Release Plan 2.0.2

Struts 2.0.2 is preparing a "release candidate" build.
Documentation issues remain as to migrating.
Assembly/distribution issues remain.

For resolved issues, see Struts 2.0.2 DONE in the issue tracker.

For known and pending issues (if any) see Struts 2.0.2 TODO in the issue tracker.

Overall Status

Setup Nightly Builds	Pending
Utilize Cookbook format for Showcase and add Struts-Examples use cases
Add Struts 1 and WW2 Migration Guides	Initial draft added
Complete standard release plan	Pending

Additional Background

Release Manager

The release manager is Ted Husted.

See also Creating and Signing a Distribution

Special Issues

Struts 2.0 is based on the WebWork 2.2 codebase. Essentially, Struts 2.0 will be the technical equivalent of WebWork 2.3. (The WebWork 2 codebase was accepted into the Struts project through the Apache Incubator.)

For Struts 2.0, the core goals are to repackage the codebase as an Apache Struts product and to provide migration resources for Struts 1 and WW 2 developers. A few legacy API elements will be removed, and a few new features will be added.

The Struts 2.0 release is following the Struts Ti Proposal. Struts 2.0 is Phase 1 of the proposal. A subsequent Struts release series (either Struts 2.1 or Struts 3.0) will address Phase 2 of the proposal.

The platform for Struts 2.0.x is Java 1.5, with Java 1.4 compatibity provided by RetoTranslator.

New Features Under Consideration

The initial list of new features is taken from the Struts 2 Rough Spots page.

Some new features were added in Struts 2.0.0.

Review and Refinement

Separate classes that most applications need to use. Isolate classes that the framework uses internally or that are rarely used by applications. (See Rough Spot #3.)
Distinguish between the published public versus private APIs. (See Rough Spot #4.)
Utilize properties (methods) instead of protected or public fields (). (See #13.)
Review exception handling. Some are still being swallowed rather than rethrown. (See #20 and WW-652@ww)

Modifications

Simplify TextProvider. (See #15.)
Modify ParametersInterceptor to sort parameter names by depth (using bucket sort) and then map them in that order (shallowest first). (See #21.)
Use the strategy pattern to swap in different implementations of interfaces like ValidationAware. (See Tim, NTH #1.)

Configuration

Add support type aliasing (a la Spring and iBATIS) to reduce or eliminate need to use fully-qualified class names, over and over. The fully-qualified type is declared once, and then a simple type "nickname" can be used instead. (See #23.)
- An alternative to this issue is adding a default=action-class-ref so that packages can designate a default class other than ActionSupport.
Combine configuration DTDs so that Actions, Messages, and Validators can be defined in a single file. (See Ted, #1.)
Use values on the stack to override/define configuration options. (See Tim, NTH #3.)

OGNL

On the OGNL value stack, rename #request for request parameters and #requestAttributes for request attributes. (See #17 and WW-785@ww.)
Work with OGNL to add Java 5 support. (See #31.)
Work with OGNL to make it a clear superset of JSTL. (See Gabe #4.)

Struts 1 Features to Implement

Extends for action mappings (See Tim, NTH #2.)
Set field focus

Testing Checklist

Testing Summary

#	Description	Completed
1.	Run Unit Test targets
2.	Play test bundled applications

TODO: A Silenium test suite for the applications would be great!

Test Build Distribution Checklist (A)

#	Description	Completed
A1.	Setup new JIRA version level for next distribution
A2.	Update POM version and tag release in svn: ${STRUTS_2_0_1}
A3.	Run Distribution Target
A4.	Create Sums and Sign Distributions
A5.	Upload Distribution to `people.apache.org/builds/struts/2.0.0/`
A6.	Deploy JAR to Apache Java-Repository
A7.	Post release-quality vote on dev@ lists

Vote (A)

${PMC_MEMBER}

${GRADE}

If release vote fails, including for a lack of quorum (3 binding +1s), remove from builds folder.
If a release vote passes (Alpha, Beta or GA), the release may be announced and mirrored, at the PMC's discretion.
If vote is GA, goto Checklist (C).

Point Release Distribution Checklist (B)

B1.	Update "Downooads" page on website and Test Downloads

Vote (B)

If initial vote is Alpha or Beta, voting can continue until a GA or "withdraw" vote passes, or there is a subsequent release.

struts2-all

${PMC_MEMBER}

${GRADE}

struts2-api

${PMC_MEMBER}

${GRADE}

struts2-core

${PMC_MEMBER}

	Description	Completed
C1.	Copy Distribution to Mirrored Directories
C2.	After 24 hours, update "Downloads" page on website
C3.	Post an announcement to lists and website