-
=head1 NAME
release_managers_guide - Releasing a new version of perl 5.x
-XXX as of Jul 2009, this file is still a work-in-progress - DAPM
+XXX as of Jul 2009, this file is still a work-in-progress. I think it
+contains all the actions needed to build a release, but things may have
+got skipped, and some things could do with polishing. Note that things
+change each release, there may be new things not covered here, or
+tools may need updating. DAPM
=head1 SYNOPSIS
This document describes the series of tasks required - some automatic, some
manual - to produce a perl release of some description, be that a snaphot,
-release candidate, or final release.
+release candidate, or final, numbered release of maint or blead.
-The release process is primarily executed by the current pumpking.
+The release process has traditionally been executed by the current
+pumpking.
-This document both helps as a check-list for the pumpking and is
-a base for ideas on how the various tasks could be automated or
-distributed.
+This document both helps as a check-list for the release engineer
+and is a base for ideas on how the various tasks could be automated
+or distributed.
-The outline of a release cycle is as follows:
+The outline of a typical release cycle is as follows:
- (5.10.1 is released, and post-release action have been done)
+ (5.10.1 is released, and post-release actions have been done)
...time passes...
a few weeks before the release, a number of steps are performed,
including bumping the version to 5.10.2
-
+
+ ...a few weeks passes...
+
perl-5.10.2-RC1 is released
perl-5.10.2 is released
=head1 DETAILS
+Some of the tasks described below apply to all four types of
+release of Perl. (snapshot, RC, final release of maint, final
+release of blead). Some of these tasks apply only to a subset
+of these release types. If a step does not apply to a given
+type of release, you will see a notation to that effect at
+the beginning of the step.
-=head2 Building a snapshot
-
-A snapshot is intended to encourage in-depth testing from time-to-time,
-for example after a key point in the stabilisation of a branch. It
-requires less steps than a full release, and the version number of perl in
-the tarball will usually still be the old one.
+=head2 Release types
=over 4
-=item *
-
-As there are no regular smokes [ XXX yet - please fix?] find out about the
-state of VMS. If it's bad, think again.
-
-=item *
-
-Rebuild META.yml:
-
- $ rm META.yml
- $ make META.yml
-
-and commit it if it's changed.
-
-=item *
+=item Snapshot
-Check that the manifest is sorted and correct:
-
- $ make distclean
- $ perl Porting/manisort
- $ perl Porting/manicheck
-
-=item *
-
-If this is a release candidate or final release, add an entry to
-F<pod/perlhist.pod> with the current date, e.g.
-
- 5.8.9-RC1 2008-Nov-10
-
-Make sure the correct pumpking is listed, and if this your first time,
-append your name to C<THE KEEPERS OF THE PUMPKIN>.
+A snapshot is intended to encourage in-depth testing from time-to-time,
+for example after a key point in the stabilisation of a branch. It
+requires fewer steps than a full release, and the version number of perl in
+the tarball will usually be the same as that of the previous release.
-=item *
+=item Release Candidate (RC)
-Build perl, then make sure it passes its own test suite, and installs.
+XXX Describe me
-=item *
+=item Stable/Maint release
-Create a tarball. Use the C<-s> option to specify a suitable suffix for
-the tarball and directory name:
-
- $ cd root/of/perl/tree
- $ git clean -xdf # make sure perl and git agree on files
+At this point you should have a working release candidate with few or no
+changes since.
- $ perl Porting/makerel -s `git describe` # for a snapshot
- $ perl Porting/makerel -s RC1 # for a release candidate
- $ perl Porting/makerel # for a final release
+It's essentially the same procedure as for making a release candidate, but
+with a whole bunch of extra post-release steps.
-This creates the directory F<../perl-x.y.z-RC1> or similar, copies all
-the MANIFEST files into it, sets the correct permissions on them,
-adds DOS line endings to some, then tars it up as
-F<../perl-x.y.z-RC1.tar.gz>.
+=item Blead release
-XXX if we go for extra tags and branches stuff, then add the extra details
-here
+It's essentially the same procedure as for making a release candidate, but
+with a whole bunch of extra post-release steps.
-=item *
+=back
-Copy the tarball to a web server somewhere you have access to.
+=head2 Prerequisites
-=item *
+Before you can make an official release of perl, there are a few
+hoops you need to jump through:
-Download the tarball to some other machine (for a release candidate, to two or
-more servers: IRC is good for this).
+=over 4
-=item *
+=item PAUSE account
-Check that C<./Configure -des && make all test> works in one place.
