Memory Pool System Version Create Procedure

author Richard Kistruck
confidentiality public
date 2008-10-29
organization Ravenbrook Limited
readership MPS developers

1. Introduction

This document tells you how to create a new version from the master sources. (For example, if the last version of the MPS is 1.105, with releases 1.105.0 and 1.105.1, this document tells you how to abandon the 1.105 lineage and take a new clone from the master sources to create version 1.106).

Refer to "Product Quality Through Change Management" [RB_1999-05-20] for background, terminology, rationale, and usage guidance. This tells you what "a version" actually is.

2. Preamble

2.1. Do I need this procedure?

You might not need to create a new version. An alternative is to create a further "point release" on the existing version. Refer to [RB_1999-05-20] when deciding. (Summary: if changing the specification, make a new version; if improving the product against an unchanged specification, make a point release.)

2.2. What is a version?

A version is a clone of all the master sources, that has its own evolution. A version has these parts:

  1. The version branch specification, which defines the mapping used to integrate from the master sources to the version sources. By convention, the name of the branch specification is mps/version/A.BBB so that it exactly matches the path name of the version's sub-tree. For example:

    $ p4 branch -o mps/version/1.105
...
View:
        //info.ravenbrook.com/project/mps/master/... //info.ravenbrook.com/project/mps/version/1.105/...
...

  2. The version sources, in the version/A.BBB/... sub-tree. Usually these are clones of the master sources, and were created in a single change with p4 integrate -b BRANCH. Some files may then be further modified.

  3. The version origin, the last change on the master sources that made it into the version sources by virtue of the initial integrate command.

  4. An entry in the table of versions.

3. Procedure: How to make a new version

3.1. Pre-branch checklist

  1. Are you an authenticated Git Fusion user? If not, follow the git-fusion procedure.
  2. Does code/version.c in the master sources contain the correct value for the MPS_RELEASE macro? It should be the name of the first release from the version you are about to create. If it is wrong, correct and submit it.

3.2. Automated procedure

Run the script tool/branch, passing the options:

  • -P mps — project name
  • -p master — parent branch
  • -C CHANGELEVEL — changelevel at which to make the branch
  • -v — request a version branch
  • -d "DESCRIPTION" — description of the branch
  • -y — yes, really create the branch

If omitted, the project and parent branch are deduced from the current directory, and the changelevel defaults to the most recent change on the parent branch. A typical invocation looks like this:

tool/branch -p master -v -d "Improved interface to generation chains." -y

3.3. Manual procedure

  1. Make sure that the sources for the version you are about to create, for the table of versions, and for the table of Git Fusion pushes, are mapped in your Perforce client:

    //info.ravenbrook.com/project/mps/version/$VERSION/...
//info.ravenbrook.com/project/mps/branch/index.html
//info.ravenbrook.com/infosys/robots/git-fusion/etc/pushes

  2. Create the version branch specification by running:

    VERSION=A.BBB
BRANCH=mps/version/$VERSION
p4 branch -i <<END
Branch: $BRANCH
Description: Branching master sources for version $VERSION.
View: //info.ravenbrook.com/project/mps/master/... //info.ravenbrook.com/project/$BRANCH/...
END

  3. Make sure you have no unsubmitted files:

    $ p4 opened
File(s) not opened on this client.

    and then:

    p4 integrate -b $BRANCH
p4 submit -d "Branching master sources for version $VERSION."

  4. Determine the origin of the new version:

    p4 changes -m 5 //info.ravenbrook.com/project/mps/master/...

    Note the latest change that was in before the integrate.

  5. Update the table of versions.

  6. Make a client specification that can be used by the git-fusion robot to sync the version:

    p4 client -i <<END
Client: git-fusion-mps-version-$VERSION
Description: Git-fusion client for syncing MPS version $VERSION
Root: /home/git-fusion/.git-fusion/views/mps-version-$VERSION/p4
View: //info.ravenbrook.com/project/mps/version/$VERSION/... //git-fusion-mps-version-$VERSION/...
END

  7. Add an entry to the list of repositories to push to GitHub:

    PUSHES=$(p4 have //info.ravenbrook.com/infosys/robots/git-fusion/etc/pushes | cut -d' ' -f3)
p4 edit $PUSHES
printf "mps-version-$VERSION\tgit@github.com:Ravenbrook/mps-temporary.git\tversion/$VERSION" >> $PUSHES
p4 submit -d "Arranging for MPS version $VERSION to be pushed to GitHub by Git Fusion" $PUSHES

A. References

[RB_1995-05-20]Richard Brooksby; "Product Quality Through Change Management"; Ravenbrook Limited; 1999-05-20; http://www.ravenbrook.com/doc/1999/05/20/pqtcm/

B. Document History

2005-10-03 RHSK Created.
2006-12-27 RHSK Step 0: edit some files on master before making version branch
2007-07-05 RHSK Releasename now also in w3build.bat. Make sure all submitted before integ.
2008-10-29 RHSK Convert from text to html.
2010-11-06 RHSK Correctly format example of p4 branch -o mps/version/1.105
2014-01-13 GDR Make procedure less error-prone by giving exact sequence of commands (where possible) based on experience of version 1.112.
2014-01-14 GDR Step for adding to Git Fusion.
2014-03-19 GDR Describe automated procedure.