JDK 24 enters Rampdown Phase One next week

[Mark Reinhold]

JDK 24 enters Rampdown Phase One next week on Thursday, 5 December.
Changes intended for JDK 24 should be in the main-line repository
(https://github.com/openjdk/jdk) by 17:00 UTC on that day [1].

At that time we’ll branch the main line to the JDK 24 stabilization
branch, jdk24, and promote the next build and all remaining JDK 24
builds from there.

We will integrate most stabilization changes via backports, as we did
for JDK 23:

  - Most fixes and enhancements intended for the stabilization branch
    will also be applicable to the main-line branch.  Integrate such
    a change into the main-line branch first.  Then, after you have
    obtained any required approvals, backport it to the stabilization
    branch using the Skara `/backport` command [2] or, if necessary,
    by manually opening a backport PR with the title `Backport $HASH`,
    where `$HASH` is the original commit hash.  (The Developers’ Guide
    contains more information on working with backports [3].)

  - Some fixes will be specific to the stabilization branch and not
    applicable to the main-line branch.  Integrate such fixes directly
    into the stabilization branch.

In order to make sure that no backports are missed, prior to the RDP 2
and RC phases we will remind JDK Contributors to review changes that
have been integrated into the main-line branch but not backported to
the stabilization branch.

The Rampdown Phase One process is defined in JEP 3 [4].

- Mark


[1] https://time.is/1700_5_December_2024_in_UTC/Stockholm/London/Boston/San_Francisco?JDK_24_Rampdown_Phase_One
[2] https://wiki.openjdk.org/display/SKARA/Backports
[3] https://openjdk.org/guide/#working-with-backports-in-jbs
[4] https://openjdk.org/jeps/3