Release notes

Introduction

The release notes list the changes, improvements, and bug fixes included in each release of XL Release.

When upgrading, please refer to:

Upgrade XL Release for the procedure
The version-specific upgrade notes for important information about each version (including any manual actions that you must perform) and information about features that have been deprecated and removed

Version 4.7.2

Upgrade license file

XL Release 4.7.2 requires version 3 of the XL Release license. Versions 1 and 2 are not supported.

To check your current license version, log in to the XL Release GUI and go to Help > About. To download a new license, go to the XebiaLabs Software Distribution site. Replace the XL_RELEASE_HOME/conf/xl-release-license.lic file with the new license file.

Tip: You can also use license version 3 for XL Release 4.6.x and later.

New features

[REL-2585] - Use license version 3 in XL Release

Bug fixes

[REL-2572] - Fixed issue where you couldn't log in with correct password after a wrong attempt

Version 4.7.1

Improvements

[REL-2534] - Expose release ID as a ${release.id} variable

Bug fixes

[REL-2397] - Updated documentation links in XL Release
[REL-2476] - Fixed issue where Pipeline page did not show percentage complete
[REL-2477] - Fixed issue where date was cleared when the same date was selected
[REL-2479] - Fixed issue where triggers did not automatically include tags from template
[REL-2487] - Fixed issue where the section character (§) could not be used in JIRA password
[REL-2495] - Fixed issue where scheduled task nested in a parallel group would hang
[REL-2505] - Fixed issue where release viewers saw abort action on script tasks
[REL-2508] - Fixed issue where release created from Jenkins plugin did not include tags from template
[REL-2515] - Fixed issue where completing a task in a parallel group in advance caused linked sub-tasks to be skipped

Version 4.7.0

Automatically archive completed and aborted releases

XL Release now archives completed and aborted releases older than a configurable amount of time. This improves performance and makes the repository faster and more efficient.

Archived releases appear in reports such as the release automation report and the release value stream report. You cannot modify archived releases, but you can download any files that are attached to them.

You can configure the duration after which XL Release will archive a completed release in the general settings.

Important: For important information about how archiving works immediately after you upgrade to XL Release 4.7.0, refer to the version-specific upgrade notes.

The archiving feature replaces the purging feature that was introduced in XL Release 4.6.0. Purging is no longer available in XL Release.

Note: Starting with XL Release 4.7.0, all reports only show the data of archived releases (except the releases at risk report). For example, if you configuring archiving so that releases are archived 7 days after completion, releases that were completed in past 6 days will not be taken into account in reports.

For information about moving the database where XL Release stores archived releases, refer to Configure the reporting database.

Support Jython-based export hooks

XL Release now supports hooks that you can use to export information about completed releases to an external reporting database. Export hooks are written in Jython and can be added to XL Release as a JAR file or by placing files in the XL Release classpath.

You can define export hooks in two ways: generic export hooks that you can use to export information to any type of storage, and JDBC export hooks that can export data to an SQL database.

A sample export hook implementation is available on GitHub.

Upgraded Jython and Spring Security

XL Release has been upgraded from using Jython version 2.5 to 2.7 and from using Spring Security version 3.2.5 to 4.0.1. For information about these upgrades, refer to the version-specific upgrade notes.

New features

[REL-2354] - Export completed releases to the internal archive database
[REL-2355] - Open archived releases from the internal archive database
[REL-2356] - Allow users to define generic export hooks
[REL-2358] - Allow users to define JDBC export hooks
[REL-2394] - Archive completed releases just before they are purged
[REL-2395] - Export attachments of completed releases to the internal archive database
[REL-2407] - Update release automation reports to query the internal archive database
[REL-2408] - Update release value stream reports to query the internal archive database
[REL-2409] - Update dashboard reports to query the internal archive database
[REL-2410] - Immediately archive completed releases by default
[REL-2413] - Upgrade Jython to 2.7.0
[REL-2424] - Show archived releases in Release Overview and Calendar
[REL-2460] - Disable versioning of Directories

