the state
#:Create a "release preperations" topic at the forum and make it a "Global Announcement"
#:Change the content of wiki template at [[Template:GitStatus]] to <tt><nowiki>{{GitStatus:frozen}}</nowiki></tt>
# '''Jan/Jul 17th:''' Create new release branch, assign new version number to dev-stream, re-open streams
##Send a mail to the flightgear-devel mail-list, asking not to commit/push anything, declare the streams "closed" or "red"
##Post an update to the forum topic
##Change the content of wiki template at [[Template:GitStatus]] to <tt><nowiki>{{GitStatus:closed}}</nowiki></tt>
##Bump up the version-number of simgear/next, flightgear/next and fgdata/master to an even number (2.5.0 -> 2.6.0)
##Compile and test drive FlightGear with the new version-number
##Commit the new version number to next (flightgear+simgear) and master(fgdata)
##Tag (annotated) flightgear, simgear and fgdata with "version/2.6.0"
##:''git tag -a version/2.6.0'' (Enter a wise comment)
##Create the release branches on simgear, flightgear and fgdata named release/2.6.0
##:''git branch release/2.6.0''
##On the next/master branches, bump up the version-number of simgear, flightgear and fgdata to an odd number (2.6.0 -> 2.7.0)
##Compile and test drive FlightGear with the new development version number
##Commit the changes of version-number to next/master
##Tag (annotated) flightgear, simgear and fgdata with "version/2.7.0"
##:''git tag -a version/2.7.0'' (Enter a wise comment)
##Push the branches next/master '''and''' release/2.6.0 '''and''' the tags upstream
##:for flighgear, simgear and fgdata: ''git push origin release/2.6.0''
##:for flighgear, simgear and fgdata: ''git push origin version/2.6.0''
##:for flighgear, simgear and fgdata: ''git push origin version/2.7.0''
##:for flightgear and simgear: ''git push origin next''
##:for fgdata: ''git push origin master''
##: Declare dev-streams "open" or "green"
##: Change the content of wiki template at [[Template:GitStatus]] to <tt><nowiki>{{GitStatus:open}}</nowiki></tt>
##:Send a mail to the flightgear-devel mailing-list to announce the state.
## Trigger James for the Jenkins-builds and Curt for a snapshot release and ThorstenB for the OpenSuse build
# '''Feb/Aug 1st:''' Start preparing the release notes and a press announcement
# '''Feb/Aug 17th:''' Create binaries/installers, pack fgdata, publish files, announce new version, close the release-branch
##Tag the release/2.6.0 branches of simgear, flightgear and fgdata and push the tags.
##:for flighgear, simgear and fgdata: ''git tag version/2.6.0-final''
##:for flighgear, simgear and fgdata: ''git push origin version/2.6.0-final''
##Merge the branch release/2.6.0 into '''master''' (<u>'''NOT'''</u> next) for flightgear and simgear and push the branch
##:We don't have a next branch for fgdata, no merging of the release branch here.
##:for flighgear and simgear:
##:''git checkout -b master origin/master'' or ''git checkout master'' if you already have the local branch
##:''git merge version/2.6.0-final
##:''git push origin master''


=== To bump up the version number ===
== Version files ==
* fgdata
; FGData: {{fgdata file|version}}
** edit the ''version'' file
; SimGear: {{simgear file|simgear-version}}
* SimGear
; FlightGear: {{flightgear file|flightgear-version}}
** edit the ''version'' file
<!--
* FlightGear
== Bug fix committing policy ==
** edit the ''version'' file
Fixes for bugs during the preview release are applied to both "next" and the release branch (e.g. release/2022.2)
** edit ''CMakeLists.txt''
**: change the line '''find_package(SimGear 2.5.0 REQUIRED)'''
** edit ''src/Main/options.cxx''
**: change the line '''static char required_version[] = "2.5.0";'''
** <s>edit configure.ac</s> (Obsolete, automake is gone)
**: <s>change the line '''AC_MSG_CHECKING([for SimGear 2.5.0 or newer])'''</s>