+I<SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
-=item *
+Make sure you have a PAUSE account suitable for uploading a perl release.
+If you don't have a PAUSE account, then request one:
-Check that C<./Configure ... && make all test_harness install> works.
+ https://pause.perl.org/pause/query?ACTION=request_id
-=item *
+Check that your account is allowed to upload perl distros: goto
+https://pause.perl.org/, login, then select 'upload file to CPAN'; there
+should be a "For pumpkings only: Send a CC" tickbox. If not, ask Andreas
+König to add your ID to the list of people allowed to upload something
+called perl. You can find Andreas' email address at:
-Check that the output of C<perl -v> and C<perl -V> are as expected,
-especially as regards version numbers, patch and/or RC levels, and @INC
-paths. Note that the results may be different without a F<.git/> directory,
-which is why you should test from the tarball.
+ https://pause.perl.org/pause/query?ACTION=pause_04imprint
-=item *
+=item CPAN mirror
-Bootstrap the CPAN client on the clean install.
+Some release engineering steps require a full mirror of the CPAN.
+Work to fall back to using a remote mirror via HTTP is incomplete
+but ongoing. (No, a minicpan mirror is not sufficient)
-=item *
+=item git checkout and commit bit
-Install CPANPLUS.
-XXX pick something new; this is now bundled
+You will need a working C<git> installation, checkout of the perl
+git repository and perl commit bit. For information about working
+with perl and git, see F<pod/perlrepository.pod>.
-=item *
+If you are not yet a perl committer, you won't be able to make a
+release. Have a chat with whichever evil perl porter tried to talk
+you into the idea in the first place to figure out the best way to
+resolve the issue.
-Bootstrap the CPANPLUS client.
-=item *
+=item Quotation for release announcement epigraph
-Install an XS module.
+I<SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT and RC>
-=item *
+For a numbered blead or maint release of perl, you will need a quotation
+to use as an epigraph to your release announcement. (There's no harm
+in having one for a snapshot, but it's not required).
-If all is well, announce the snaphot to p5p. (For a release candidate,
-instead follow the further steps described later.)
=back
-=head2 Actions prior to the first release candidate
-A week or two before the first release candidate, there are some additional
-tasks you should perform (actually, some of these should be done regularly
-anyway, but they definitely need doing now):
+=head2 Building a release - advance actions
+
+The work of building a release candidate for a numbered release of
+perl generally starts several weeks before the first release candidate.
+Some of these should be done regularly, but all I<must> be done in the
+runup to a release.
=over 4
=item *
-Check F<Maintainers.pl> for consistency; both these commands should
-produce no output:
-
- perl Porting/Maintainers --checkmani
- perl Porting/Maintainers --checkmani lib/ ext/
-
-=item *
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
Ensure that dual-life CPAN modules are synchronised with CPAN. Basically,
run the following:
- ./perl -Ilib Porting/core-cpan-diff -a -o /tmp/corediffs
+ $ ./perl -Ilib Porting/core-cpan-diff -a -o /tmp/corediffs
to see any inconsistencies between the core and CPAN versions of distros,
then fix the core, or cajole CPAN authors as appropriate. See also the
To see which core distro versions differ from the current CPAN versions:
- ./perl -Ilib Porting/core-cpan-diff -x -a
+ $ ./perl -Ilib Porting/core-cpan-diff -x -a
+
+if you are making a maint release, run C<core-cpan-diff> on both blead and
+maint, then diff the two outputs. Compare this with what you expect, and if
+necessary, fix things up. For example, you might think that both blead
+and maint are synchronised with a particular CPAN module, but one might
+have some extra changes.
=item *
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Ensure dual-life CPAN modules are stable, which comes down to:
for each module that fails its regression tests on $current
=item *
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Similarly, monitor the smoking of core tests, and try to fix.
=item *
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
+Similarly, monitor the smoking of perl for compiler warnings, and try to
+fix.
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Run F<Porting/cmpVERSION.pl> to compare the current source tree with the
previous version to check for for modules that have identical version
numbers but different contents, e.g.:
Then run again without the -x option, to check that dual-life modules are
also sensible.
-
=item *
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Get perldelta in a mostly finished state.
-XXX expand
+
+Peruse F<Porting/how_to_write_a_perldelta.pod>, and try to make sure that
+every section it lists is, if necessary, populated and complete. Copy
+edit the whole document.
=item *
-Bump the perl version number (e.g. from 5.10.0 to 5.10.1).
