xtc/docs/RELEASING.md
2026-11-06 19:05:14 +01:00

7.2 KiB

Release Preparation (0.1.0 Development Prototype)

Source packaging, staged install/uninstall and repeatable builds are testable. It does not turn the prototype into a production-qualified DAW. The version remains 0.1.0; no tag, external release or binary publication is created by cmake --build build --target dist or cmake --build build --target release.


Build and Package

cmake --preset release
cmake --build --preset release --parallel
ctest --preset release
cmake --build build/release --target test-install test-install-layout
cmake --build build/release --target dist test-release
cmake --build build/release --target test-package

The release preset builds optimized, warning-enabled C/C++ code, test binaries and the available GUI in build/release, with source/binary prefix maps, no debug information, deterministic archive metadata and assertions retained. FLTK discovery takes include/define flags without overriding the project's optimization settings. dist creates xtc-0.1.0.tar.gz below the binary directory using Python's standard library. It includes only Git-indexed regular files (working-tree contents, including staged new files), plus a source manifest; stage intended files first and check git diff --cached. Untracked files, ignored build output and .git are excluded. Exported archives reproduce themselves without Git using SOURCE_MANIFEST.json. The test-release tool uses CMake and CTest in two independent exported trees, without invoking Make.

Archive order, permissions, ownership, gzip filename and timestamps are normalized. SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH defaults to 0; set an unsigned 32-bit epoch explicitly if desired. The archive does not claim to identify a commit: release from a clean checkout and record its commit/hash externally. Do not treat a dirty-tree archive as an attested release. No artifact is uploaded by these targets.

test-release unpacks the source into two different temporary paths, configures a reproducible Release build and runs CTest in each, compares libxtc.a/xtc-check/optional xtc SHA-256 values, and repacks each export to compare archive bytes. This verifies reproducibility for the same host, compiler, flags and dependency versions. It does not promise bit-identical output across distributions, compilers or library updates. Compiler/debug/sanitizer build directories are intentionally separate; changing toolchain/flags in place requires a clean directory. Python release tests require version 3.12+.


Qualification Record

Run normal core/GUI and live software JACK tests, no-JACK builds and ASan/UBSan. GUI leak tests retain the narrow fontconfig suppression; core tests do not. TSan recorder/publication tests complement lifecycle tests. Native API tests verify callback failures, cleanup and retirement; they cannot certify arbitrary extensions. See BUILD.md and tests/integration/README.md for commands.

Record versions, archive hashes, installation/consumer checks and measured timing. Use LICENSES.md for dependency/license review and PLUGIN_HOSTING.md for the external-hosting decision. Review RECOVERY.md for migration and process-crash semantics. Physical devices, power loss, sustained recording/performance, user acceptance on other distributions and binary redistribution are still separate qualification work. There is no DEB/RPM/AppImage, bundled runtime, autosave, external plugin host or stable shared-library extension ABI in this release.


Local Binary Packaging and Installed Workflow

cmake --build build/release --target test-package uses the selected build and stages installation only in a temporary DESTDIR, writes a normalized Linux binary/development archive, checks its SHA-256 sidecar and per-file manifest, relocatable pkg-config paths and headless commands. Same-host repeated packaging is byte-identical; dependency versions and toolchain still determine binary compatibility. cmake --build build --target test-install now repeats installation to verify repair/upgrade of owned files while preserving an unrelated sentinel, then compiles both C99 and C++17 installed consumers that create MIDI, save/reopen and compare nonzero exact rendering. Removal remains exact and idempotent.

USER_MANUAL.md consolidates operation; KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md lists qualification gaps; MAINTENANCE.md defines the release checklist, regression and compatibility policy. Build diagnostics make no server/plugin calls. There is no asynchronous crash uploader or signal-handler cleanup: inspect OS core/debugger evidence on the control side, preserving project/media recovery paths. No release is publicly published by these commands, and human/device/listening checks remain pending.


Release Workflow

Installation shares the existing explicit owned-file inventory with removal. Use CMake's CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX, CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR, CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR, CMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR, CMAKE_INSTALL_DATAROOTDIR and CMAKE_INSTALL_DOCDIR. xtc-specific cache entries are XTC_INSTALL_LICENSEDIR, XTC_INSTALL_EXAMPLESDIR, XTC_INSTALL_DESKTOPDIR and XTC_INSTALL_PKGCONFIGDIR. Relative directories resolve beneath the prefix; absolute directories are supported. Spaces work; control characters, quotes, dollar signs, backslashes and .. are rejected by the audited layout helper. DESTDIR is a separate staging environment variable. The same cache and prefix must be used for uninstall; a cmake --install --prefix override is temporary. The internal XTC_INSTALL_BUILD_DIR setting lets packaging/test drivers stage already-built inputs using a temporary configuration without modifying the caller's cache. SDK products are never in this inventory.

cmake -S . -B build/release-check -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DXTC_REPRODUCIBLE=ON -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib64
cmake --build build/release-check --parallel
ctest --test-dir build/release-check --output-on-failure
cmake --build build/release-check --target test-install test-install-layout
DESTDIR=/tmp/xtc-stage cmake --install build/release-check
DESTDIR=/tmp/xtc-stage cmake --build build/release-check --target uninstall

Core install includes the static library, public headers, xtc-check, pkg-config metadata, Markdown documentation, all checked-in performance reports, license and share/xtc/examples (a media/plugin-free MIDI demo). GUI install adds the desktop entry and xtc. No desktop MIME association is claimed. Package archives keep their fixed /usr layout and relocatable pkg-config metadata; custom live layouts are tested separately. Existing owned file symlinks are replaced, not followed; installation is atomic per file, not a transaction over the entire prefix.

cmake --build build --target dist now writes a .sha256 sidecar as well as the normalized source archive. Record that hash, the reviewed commit, version and build/dependency conditions with release logs. test-release verifies the hash, builds/tests two fresh source exports and compares artifacts and repacks. It validates exported tracked content, including staged work; it does not attest that the caller's Git tree is clean. For public release use a clean reviewed checkout and inspect git status first. RELEASE_NOTES.md supplies upgrade guidance and remaining qualification limits.