Release Versioning & Deployment
Understand best practices for versioning releases, deploying updates, and managing rollbacks in a production environment.
Why Version Your Releases?
When you build an Erlang application for production, it's bundled into a release. Just like any software, releases need clear version numbers.
Versioning helps you:
- Track changes over time.
- Identify specific builds.
- Manage compatibility with other systems.
- Plan for upgrades and rollbacks.
Erlang's Versioning System
In Erlang, versioning happens at different levels. Each individual application (an .app file) has its own version. The overall release (the .rel file) also has a version that typically reflects the entire bundle.
The vsn key in an .app file defines an application's version.
% my_app.app file (conceptual)
{application, my_app,
[{description, "My Erlang Application"},
{vsn, "1.0.0"},
{modules, [my_app_app, my_app_sup]},
{registered, []},
{applications, [kernel, stdlib]},
{mod, {my_app_app, []}},
{env, []}]}.All lessons in this course
- Creating Erlang Releases
- Hot Code Loading & Upgrades
- Release Versioning & Deployment
- Release Configuration & Boot Scripts