Merge pull request #19862 from charris/add-branch-walkthrough

DOC: Add BRANCH_WALKTHROUGH

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+This file contains a walkthrough of branching NumPy 1.21.x on Linux.  The
+commands can be copied into the command line, but be sure to replace 1.21 and
+1.22 by the correct versions. It is good practice to make ``.mailmap`` as
+current as possible before making the branch, that may take several weeks.
+
+This should be read together with the general directions in `releasing`.
+
+Branching
+=========
+
+Make the branch
+---------------
+
+This is only needed when starting a new maintenance branch. Because
+NumPy now depends on tags to determine the version, the start of a new
+development cycle in the main branch needs an annotated tag. That is done
+as follows::
+
+    $ git checkout main
+    $ git pull upstream main
+    $ git commit --allow-empty -m'REL: Begin NumPy 1.22.0 development'
+    $ git push upstream HEAD
+
+If the push fails because new PRs have been merged, do::
+
+    $ git pull --rebase upstream
+
+and repeat the push. Once the push succeeds, tag it::
+
+    $ git tag -a -s v1.22.0.dev0 -m'Begin NumPy 1.22.0 development'
+    $ git push upstream v1.22.0.dev0
+
+then make the new branch and push it::
+
+    $ git branch maintenance/1.21.x HEAD^
+    $ git push upstream maintenance/1.21.x
+
+Prepare the main branch for further development
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+Make a PR branch to prepare main for further development::
+
+    $ git checkout -b 'prepare-main-for-1.22.0-development' v1.22.0.dev0
+
+Delete the release note fragments::
+
+    $ git rm doc/release/upcoming_changes/[0-9]*.*.rst
+
+Create the new release notes skeleton and add to index::
+
+    $ cp doc/source/release/template.rst doc/source/release/1.22.0-notes.rst
+    $ gvim doc/source/release/1.22.0-notes.rst  # put the correct version
+    $ git add doc/source/release/1.22.0-notes.rst
+    $ gvim doc/source/release.rst  # add new notes to notes index
+    $ git add doc/source/release.rst
+
+Update ``pavement.py`` and update the ``RELEASE_NOTES`` variable to point to
+the new notes::
+
+    $ gvim pavement.py
+    $ git add pavement.py
+
+Update ``cversions.txt`` to add current release. There should be no new hash
+to worry about at this early point, just add a comment following previous
+practice::
+
+    $ gvim numpy/core/code_generators/cversions.txt
+    $ git add numpy/core/code_generators/cversions.txt
+
+Check your work, commit it, and push::
+
+    $ git status  # check work
+    $ git commit -m'REL: Prepare main for NumPy 1.22.0 development'
+    $ git push origin HEAD
+
+Now make a pull request.
+