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
+A week or two before the first release candidate, bump the perl version
+number (e.g. from 5.10.0 to 5.10.1), to allow sufficient time for testing
+and smoking with the target version built into the perl executable. For
+subsequent release candidates and the final release, it it not necessary
+to bump the version further.
There is a tool to semi-automate this process. It works in two stages.
First, it generates a list of suggested changes, which you review and
rename perl-5^.10^.1.dir perl-5_10_1.dir
+
=item *
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
+Review and update INSTALL to account for the change in version number;
+in particular, the "Coexistence with earlier versions of perl 5" section.
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Update the F<Changes> file to contain the git log command which would show
all the changes in this release. You will need assume the existence of a
not-yet created tag for the forthcoming release; e.g.
if git log produces roughly the right number of commits across roughly the
right time period.
+
=item *
Check some more build configurations, e.g.
Check that setuid installs works (for < 5.11.0 only).
XXX any other configs?
+
=item *
-Make sure you have a PAUSE account suitable for uploading a perl release.
-If you don't have a PAUSE account, then request one:
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
- https://pause.perl.org/pause/query?ACTION=request_id
+Update F<AUTHORS>, using the C<Porting/checkAUTHORS.pl> script, and if
+necessary, update the script to include new alias mappings for porters
+already in F<AUTHORS>
-Check that your account is allowed to upload perl distros: goto
-https://pause.perl.org/, login, then select 'upload file to CPAN'; there
-should be a "For pumpkings only: Send a CC" tickbox. If not, ask Andreas
-to add your ID to the list of people allowed to upload something called
-perl.
+ $ git log | perl Porting/checkAUTHORS.pl --acknowledged AUTHORS -
=item *
-Update F<AUTHORS>, using the C<Porting/checkAUTHORS.pl> script, and if
-necessary, update the script to include new alias mappings.
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
-XXX This script is currently broken (7/2009). It needs updating to work
-with git and a lack of Changes files.
+As there are no regular smokes [ XXX yet - please fix?] find out about the
+state of the current branch on VMS. If the branch you're releasing on
+is failing tests on VMS, you may not want to do a release.
=back
-=head2 Building a release candidate
+=head2 Building a release - on the day
-(At this point you should already have performed the actions described in
-L</"Actions prior to the first release candidate">.)
+This section describes the actions required to make a release (or snapshot
+etc) that are performed on the actual day.
=over 4
=item *
+Review all the items in the previous section,
+L<"Building a release - advance actions"> to ensure they are all done and
+up-to-date.
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Re-read the perldelta to try to find any embarrassing typos and thinkos;
-remove any C<TODO> or C<XXX> flags; and run through pod and spell
-checkers. [XXX show how]
+remove any C<TODO> or C<XXX> flags; update the "Known Problems" section
+with any serious issues for which fixes are not going to happen now; and
+run through pod and spell checkers, e.g.
+
+ podchecker -warnings -warnings pod/perl5101delta.pod
+ spell pod/perl5101delta.pod
+
+Also, you may want to generate and view an HTML version of it to check
+formatting, e.g.
+
+ perl pod/pod2html pod/perl5101delta.pod > /tmp/perl5101delta.html
=item *
-Update patchlevel.h to add a C<-RC1>-or-whatever string; or, if this is a
-final release, remove it. [ XXX how now?? see 34813 for old way ]
+Make sure you have a gitwise-clean perl directory (no modified files,
+unpushed commits etc):
+
+ $ git status
=item *
+If not already built, Configure and build perl so that you have a Makefile
+and porting tools:
+
+ $ ./Configure -Dusedevel -des
+ $ make
+
+=item *
+
+Check that files managed by F<regen.pl> and friends are up to date. From
+within your working directory:
+
+ $ git status
+ $ make regen
+ $ make regen_perly
+ $ git status
+
+If any of the files managed by F<regen.pl> have changed, then you should
+re-make perl to check that it's okay, then commit the updated versions:
+
+ $ git commit -a -m 'make regn; make regn_perly'
+
+=item *
+
+Rebuild META.yml:
+
+ $ rm META.yml
+ $ make META.yml
+ $ git diff
+
+XXX it would be nice to make Porting/makemeta use regen_lib.pl
+to get the same 'update the file if its changed' functionality
+we get with 'make regen' etc.
+
+Commit META.yml if it has changed:
+
+ $ git commit -m 'Update META.yml' META.yml
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Update C<Module::Corelist>.
