Release 1.7

[agriffard]

Prepare the project

Do some housekeeping on GitHub in the main repo.

• Close remaining issues for the version (including merging corresponding pull requests if suitable) or assign them to the next one.
• Assign all issues that were closed for an upcoming version (including a wildcard version like "1.0.x") to this version (milestone).

Prepare the code

Update the source so everything looks like on the new version.

• Create a release/<version name> branch out of main, e.g. release/1.8.
• Check the release_ci workflow is using the expected .NET version to build the Docker images.
• Create a release/<version name> branch out of main, e.g. release/1.3.1.
• Update the OrchardCore.Commons.props file with <VersionSuffix></VersionSuffix> such that preview build numbers are not injected in packages. Verify the VersionPrefix tag matches the released version.
• Update module versions in src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Abstractions/Modules/Manifest/ManifestConstants.cs.
• Update the version in the command lines in from all documentation files.
• Create a new milestone.

Test the release

Make sure everything works all right.

• Make sure that OrchardCore.Samples works.
• Test the guides with the NuGet packages from the Cloudsmith feed (branches under release/ are automatically published too). Test at least the following guides:
  • Creating a modular ASP.NET Core application
  • Creating an Orchard Core CMS website
  • Creating a new decoupled CMS Website
• If there's a more recent major version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (like v10 after v9) that Orchard Core was certified for, then re-certify it. See Orchard's Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog profile for the version it was certified for, the Red hat Customer Portal for the latest released version, and [https://docs.orchardcore.net/en/latest/docs/topics/red-hat-ecosystem-catalog-certification/](our certification guide) for the steps to renew the certification.

Prepare and publish Orchard Core Translations

Update everything in the Translations project. Only do this once all the code changes are done since localized strings can change until then.

• Update .po files with PoExtractor. This will also update Crowdin.
• Publish the new version on NuGet.
• Update the OrchardCore.Translations.All package reference in the main repo's src/OrchardCore.Build/Dependencies.props file to refer to the new NuGet package.

Prepare the documentation

Update the docs so they contain information about the new release so once the release is out you'll just need to point to new information.

• Create a new Draft Release with a tag vx.y.z that is created when the release is published. Auto-generate release notes.
• Create release notes in a specific documentation section. You can take the previous release notes as a template.
  • Overview of the release's highlights and goals. What do you want people to remember this release for?
  • Prerequisites. What framework version do you need, anything else to work with Orchard?
  • Upgrade steps, any migration necessary from previous versions, breaking changes.

Publish the release

Do the harder parts of making the release public. This should come after everything above is done.

• Merge release/<version name> to main.
  • Merges to main need two approvals so you'll need to create a pull request.
  • Merge it as a merge commit, not squash merge.
• Publish the Draft release.
• Test the guides with the packages now automatically published to NuGet. Test at least the following guides:
  • Creating a modular ASP.NET Core application
  • Creating an Orchard Core CMS website
  • Creating a new decoupled CMS Website
• Update Try Orchard Core.

Publicize the release

Let the whole world know about our shiny new release. Savor this part! These steps will make the release public so only do them once everything else is ready.

• Update the documentation to mention the version in all places where the latest version is referenced, for example, but not limited to (do a search for the package version string): Status in the root README, CLI templates, commands, the Creating a new decoupled CMS Website guide.
• Update the tagged release on GitHub: Change its title to something more descriptive (e.g. "Orchard Core 1.0.0 RC 2"), add a link in its description to the release notes in the documentation (something like For details on this version see the [release notes in the documentation](link here).). Add a link to this release under Status in the root README.
• Publish a blog post on the website.
• Ask to publish a blog post on DevBlogs.
• Ask to publish a blog post on .NET Foundation News.
• Tweet

After the release is done

• Create a new milestone with the next release number.
• Create a new release notes documentation file for the next version in the OrchardCore.Docs project. (e.g, /releases/1.8.0.md).
• Update the OrchardCore.Commons.props file with the next release number, and <VersionSuffix>preview</VersionSuffix> such that preview builds use the new one.

[agriffard]

See #14111

[MikeAlhayek]

@Piedone do you want to certify OrchardCore with Linux 9.2?

[Piedone]

There are no fundamental changes in either RHEL or OC so I don't think it's necessary. Maybe after the .NET 8 upgrade or when RHEL 10 comes out next May.

[sebastienros]

This is checked but it was not done. Also the mention of this attribute was removed in the release notes, does it mean we don't care about updating this value for a release anymore (that's possible).

[MikeAlhayek]

@sebastienros
It was updated

Still there (we care about it)

[sebastienros]

You misread, it's VersionSuffix, the one below with preview.

[sebastienros]

But if we are clever we could set that in the workflow so we don't have to update the xml every time, and we never do the mistake to leave it during a release.

[MikeAlhayek]

You misread, it's VersionSuffix, the one below with preview.

I fixed it and restored the "After the release is done" steps