Re: 4.2 Release plans - Last chance for comments

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Ethan Merritt wrote:
> Unless there are objections, I propose to change the PATCHLEVEL
> and other embedded names in the 4.2 CVS tree to be 4.2 patchlevel 0,
> and prepare an official distribution source package this weekend.

No objection from me, but a little concern about us not having been able 
to reach Thomas Williams for the formal "blessing".  We would be going 
out a bit further on that limb we've manoeuvered ourselves onto 
regarding the License issue.

> 1) put the 4.2 release tarball on SourceForge
> 2) add pointers and update links on the web site
> 3) let those propagate
> 4) wait a bit (2 days? a week?)

3 and 4 shouldn't amount to more than 1 day combined.  SourceForge has 
sufficiently efficient mirroring systems to allow it.  The file release 
by itself will already alert a certain number of subscribers directly by 
mail.  Others can wait until we reach step 5)

> 5) publish the release announcement    (Draft text follows)
>  
> I was not involved in the mechanics of previous releases,
> so maybe there is an well-trodden release path that I am unaware of?

Given we've only used those paths thrice in 5 years (since version 
3.7.2), i doubt any of them could be classified as well-trodden. ;-)

I would put the announcement on Freshmeat and as a News entry on our 
SourceForge.net pages.  Ethan should post the announcement to our Usenet 
newsgroup, and I assume Petr will forward it to the Octave crowd.


> Short list of fixes since the final release candidate 4.2-rc4
> -------------------------------------------------------------

I don't really think this should be in the announcement.  Or if it goes 
in, then so should the entire NEWS since version 4.0.