-Note that is this is a maint release, you should run the following actions
-from the maint directory, but edit the C<Corelist.pm> in I<blead> and
-subsequently cherry-pick it.
+Note that if this is a maint release, you should run the following actions
+from the maint directory, but commit the C<Corelist.pm> changes in
+I<blead> and subsequently cherry-pick it.
+
+F<corelist.pl> uses ftp.funet.fi to verify information about dual-lived
+modules on CPAN. It can use a full, local CPAN mirror or fall back
+to C<wget> or C<curl> to fetch only package metadata remotely.
+
+(If you'd prefer to have a full CPAN mirror, see
+http://www.cpan.org/misc/cpan-faq.html#How_mirror_CPAN)
+
+Then change to your perl checkout, and if necessary,
+
+ $ make perl
+
+Thenn, If you have a local CPAN mirror, run:
+
+ $ ./perl -Ilib Porting/corelist.pl ~/my-cpan-mirror
-First, in order to update the C<%upstream> and C<%bug_tracker> hashes,
-the C<Porting/corelist.pl> script requires you to have a local CPAN
-mirror. See http://www.cpan.org/misc/cpan-faq.html#How_mirror_CPAN for
-more details, but basically:
+Otherwise, run:
- $ mkdir ~/cpan-mirror
- $ rsync -av --delete ftp.funet.fi::CPAN ~/cpan-mirror/
+ $ ./perl -Ilib Porting/corelist.pl cpan
-(and re-run the rsync each time you need it to be up-to-date).
-[XXX this really needs fixing to not require a whole CPAN mirror]
+This will chug for a while. Assuming all goes well, it will
+update F<lib/Module/CoreList.pm>.
+
+Check that file over carefully:
+
+ $ git diff lib/Module/CoreList.pm
+
+In particular, if this not the first update for this version, make sure
+that there isn't a duplicated entry (e.g. '5.010001' entries for both RC1
+and RC2).
+
+XXX the edit-in-place functionality of Porting/corelist.pl should
+be fixed to allow for this
If necessary, bump C<$VERSION> (there's no need to do this for
every RC; in RC1, bump the version to a new clean number that will
appear in the final release, and leave as-is for the later RCs and final).
-Then do
+Edit the version number in the new C<< 'Module::CoreList' => 'X.YZ' >>
+entry, as that is likely to reflect the previous version number.
- $ cd ~/perl/root; make perl
- $ ./perl -Ilib Porting/corelist.pl ~/cpan-mirror/ > /tmp/corelist
+In addition, if this is a final release (rather than a release candidate):
-This creates a file that looks something like
+=over 4
- 5.010001 => {
- 'AnyDBM_File' => '1.00',
- ...
- },
+=item *
- %upstream = (
- 'App::Prove' => undef,
- ...
- );
+Update this version's entry in the C<%released> hash with today's date.
- %bug_tracker = (
- 'App::Prove' => 'http://rt.cpan.org/...',
- ...
- );
+=item *
-No
+Make sure that the script has correctly updated the C<CAVEATS> section
-Cut and paste these tables into F<lib/Module/CoreList.pm>: the module
-version list should be appended as the last entry in the C<%version> hash
-(or replaced, if we've already added it for an earlier release candidate),
-while the existing C<%upstream> and C<%bug_tracker> hashes should be
-replaced with the new versions.
+=back
-Edit the version number in the new C<<'Module::CoreList' => 'X.YZ'>>
-entry, as that is likely to reflect the previous version number.
+Finally, commit the new version of Module::CoreList:
+(unless this is for maint; in which case commit it blead first, then
+cherry-pick it back).
-Then, add the current perl version to the C<CAVEATS> paragraph.
+ $ git commit -m 'Updated Module::CoreList for the 5.x.y release' \
+ lib/Module/CoreList.pm
-Add or update an entry to the C<%released> hash, including today's date
-(if this is just a release candidate, set the date to '????-??-??').
+=item *
+
+Check that the manifest is sorted and correct:
+
+ $ make manisort
+ $ make distclean
+ $ perl Porting/manicheck
+
+Commit MANIFEST if it has changed:
+
+ $ git commit -m 'Update MANIFEST' MANIFEST
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
+Add an entry to F<pod/perlhist.pod> with the current date, e.g.:
+
+ David 5.10.1-RC1 2009-Aug-06
+
+Make sure that the correct pumpking is listed in the left-hand column, and
+if this is the first release under the stewardship of a new pumpking, make
+sure that his or her name is listed in the section entitled
+C<THE KEEPERS OF THE PUMPKIN>.
