Release process (#1292)

* Document the actual release process

RELEASE-PROCESS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+# Release Process for Jamulus
+
+This document lists the exact steps required for a developer with write access to generate either a pre-release (beta, rc) or full release of Jamulus.
+
+## Once to set up
+
+A direct clone of the Jamulus repo is required, not a fork. This should be set up in a separate directory just for the release process:
+
+```
+$ git clone [email protected]:jamulussoftware/jamulus.git jamulus-upstream
+$ cd jamulus-upstream
+$ git remote -v
+origin  [email protected]:jamulussoftware/jamulus.git (fetch)
+origin  [email protected]:jamulussoftware/jamulus.git (push)
+$ git status
+On branch master
+Your branch is up to date with 'origin/master'.
+
+nothing to commit, working tree clean
+```
+
+## Steps for a specific release
+
+First make sure all Pull Requests that should be included in the release have been merged in Github.
+
+Next, change to the above directory `jamulus-upstream`, checkout `master` and ensure it is up to date:
+
+```
+$ cd jamulus-upstream
+$ git checkout master
+$ git pull
+$ git status
+```
+
+Make sure there are no pending changes shown by `git status`.
+
+Now ensure the compiled translation files are up to date:
+
+```
+$ lrelease Jamulus.pro
+$ git status
+```
+
+If any of the `.qm` files have been updated by `lrelease`, they will be shown as changed files. If there are any, they should be committed and pushed:
+
+```
+$ git commit -am'Update compiled translations'
+$ git push
+```
+
+Next edit both `Jamulus.pro` and `ChangeLog` with the new version number, such as **3.7.0rc2** or **3.7.0**:
+
+```
+$ vim -o Jamulus.pro ChangeLog
+```
+
+In `Jamulus.pro`, edit the `VERSION` line to give the release, e.g.
+
+```
+VERSION = 3.7.0rc2
+```
+
+or
+
+```
+VERSION = 3.7.0
+```
+
+In `ChangeLog`, for a pre-release, change the first version heading as follows:
+
+```
+### 3.7.0rc2 <- NOTE: the release version number will be 3.7.0 ###
+```
+
+for a proper release, change it as follows, removing the NOTE and including the release date:
+
+```
+### 3.7.0 (2021-03-17) ###
+```
+
+Check only those two files have changed, then commit and push the changes:
+
+```
+$ git status
+$ git commit -am'Update version to 3.7.0 for release'
+$ git push
+```
+
+Now add the required tag locally and then push the tag. This will start the automated release process on Github:
+
+```
+$ git tag r3_7_0
+$ git push origin tag r3_7_0
+```
+
+## If this is a proper release, move the `latest` tag
+
+This needs the `--force` option to overwrite the existing `latest` tag and move it to the current commit:
+
+```
+$ git tag latest
+$ git push --force origin tag latest
+```
+
+For a pre-release, the `latest` tag should not be updated, but continue to point to the last proper release.
+
+## Make the master branch ready for post-release development
+
+This can be done immediately after pushing the above tag, there is no need to wait.
+
+Edit both `Jamulus.pro` and `ChangeLog` to add `dev` to the version number and create a new section in the change log:
+
+```
+$ vim -o Jamulus.pro ChangeLog
+```
+
+In `Jamulus.pro`, edit the `VERSION` line to add `dev` to the current version number, e.g.
+
+```
+VERSION = 3.7.0dev
+```
+
+In `ChangeLog`, add a new section with `dev` and restore the NOTE indicating the next version number:
+
+```
+### 3.7.0dev <- NOTE: the release version number will be 3.7.1 ###
+
+
+### 3.7.0 (2021-03-17) ###
+```
+
+Check only those two files have changed, then commit and push the changes:
+
+```
+$ git status
+$ git commit -am'Set version to 3.7.0dev'
+$ git push
+```
+
+Close the shell or change out of the upstream directory to one's usual working directory, e.g.:
+
+```
+$ cd ../jamulus
+```
+