Implement Automated Release Workflow for Arc Repository Suite

[kaikreuzer]

Overview
Establish an automated release workflow for the Arc repository suite that handles coordinated releases across all Arc-related repositories.

Affected Repositories

• https://github.com/eclipse-lmos/arc
• https://github.com/eclipse-lmos/arc-view
• https://github.com/eclipse-lmos/arc-spring-init
• https://github.com/eclipse-lmos/lmos-sample-agents

Release Requirements

1. Coordinated Release Process

   • All repositories must be released simultaneously
   • Consistent version numbers across all repositories
   • Automated GitHub release creation for each repository

2. Release Types and Versioning

   a) Milestone Releases (e.g., 0.1.0.M1, 0.1.0.M2):

   • Triggered by pushing a specific tag to the repositories
   • No version bump in main branch after milestone releases
   • Format: X.Y.Z.MN (where MN is the milestone number)

   b) GA Releases (e.g., 0.1.0, 0.2.0):

   • After successful release:
     • Main branch versions should be bumped to next minor SNAPSHOT version
     • Example: After 0.1.0 release → bump to 0.2.0-SNAPSHOT

3. Release Automation Requirements

   • Create GitHub release tags across all repositories
   • Automatically generate release notes using GitHub's features
     • Aggregate changes from all 4 repositories into the arc-repo release notes description
     • Include merged PRs, resolved issues, and other relevant changes
   • Implement version management
     • Handle milestone versioning
     • Handle GA versioning
     • Manage SNAPSHOT versions

Technical Implementation

1. Release Trigger Mechanism

   # Example trigger
   git tag -a release-0.1.0.M1 -m "0.1.0 Milestone 1 Release"
   git push origin release-0.1.0.M1
   

2. Workflow Steps

   • Verify all repositories are in a releasable state (latest head commit)
   • Create release tags simultaneously across all repositories
   • Generate consolidated release notes into the arc repo release description
   • Create GitHub releases with artifacts
   • For GA releases only: bump versions in main branches

3. Version Management

   • Milestone releases: X.Y.Z.MN
   • GA releases: X.Y.Z
   • Development versions: X.Y.Z-SNAPSHOT

Success Criteria

• Single trigger creates releases across all repositories
• Release notes automatically aggregated from all repositories
• Proper version management for both milestone and GA releases
• All artifacts properly tagged and released in GitHub
• Main branch versions correctly managed post-GA releases