+
+Be sure to commit your changes:
+
+ $ git commit -m 'add new release to perlhist' pod/perlhist.pod
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
+Update F<patchlevel.h> to add a C<-RC1>-or-whatever string; or, if this is
+a final release, remove it. For example:
+
+ static const char * const local_patches[] = {
+ NULL
+ + ,"RC1"
+ PERL_GIT_UNPUSHED_COMMITS /* do not remove this line */
+
+Be sure to commit your change:
+
+ $ git commit -m 'bump version to RCnnn' patchlevel.h
+
+=item *
+
+Build perl, then make sure it passes its own test suite, and installs:
+
+ $ git clean -xdf
+ $ ./Configure -des -Dprefix=/tmp/perl-5.x.y-pretest
+
+ # or if it's an odd-numbered version:
+ $ ./Configure -des -Dusedevel -Dprefix=/tmp/perl-5.x.y-pretest
+
+ $ make test install
+
+=item *
+
+Check that the output of C<perl -v> and C<perl -V> are as expected,
+especially as regards version numbers, patch and/or RC levels, and @INC
+paths.
+
+=item *
+
+Push all your recent commits:
+
+ $ git push origin ....
+
+
+=item *
+
+Create a tarball. Use the C<-s> option to specify a suitable suffix for
+the tarball and directory name:
+
+ $ cd root/of/perl/tree
+ $ make distclean
+ $ git clean -xdf # make sure perl and git agree on files
+
+ $ perl Porting/makerel -b -s `git describe` # for a snapshot
+ $ perl Porting/makerel -b -s RC1 # for a release candidate
+ $ perl Porting/makerel -b # for a final release
+
+This creates the directory F<../perl-x.y.z-RC1> or similar, copies all
+the MANIFEST files into it, sets the correct permissions on them,
+adds DOS line endings to some, then tars it up as
+F<../perl-x.y.z-RC1.tar.gz>. With C<-b>, it also creates a C<tar.bz2> file.
+
+XXX if we go for extra tags and branches stuff, then add the extra details
+here
+
+=item *
+
+Clean up the temporary directory, e.g.
+
+ $ rm -rf ../perl-x.y.z-RC1
+
+=item *
+
+Copy the tarballs (.gz and possibly .bz2) to a web server somewhere you
+have access to.
+
+=item *
+
+Download the tarball to some other machine. For a release candidate,
+you really want to test your tarball on two or more different platforms
+and architectures. The #p5p IRC channel on irc.perl.org is a good place
+to find willing victims.
+
+=item *
+
+Check that basic configuration and tests work on each test machine:
+
+ $ ./Configure -des && make all test
+
+=item *
+
+Check that the test harness and install work on each test machine:
+
+ $ make distclean
+ $ ./Configure -des -Dprefix=/install/path && make all test_harness install
+ $ cd /install/path
+
+=item *
+
+Check that the output of C<perl -v> and C<perl -V> are as expected,
+especially as regards version numbers, patch and/or RC levels, and @INC
+paths.
+
+Note that the results may be different without a F<.git/> directory,
+which is why you should test from the tarball.
=item *
-Follow the instructions in the section L</"Building a snapshot">, then
-carry on with the extra steps that follow here.
+Bootstrap the CPAN client on the clean install:
+
+ $ ./bin/perl -MCPAN -e'shell'
=item *
+Try installing a popular CPAN module that's reasonably complex and that
+has dependencies; for example:
+
+ CPAN> install Inline
+ CPAN> quit
+
+Check that your perl can run this:
+
+ $ ./bin/perl -lwe 'use Inline C => "int f() { return 42;} "; print f'
+ 42
+ $
+
+=item *
+
+Bootstrap the CPANPLUS client on the clean install:
+
+ $ ./bin/cpanp
+
+=item *
+
+Install an XS module, for example:
+
+ CPAN Terminal> i DBI
+ CPAN Terminal> quit
+ $ bin/perl -MDBI -e 1
+
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Wait for the smoke tests to catch up with the commit which this release is
based on (or at least the last commit of any consequence).
=item *
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Once smoking is okay, upload it to PAUSE. This is the point of no return.
+If anything goes wrong after this point, you will need to re-prepare
+a new release with a new minor version or RC number.
-XXX check whether need to upload .bz2,.meta, .readme too?
+Upload both the .gz and .bz2 versions of the tarball.
