[rdf4j-dev] release plan for 2.3

[Jeen Broekstra <jeen.broekstra@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Since RDF4J 2.3 is a minor release, we will need to go through a release 
review process, as outlined in the Eclipse project handbook ( see 
https://www.eclipse.org/projects/handbook/#release). There are several 
steps involved, none of which are too difficult, but they do require 
some time and planning on our part.

An Eclipse release review runs for a week, and is scheduled to conclude 
on the first or third Wednesday of each month. So ideally, we _start_ 
our review at least *a week before* the first or third Wednesday of 
March (March 7 and 21, respectively), that is, either Wednesday February 
28, or if that is too short, Wednesday March 14.

In order to start a release review, we will need a _release plan_, 
outlining the main changes and goals of the release, published on 
https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/technology.rdf4j/ . Typically this 
is just a few bullet points and a link to the project documentation - 
usually it also includes things like compatibility notes, a list of 
fixed issues / release notes, etc. This needs to be assembled and 
approved by the PMC _before_ the start of the release review. I can 
write this, but I need some input from you fine folks.

Do we have a tentative release date we want to go for? Can someone give 
me a bullet list with the main changes in this release?

Since we use separate issue trackers for the various git repositories, 
we now also have various milestone lists:

* rdf4j: https://github.com/eclipse/rdf4j/milestone/19
* rdf4j-storage: https://github.com/eclipse/rdf4j-storage/milestone/1
* rdf4j-tools: https://github.com/eclipse/rdf4j-tools/milestone/1

Question: it is unclear to me why some issues are labeled "merged" but 
are not closed - does that mean those issues need further testing?

James - did you have an approach in mind for generating release notes 
from the issue tracker(s)?

As soon as we pin a date I can start drafting our release plan, and we 
can try and work towards a new release ASAP.

Cheers,

Jeen