Improvements

[REL-2273] - Restrict script permissions only for Script task
[REL-2378] - Show executed time on automated tasks also during the release
[REL-2400] - Show clear error message when using Internet Explorer 8 to access the XL Release user interface
[REL-2402] - Prevent long release names from hiding graphs in the release automation report
[REL-2430] - Allow the task owner to retry an automated task after failure
[REL-2456] - Easier passing of variables to StartRelease
[REL-2470] - Add support for PATCH method on HttpRequest in Python scripting
[REL-2478] - Support UTF-8 in Notification task
[REL-2484] - Make sure end date is populated for all aborted releases
[REL-2485] - Redirect to originally requested page after user logs in
[REL-418] - Improve printing from user interface

Bug fixes

[REL-1825] - Fixed issue where Jenkins plugin failed when Jenkins security was enabled
[REL-2202] - Fixed rendering of timeline in release summary
[REL-2282] - Fixed issue where newlines could not be used in the description for a JIRA issue
[REL-2341] - Fixed issue where REST call to start release failed if the duration in the template properties was edited manually
[REL-2373] - Fixed issue where task was not editable after dragging in Firefox
[REL-2399] - Fixed issue where completed releases could not be purged when referenced by an active gate
[REL-2431] - Fixed issue where a phase containing a nested parallel group could not be restarted
[REL-2458] - Support "remove versions" upgrade with external removal of versioning database
[REL-2480] - Fixed issue where templates from version of XL Release prior to 4.6.0 could not be imported into XL Release 4.6.0 and up

Version 4.6.0

Restart a phase from a specific task

You can now restart a phase in a running release, either from the beginning of the phase or from a specific task in the phase.

When you restart a phase, the release is automatically paused, and you can choose whether to resume it right away or to wait until later. This gives you the opportunity to update variables, change task assignees, adjust due dates, and make any other changes that are needed.

Automatically purge completed and aborted releases

XL Release can now automatically purge completed and aborted releases that are older than a configurable amount of time. This improves performance when you have many completed and aborted releases.

New community plugins

Several new XL Release plugins are now available on GitHub:

The XL Metrics plugin gathers metrics and statistics about your XL Release repository
The Apache Derby hot backup plugin allows you to make a hot backup of XL Release's embedded Apache Derby database
The Apache Derby database tools plugin helps you manage the size of XL Release's embedded Apache Derby database

Long running upgrade

Note that upgrading to 4.6.0 can take a significant amount of time, depending on the size of your repository. Please refer to Speed up the XL Release 4.6.x upgrade for more information.

New features

[REL-1084] - Allow user to restart from a certain task in a phase
[REL-2136] - Allow adding comments to closed/completed tasks
[REL-2190] - Rename "Online support" Help link to "Submit a support request"
[REL-2191] - Add a "Suggest a feature" link to the Help menu under "Submit a support request"
[REL-2292] - Provide community plugin to gather key metrics about an XL* installation
[REL-2333] - Update redirect links for "Submit a support request" and "Suggest a feature"
[REL-2342] - Provide community plugin for hot backup of XL* repository
[REL-2352] - Automatically purge completed releases after a configurable amount of time
[REL-2389] - Provide community plugin for shrinking of XL* repository

Improvements

[REL-2230] - Rename release filter options to make them easier to understand
[REL-2234] - Improve versioning and upgrade semantics
[REL-2245] - Do not escape "<" and ">" symbols in Markdown code sections
[REL-2246] - Remove obsolete web resources, Jackrabbit web libraries and antisamy
[REL-2293] - Optimize query performance by disabling CI versioning

Bug fixes

[REL-2277] - Fixed issue in Jenkins task that would occur if the list of actions returned by Jenkins includes null
[REL-2336] - Fixed issue where repository would grow every time a trigger is run
[REL-2348] - Fixed "Out of memory" error when using the public Search API

Version 4.5.2

The following important improvements were introduced in XL Release 4.5.2:

Improved the performance of the Task overview
Improve the performance when creating a release
Fixed a bug preventing a new release from being created when there was an attachment in a template

Below you can find a more detailed list of changes that were made compared to XL Release 4.5.1.

