Format_Index:
Here are most of the steps before you make a release.

* Start from a clean, up-to-date git driectory on "master":

  make -k distclean || { ./configure && make distclean; }
  git checkout master
  git pull origin master

* Ensure that the latest stable versions of make, sh, etc.
are in your path. See the prerequisites list in README-dev
for a compile list of tools.

* Ensure that you have no uncommitted diffs. This should produce
no output:

  git diff

* Ensure that you've pushed all changes that belong in the release:

  git push origin master

* Pre-release testing: ensure that the following command succeeds:

  make check syntax-check distcheck

Once all the builds and tests have passed,

* Run the following to create release tarballs.

  make release

* Upload the tarball to the relavent distribtuion platform.