=== Definition of Repository States ===
'''DO NOT''' merge next into release/2.8.0 or vice versa. Most likely, there will be commits that are not welcome in or even break the other branch.
* Open/Green
-->
: Normal development of the code base and fgdata. Unrestricted (well, sort of) access to the streams. This state lasts for five month after the release branches were created.
* Frozen/Yellow
*:No new features or major changes shall be pushed onto the development streams (neither source nor data). This period is for preparing the code for the release and make sure there are no major issues. It lasts for four weeks until creation of the release branches.
*:It's a good idea for aircraft developers to adhere to this rule. However, aircraft in FGDATA may be handled as an exception from the frozen state. Any change to aircraft may be pushed to the repository if it is guaranteed that this change does not affect any other aircraft or system and if no file outside the root directory of that specific aircraft is changed. Also, aircraft defined as part of the base package (e.g. the c172p) enter the frozen state and shall not undergo major changes in that period.
* Closed/Red
*:Nothing shall be pushed to the development streams (simgear, flightgear and fgdata). This state is for creating the release branches. It lasts for just a few hours on Jan 17th and Jul 17th around 12:00 UTC.


=== Bug fix committing policy ===
== Bug tracking ==
Fixes for bugs during the shakedown test of the release branch may be applied to the branches next or release/2.6.0.
The [http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/codetickets/ bugtracker] is the primary source of bug reports. Unlike the forum or mailing list, bugs reported there will be tracked, making it easier for developers to keep up with them. When reporting bugs, it is best to provide as much information as possible to more easily find the bug. If you can provide a backtrace, please do so and attach it to the bug report. When creating backtraces, please use "thread apply all bt full" at the gdb command prompt.
A fix goes into release/2.6.0 if the development of next has moved forward and this fix does not apply there. It also goes into the release branch if there will be a better fix for next.  
A fix goes into next if it is also solves an issue for the next version. Cherry-pick this commit into the release/2.6.0 branch.


'''DO NOT''' merge next into release/2.6.0 or vice versa. Most likely, there will be commits that are not welcome in or even break the other branch.
<!--
=== Tasks and owners ===


=== Bug Tracking ===
The following table should be updated and augmented after each release, according to the [[Release plan#Lessons learned|Lessons learned]] section below.
The [http://flightgear-bugs.googlecode.com bugtracker] will be our primary source for the bug fixing period. Bugs reported on the mailing list or forum will not be tracked! Reporters shall be requested to file a bug report at the bugtracker. Bugs shall be assigned a priority and a keyword to make the assignment to a developer easier. Bug reports that can't be confirmed or need more input from the reporter to get fixed will be assigned a new state "stalled" and only processed after more information has been provided. Bugs assigned a high priority will be downgraded, if no progress has been made over a certain amount of time. This is to prevent the release from being blocked by a bug that no developer is able (or willing) to fix. The only exception is "does not compile for one of the major platforms", which certainly is a release-blocker.


Bugs that were present in the latest stable release, and now considered "fixed", should be assigned a milestone label, corresponding with the upcoming stable release number. By doing so, they'll end up in [http://code.google.com/p/flightgear-bugs/issues/list?can=1&q=label%3AMilestone-2.6.0 the list of fixed bugs].
{| class="wikitable"
! Stage
! width="500px" | Task
! Owner(s)
|-
! rowspan="7" | Preparation
| Announce the state-change of the dev-streams, '''cross-post to JSBSim list''' (see lessons learned!)
| TorstenD
|-
| Create/maintain the git branches
| TorstenD
|-
| Track the bugs on the tracker, trigger developers, adjust bug-priorities
| ThorstenB, Gijs, James, ...
|-
| Sync the language files so they can be translated
| ThorstenB, James
|-
| Beta testing
| '''EVERYBODY'''
|-
| Update documentation: [[FAQ]], [https://www.gitorious.org/fg/getstart/ The Manual], wiki
| Stuart, Gijs and anyone else
|-
| Pack RC and final version of fgdata
|
|-
! rowspan="5" | Create the RC and final version
| Source-tarball
| Curt
|-
| Linux
| ThorstenB (for openSUSE)
|-
| Windows
| Curt
|-
| MacOS
| Tat/James
|-
| Distribute files to download servers
| Curt
|-
! rowspan="3" | Make adjustments on the web-site
| Collect/make screenshots for the gallery
| Curt
|-
| Generate aircraft page
| Curt, Gijs
|-
| Tag the [http://wiki.flightgear.org/index.php?title=Talk:Next_newsletter&action=edit&section=45 newsletter template] according to the released version
<nowiki>[[Category:Changes after 2.12]]</nowiki>
| Hooray, Gijs, Stuart (other wiki admins)
|-
! rowspan="2" | Announce the new version to the public
| Write a changelog: [[Next changelog]]
| All developers/contributors
|-
| Contact flightsim websites and send them/link them to the "press announcement". See [[release promotion]] for a list of already-contacted and yet-to-contact websites/magazines.
| '''EVERYBODY'''
|}