=item *
-create a tag [XXX and branches and stuff ????], e.g.:
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
- $ git tag perl-5.10.1-RC1 -m'Release Candidate 1 of Perl 5.10.1'
+Create a tag for the exact git revision you built the release from.
+C<commit> below is the commit corresponding to the tarball. It can be
+omitted if there have been no further commits since the tarball was
+created.
+
+ $ git tag perl-5.10.1-RC1 -m'Release Candidate 1 of Perl 5.10.1' <commit>
$ git push origin tag perl-5.10.1-RC1
=item *
-Mail p5p to announce it, with a quote you prepared earlier.
-
-=item *
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
-Wait 24 hours or so, then post the announcement to use.perl.org.
+Disarm the F<patchlevel.h> change; for example,
-=back
+ static const char * const local_patches[] = {
+ NULL
+ - ,"RC1"
+ PERL_GIT_UNPUSHED_COMMITS /* do not remove this line */
+Be sure to commit your change:
-=head2 Making a final release
+ $ git commit -m 'disarm RCnnn bump' patchlevel.h
-At this point you should have a working release candidate with few or no
-changes since.
-It's essentially the same procedure as for making a release candidate, but
-with a whole bunch of extra post-release steps.
+=item *
-=over 4
+Mail p5p to announce your new release, with a quote you prepared earlier.
=item *
-Follow the same steps as for making a release candidate, then
+I<You MAY SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
+Wait 24 hours or so, then post the announcement to use.perl.org.
+(if you don't have access rights to post news, ask someone like Rafael to
+do it for you.)
=item *
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT, RC, BLEAD>
+
Ask Jarkko to update http://www.cpan.org/src/README.html and
Rafael to update http://dev.perl.org/perl5/
-
=item *
-[ XXX disarm any patchlevel.h stuff ??? ]
-
-=item *
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT, RC>
Create a new empty perlNNNdelta.pod file for the current release + 1;
see F<Porting/how_to_write_a_perldelta.pod>.
[ XXX Perhaps we should have an empty template file we can copy in. ]
In addition, edit F<pod.lst>, adding the new entry as 'D', and unmark previous
-entry as 'D', then run C<perl pod/buildtoc --build-all> to update the
-following files:
-
- MANIFEST
- pod/perl.pod
- win32/pod.mak
- vms/descrip_mms.template
+entry as 'D',
-(F<vms/descrip_mms.template> still needs a manual edit to bump the
-C<perldelta.pod> entry - it would be good for someone to figure out the fix.)
-
-and change perlNNNdelta references to the new version in these files
+Change perlNNNdelta references to the new version in these files
INSTALL
win32/Makefile.mk
=item *
-If this was major release, bump the version, e.g. 5.12.0 to 5.13.0
-[ XXX probably more complex stuff to do, including perldelta,
+Run C<perl pod/buildtoc --build-all> to update the following files:
+
+ MANIFEST
+ pod/perl.pod
+ win32/pod.mak
+ vms/descrip_mms.template
+
+If you modified perldelta.pod, (F<vms/descrip_mms.template> will
+needs a manual edit to bump the C<perldelta.pod> entry - it would
+be good for someone to figure out the fix.)
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT, RC, BLEAD>
+
+If this was a maint release, then edit F<Porting/mergelog> to change
+all the C<d> (deferred) flags to C<.> (needs review).
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT, RC, BLEAD>
+
+If this was a major release (5.x.0), then create a new maint branch
+based on the commit tagged as the current release and bump the version
+in the blead branch in git, e.g. 5.12.0 to 5.13.0.
+
+[ XXX probably lots more stuff to do, including perldelta,
C<lib/feature.pm> ]
+XXX need a git recipe
+
=item *
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT, RC, BLEAD>
+
Copy the perlNNNdelta.pod for this release into the other branches, and
remember to update these files on those branches too:
=item *
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT>
+
Make sure any recent F<pod/perlhist.pod> entries are copied to
F<perlhist.pod> on other branches; typically the RC* and final entries,
e.g.
5.8.9-RC2 2008-Dec-06
5.8.9 2008-Dec-14
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST SKIP this step for SNAPSHOT, RC>
+
+Remind the current maintainer of C<Module::CoreList> to push a new release
+to CPAN.
+
+=item *
+
+I<You MUST RETIRE to your preferred PUB, CAFE or SEASIDE VILLA for some much-needed
+rest and relaxation>.
+
+Thanks for releasing perl!
+
=back
=head1 SOURCE