New features

[REL-1950] - Allow connections to LDAPS to use keystore and truststore settings in server configuration

Improvements

[REL-2227] - Improve performance of the Task overview
[REL-2262] - Improve performance when a release is created

Bug fixes

[REL-2271] - Could not start a new release from the Release Overview when there was an attachment in a template
[REL-2272] - Attachments attached before XL Release 4.5.0 could not be downloaded Improvements

Version 4.5.1

The following important improvements were introduced in XL Release 4.5.1:

Improve performance on Calendar screen
Paginate templates on Templates screen
Paginate releases on Pipeline screen

Below you can find a more detailed listing of changes made compared to XL Release 4.5.0

New features

[REL-2203] - Use new logo for XL release

Improvements

[REL-1889] - Filter releases by dates on the calendar
[REL-2204] - Paginate templates on Templates screen
[REL-2205] - Paginate releases on Pipeline screen

Bug fixes

[REL-2229] - XL Release is asking for upgrade when started first time

Version 4.5.0

The following important new features and improvements were introduced in XL Release 4.5.0:

Public REST API
Public API exposed in scripts and plugins
Conditional task execution
New release trigger: Artifact published in Nexus
New release trigger: Time schedule (cron-style)

Below you can find a more detailed listing of changes made compared to XL Release 4.0.x.

New features

[REL-1246] - Expose XL Release API in scripts
[REL-1567] - Update "output comment" of automated tasks while the task is running
[REL-1619] - Support conditionally executed tasks
[REL-1654] - Allow users to start a parameterized build in Jenkins
[REL-1755] - Create a time-based trigger
[REL-1808] - Support variables in password fields
[REL-1809] - Allow triggers to set a custom tag
[REL-1819] - Create a trigger to publish to Nexus
[REL-1899] - Make the script editing window resizable
[REL-1906] - Allow connection to XL Release over HTTPS with mutual authentication
[REL-2022] - Expose current task in scripts

Improvements

[REL-1636] - Export of a completed release to Excel should include counters
[REL-1637] - Use full name of users in Excel exports
[REL-1639] - Hide Alerts section of Release Summary for completed releases
[REL-1865] - Add favicon to the GUI
[REL-1867] - Allow users to update status and flag of release from a Python script
[REL-1910] - Extend HTTP REST API with new functionality
[REL-1936] - In reports, only show releases that user has permission to view
[REL-2049] - Add SVN trigger plugin to XL Release distribution
[REL-2051] - Make username/password fields optional while configuring XL Deploy in XL Release
[REL-2052] - Access an overview of all releases on a given day from the calendar
[REL-2053] - Require confirmation to delete a role
[REL-2121] - Publish HTTP REST API documentation
[REL-2187] - Support composite packages in XL Deploy variable content assist

Bug fixes

[REL-1644] - Show all items in Release Flow menu for completed releases
[REL-1845] - Prevent connection between XL Release and XL Deploy from failing on Windows environment in Java Virtual Machine (JVM) 8
[REL-1964] - Ensure that plugin task properties are not cleared when restarting a phase
[REL-2017] - Correct link to "Read more about variables" documentation
[REL-2124] - Prevent XL Deploy tasks from failing if XL Deploy server uses SSL
[REL-2138] - Prevent filter by title or tag in Template Overview from losing focus while user is typing
[REL-2139] - After closing a template tab, close the template editing pane
[REL-2149] - Ensure that XL Deploy task fails when connection to XL Deploy server is lost
[REL-2168] - Add description of API endpoint to Jython documentation
[REL-2176] - Ensure that "run as" user is copied when starting a release
[REL-2188] - Prevent XL Deploy task from failing with NullPointerException
[REL-2189] - Ensure that triggers are executed after a task fails when "abort on failure" is true and "allow multiple concurrent triggers" is false
[REL-689] - Identify XL Deploy variables if used outside an XL Deploy task