=== Legacy ===
== Open items, questions ==
The branch for version 2.2.0 will be left untouched. No release has ever been created from this branch.
* Automate and/or document the creation of RC's: "We need to get this automated some day. Or at least documented...(another one from "famous last words": if you have to do it more than once, automate it. If you can't automate it, document it."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg39205.html |title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Release candidates</nowiki> |author=Torsten Dreyer |date=29 January 2013}}</ref>
The last official release was made from branch ''release/2.4.0'', tag ''version/2.4.0-final''.
* Automate the creation of fgdata distribution
If everything goes well, version 2.6.0 will be available around Jan, 18th 2012.
* Possibly try to find a way to automate testing of updated jsbsim code, so that the chance for breakage is reduced by running scripted tests <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg39109.html |title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] [Jsbsim-devel] JSBSim Synch with FlightGear</nowiki> |author=Torsten Dreyer |date=13 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40201.html |title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] JSBSim Synch with FlightGear</nowiki> |author=Anders Gidenstam |date=11 June 2013}}</ref><ref>
{{Cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/31762085/
|title=<nowiki>Release preparations - feature freeze starts today</nowiki> |author=Anders Gidenstam |date=2013-12-17 19:46:48}}
</ref>


=== Tasks and Owners ===
-->
(taskowners not yet assigned)
* Announce the state-change of the dev-streams
* Create/maintain the git branches
* Track the bugs on the tracker, trigger developers, adjust bug-priorities
* Beta testing
* Update documentation: [[FAQ]], [https://www.gitorious.org/fg/getstart/ The Manual], wiki
* Pack RC and final version of FGDATA
* Create the RC and final version (source-tarball)
* Create the RC and final version for Linux
* Create the RC and final version for Windows
* Create the RC and final version for MacOS
* Distribute files to download servers
* Make adjustments on the web-site
** Collect/make screenshots for the gallery
* Announce the new version to the public
** Write a changelog: [[Changelog 2.6.0]]
** Contact flightsim websites and send them/link them to the "press announcement"


=== Open Items, Questions ===
== Lessons learned ==
* Automate the creation of Windows and Mac installers
See [[Release plan/Lessons learned]] for a list of things that turned out well and should be kept for the next release as well as thing that didn't turn out so well and should be changed for future releases. Ideally, the release plan should be updated and augmented so that the lessons learned are incorporated accordingly.
* Automate the creation of FGDATA distribution
<!-- {{Appendix}} -->


=== Lessons Learned ===
== Wiki articles that should be updated ==
This is a list of lessons learned from the previous release, things that turned out well and should be kept for the next release as well as thing thad didn't turn out so well and should be changed for future releases.
 
* Good: feature freeze in general
See [[:Category:Articles to be updated for each release]]
*: helped a lot during release management. Kept the commit traffic low and thus helped identifying those commits required to pick into the release.
 
