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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.]] | ||
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. | |||
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 == | |||
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: | |||
The | * '''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. | |||
{{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 == | |||
# | # 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. | |||
## | |||
## | |||
# | |||
## | |||
## | |||
## | |||
## | |||
## | |||
## | |||
## | |||
=== | == Version files == | ||
; FGData: {{fgdata file|version}} | |||
: | ; SimGear: {{simgear file|simgear-version}} | ||
; FlightGear: {{flightgear file|flightgear-version}} | |||
<!-- | |||
== Bug fix committing policy == | |||
Fixes for bugs during the preview release are applied to both "next" and the release branch (e.g. release/2022.2) | |||
'''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. | |||
--> | |||
== Bug tracking == | |||
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. | |||
=== | <!-- | ||
=== Tasks and owners === | |||
The following table should be updated and augmented after each release, according to the [[Release plan#Lessons learned|Lessons learned]] section below. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
{|class="wikitable" | ! Stage | ||
! | |||
! width="500px" | Task | ! width="500px" | Task | ||
! Owner(s) | ! Owner(s) | ||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan=" | ! rowspan="7" | Preparation | ||
| Announce the state-change of the dev-streams | | Announce the state-change of the dev-streams, '''cross-post to JSBSim list''' (see lessons learned!) | ||
| TorstenD | | TorstenD | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 107: | Line 78: | ||
| Track the bugs on the tracker, trigger developers, adjust bug-priorities | | Track the bugs on the tracker, trigger developers, adjust bug-priorities | ||
| ThorstenB, Gijs, James, ... | | ThorstenB, Gijs, James, ... | ||
|- | |||
| Sync the language files so they can be translated | |||
| ThorstenB, James | |||
|- | |- | ||
| Beta testing | | Beta testing | ||
Line 114: | Line 88: | ||
| Stuart, Gijs and anyone else | | Stuart, Gijs and anyone else | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Pack RC and final version of | | Pack RC and final version of fgdata | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 128: | Line 102: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| MacOS | | MacOS | ||
| Tat | | Tat/James | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Distribute files to download servers | | Distribute files to download servers | ||
| Curt | | Curt | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Make adjustments on the web-site | ! rowspan="3" | Make adjustments on the web-site | ||
| Collect/make screenshots for the gallery | | Collect/make screenshots for the gallery | ||
| Curt | | Curt | ||
|- | |||
| Generate aircraft page | |||
| Curt, Gijs | |||
|- | |||
| Tag the [http://wiki.flightgear.org/index.php?title=Talk:Next_newsletter&action=edit§ion=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 | ! rowspan="2" | Announce the new version to the public | ||
| Write a changelog: [[ | | Write a changelog: [[Next changelog]] | ||
| All developers | | 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/ | | 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''' | | '''EVERYBODY''' | ||
|} | |} | ||
== Open items, questions == | |||
* Automate the creation of | * 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> | ||
* Automate the creation of | * Automate the creation of fgdata distribution | ||
* 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> | |||
--> | |||
== 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. | |||
<!-- {{Appendix}} --> | |||
== Wiki articles that should be updated == | |||
See [[:Category:Articles to be updated for each release]] | |||
=== | == Related content == | ||
=== Mailing lists === | |||
* {{ | * {{cite web | ||
|url = http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/34701971/ | |||
|title = <nowiki>[Flightgear-devel] Release 3.8</nowiki> | |||
|author = Torsten Dreyer | |||
|date = Dec 17th, 2015 | |||
}} | |||
[[Category:Core developer documentation]] | [[Category:Core developer documentation]] | ||
[[Category:FlightGear]] | [[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.
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
- 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.
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
- Torsten Dreyer (Dec 17th, 2015). [Flightgear-devel] Release 3.8.