A good release note takes some effort to write, but the results are extremely helpful to users of Derby. One way to help ensure that you write a good release note is to use the following outline. Attach the release note to the Jira issue following the ReleaseNoteProcess.
For additional discussion of this format, see DERBY-2570
<!-- TEMPLATE FOR CREATING A RELEASE NOTE FOR A SIGNIFICANT JIRA ENTRY This is a standard form for filling in a release note for a significant issue logged in JIRA. This could be an issue which introduces a new feature. Or it could be an issue which changes Derby in a way which breaks existing applications. By using this standard form, you help the release manager generate documentation for the next release. When you are done filling in this form, attach it to the appropriate JIRA as "releaseNote.html". You can improve your release note as many times as you like. The release machinery will simply use the last version of releaseNote.html attached to the JIRA. This template has the following standard sections. Brackets mark optional sections. Summary of Change Symptoms Seen by Applications Affected by Change [ Incompatibilities with Previous Release ] Rationale for Change [ Application Changes Required ] Go through this template and replace all instances of "????" with appropriate text. Remove the optional sections if you don't need them. --> <html> <body> <!-- SUMMARIZE THE ISSUE. This is a one line summary of the issue. For instance: Applications may no longer open two InputStreams on the same ResultSet column. --> <h4>Summary of Change</h4> <p> ???? </p> <!-- DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS THAT THE USER ACTUALLY SEES WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURS. For instance: In the previous release, applications were able to open two InputStreams on the same column. Depending on how these streams interacted, the value siphoned out of the column was erratic. Now Derby raises a SQLException when the application attempts to create the second InputStream. --> <h4>Symptoms Seen by Applications Affected by Change</h4> <p> ???? </p> <!-- OPTIONAL: DESCRIBE INCOMPATIBILITIES WITH PREVIOUS RELEASE, IF ANY. For instance: Applications which open two InputStreams on the ResultSet column now fail. --> <h4>Incompatibilities with Previous Release</h4> <p> ???? </p> <!-- DESCRIBE WHY THE CHANGE WAS MADE. For instance: The previous behavior violated the JDBC standard. The new behavior is correct. --> <h4>Rationale for Change</h4> <p> ???? </p> <!-- OPTIONAL: DESCRIBE HOW TO REVERT TO THE PREVIOUS BEHAVIOR OR OTHERWISE AVOID THE INCOMPATIBILITIES INTRODUCED BY THIS CHANGE. For instance: Users must recode applications which open multiple streams on the same column. --> <h4>Application Changes Required</h4> <p> ???? </p> </body> </html>