Branching Model

DIRAC release branches live in the central repository of the Github service.

DIRAC releases nomenclature

Release version name conventions

The DIRAC release versions have the form vXrYpZ, where X, Y and Z are incrementally increasing interger numbers. For example, v1r0p1. X corresponds to the major release number, Y corresponds to the minor release number and Z corresponds to the patch number ( see below ). It is possible that the patch number is not present in the release version, for example v6r7 .

The version of prereleases used in the DIRAC certification procedure is constructed in a form: vXrY-preZ, where the vXrY part corresponds to the new release being tested and Z denotes the prerelease number.

Release versions are used as tags in Git terms to mark the set of codes corresponding to the given release.

Release types

We distinguish releases, patches and pre-releases. Releases in turn can be major and minor.

major release

major releases are created when there is an important change in the DIRAC functionality involving changes in the service interfaces making some of the previous major release clients incompatible with the new services. DIRAC clients and services belonging to the same major release are still compatible even if they belong to different normal releases. In the release version the major release is denoted by the number following the initial letter “v”.

minor release

minor releases are created whenever a significant new functionality is added or important changes of the existing functionality are done. Minor releases necessitate certification step in order to make the new code available in production for users. In the release version minor releases are denoted by the number following the letter “r”.

patch

patches are created for a minor and/or obvious bug fixes and minor functionality changes. This is the responsibility of the developer to ensure that the patch changes only fix known problems and do not introduce new bugs or undesirable side effects. Patch releases are not subject to the full release certification procedure. Patches are applied to the existing releases. In the release version patch releases are denoted by the number following the letter “p”.

pre-release

the DIRAC certification procedure goes through a series of pre-releases used to test carefully the code to be released in production. The prerelease versions have a form vXrY-preZ.

Release branches

The following branches are used in managing DIRAC releases:

integration branch

this branch is used to assemble new code developments that will be eventually released as a new major or minor release.

release branches

the release branches contain the code corresponding to a given major or minor release. This is the production code which is distributed for the DIRAC installations. The release branches are created when a new minor release is done. The patches are incorporated into the release branches. The release branch names have the form rel-vXrY, where vXrY part corresponds to the branch minor release version.

master branch

the master branch corresponds to the current stable production code. It is a copy of the corresponding release branch.

These branches are the only ones maintained in the central Git repository by the release managers. They are used to build DIRAC releases. They also serve as reference code used by developers as a starting point for their work.

Feature branches

These are the branches where all the actual developments are happening. They can be started from release/integration and will be merged back to them eventually if the contribution are accepted. Their name should reflect the feature being developed and should not be “integration” or “master” to avoid confusions.

Feature branches are used to develop new features for a future release or making patches to the already created releases. A feature branch will exist as long as the feature is in development but will eventually be merged into release/integration or discarded in case the feature is no longer relevant. Feature branches exist only in the developer repositories and never in the release repository.

Working on and contributing code to the DIRAC Project is described in Contributing code .