* Not so good: feature freeze for aircraft
== Related content ==
*: Technically, a feature freeze for aircraft is not necessary as long as this aircraft is not part of the base distribution and no common parts are affected. If it's guaranteed that the changes remain in FGDATA/Aircraft/MyAircraft and no other files are touched, these updates should be OK up to shortly before the release.
=== Mailing lists ===
* Not so good: switching to a new version of supporting libraries like OSG.
* {{cite web
*: The move to OSG 3.x introduced some major issues. If at all possible, switch to a new library early in the development cycle.
|url = http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/34701971/
* Not so good: manual creation of release candidates and the release binaries
|title = <nowiki>[Flightgear-devel] Release 3.8</nowiki>
*: It's preferable to have equal numbers for release candidates for all O/S and probably a git-tag for each candidate.
|author = Torsten Dreyer
|date = Dec 17th, 2015
}}
 
[[Category:Core developer documentation]]
[[Category:FlightGear]]
[[Category:Release plans]]

Latest revision as of 18:29, 8 December 2022

Current release: 2020.3.19 (18 Oct 2023)
Next release: 2020.3.20
See release plan for details.
This article or section contains out-of-date information

Please help improve this article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page.

The release plan is the process by which a new version of FlightGear is released. The release plan is actually a continual work-in-progress, and is refined with every new release and how much available resource and interest there is.

The original release plan.

FlightGear has had multiple release plans over history.

  • Originally, releases were sporadic, irregular and took many months of manual preparation.
  • Subsequently a release plan was developed by Mathias Fröhlich, Martin Spott, Thorsten Brehm and Torsten Dreyer during LinuxTag 2011.
  • A more regular plan was proposed by Torsten Dreyer after the 3.6 release was cancelled.
  • Currently "Long Term Support" (LTS) releases are generated every ~24 months, with intermittent "preview" releases between them which receive less testing and support.

To suggest improvements and/or changes to the release plan, it is recommended to get in touch via the mailing list. Improvements can be based on the lessons learned from previous releases. However, do not underestimate the amount of effort go create a new release! Most of the burden falls on a few people.

General release concept

At any given time there are two release "stream":

  • A Long Term Support (LTS) release stream. This is a stable release to which bug fixes are applied, and will be active for up to two years. Most users and aircraft developers use this release. Currently 2020.3.
  • A "preview" release, based on the development branch "next". This is for those interested in the latest developments. There is not currently a preview release.

Version numbers

FlightGear version numbers consist of three digits, separated by dots:

  • Year (2020.1.0): The year the version was released.
  • Number (2020.1.0): Which release of the year the version is.
  • Revision (2020.1.0): The patch revision on that release.
Note  In general, release are referred to by their first two digits (e.g., 2020.3). However, when filing a bug report or debugging problems, it is a good idea to give the full release number.

Detailed time schedule and checklist

  1. Just after an LTS is generated, the next default airport is decided on by a poll on the forum. The next LTS release will be named after it.
  2. A series of "preview" releases generated for cutting edge users. For each release:
    1. A release branch is cut from "next". E.g. release/2021.1
    2. The version files are incremented.
    3. Builds are generated.
  3. When a new LTS preview is declared (after ~12 months):
    1. A release branch is cut from "next". E.g. release/2022.1
    2. The version files are incremented.
    3. Builds are generated for the preview LTS. Testing of aircraft against these releases is strongly encouraged.
    4. Additional branches are created for subsequent releases from the original release branch (e.g. release/2022.1 -> release/2022.2)
    5. Fixes are merged into the release branch as well as "next"
    6. Further builds and release are generated until an LTS is declared (e.g release/2022.3).
    7. fgaddon is branched and a new catalog generated.


Version files

FGData
fgdata/version
SimGear
simgear/simgear-version
FlightGear
flightgear/flightgear-version

Bug tracking

The bugtracker is the primary source of bug reports. Unlike the forum or mailing list, bugs reported there will be tracked, making it easier for developers to keep up with them. When reporting bugs, it is best to provide as much information as possible to more easily find the bug. If you can provide a backtrace, please do so and attach it to the bug report. When creating backtraces, please use "thread apply all bt full" at the gdb command prompt.


Lessons learned

See Release plan/Lessons learned for a list of things that turned out well and should be kept for the next release as well as thing that didn't turn out so well and should be changed for future releases. Ideally, the release plan should be updated and augmented so that the lessons learned are incorporated accordingly.

Wiki articles that should be updated

See Category:Articles to be updated for each release

Related content

Mailing lists