KDE SC Release Packaging Thoughts

[Allen Winter]

Howdy,

I started jotting down some thoughts about a brand new KDE SC Release Process at
http://techbase.kde.org/User:Winterz.  For your convenience, a copy of that wiki
page is enclosed below.

Let's discuss what I wrote there.

After we reach some agreement, I will replace the current
http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Release_Team/Release_Process

Note that we are talking about general ideas and workflow now.
Please no CDash vs. Jenkins arguments, for example.

However, if you have interest in helping out in specific areas it would
be great to know about that.  Those who do the work will eventually
make the final decisions on things.

= start wiki =
KDE SC Release Packaging Thoughts

1. the Continuous Integration (CI) System

 - all the KDE SC modules are built continuously
 - no packaging unless all modules build ok
   (even better would be to force all make tests too)
 - the packaging tools run on the CI system generating "test" tarballs.
 - the "test" tarballs could be downloaded from the CI system
 -

2. the KDE Sysadmin Team

 - provides and manages the CI system
 - will transfer "test" tarballs to the public ftp site
 - prepares the public ftp site for bandwidth requirements at release announce time
 -

3. the KDE Promo Team

 - writes and distributes release announcements through normal channels
 - deals with the media
 - manages public expectations
 -

4. the KDE i18n Team

 - maintains the languages list
 - 

5. the KDE Release Team

 - coordinates the entire release effort
 - sets release milestones and dates
 - communicates important dates to the community and to distros
 - communicates important news to the community and to distros
 - creates "test" tarballs using the CI system and handles distro feedback
 - adds hot and security patches to the tarballs before the final release
 - creates "final" tarballs using the CI system
 - pushes tags to the module repositories in a timely manner
 - writes and maintains the necessary tools
 - writes and maintains the release process documentation
= end wiki =