PR - 1.4.0 (maven central release)

RELEASE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+# Release Guide
+
+Step-by-step instructions for releasing a new version to Sonatype Maven Central.
+
+---
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+Ensure the following GitHub Actions secrets are configured in the repository:
+- `CENTRAL_USERNAME` — Sonatype Central Portal username
+- `CENTRAL_PASSWORD` — Sonatype Central Portal password
+- `GPG_PRIVATE_KEY` — GPG private key for signing artifacts
+- `GPG_PASSPHRASE` — Passphrase for the GPG key
+
+---
+
+## Release Steps
+
+### 1. Create a release branch
+
+Create a new branch from `master` named after the version, e.g. `1_4_0`:
+
+```bash
+git checkout master
+git pull origin master
+git checkout -b 1_4_0
+```
+
+### 2. Update the version in all POM files
+
+Run the Maven versions plugin to update all 6 `pom.xml` files at once:
+
+```bash
+mvn versions:set -DnewVersion=1.4.0 -DgenerateBackupPoms=false
+```
+
+Verify the change looks correct:
+
+```bash
+grep -r "1.4.0" --include="pom.xml"
+```
+
+### 3. Commit and push the branch
+
+```bash
+git add -A
+git commit -m "Release version 1.4.0"
+git push origin 1_4_0
+```
+
+### 4. Trigger the GitHub Actions release workflow
+
+1. Go to the repository on GitHub
+2. Navigate to **Actions** → **Publish to Maven Central**
+3. Click **Run workflow**
+4. Select the release branch (e.g. `1_4_0`) from the branch dropdown
+5. Click **Run workflow**
+
+### 5. Monitor the deployment
+
+Once the workflow completes successfully, Login to:
+- https://central.sonatype.com/publishing
+(use your userid/password for Sonatype Central Portal)
+
+You should see a deployment entry with status **PUBLISHING**. Wait for it to transition to **PUBLISHED** (usually 5–30 minutes).
+
+### 6. Verify the published artifact
+
+After status shows **PUBLISHED**, confirm the artifact is available:
+
+e.g.
+https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/org.jsmart/zerocode-tdd/1.4.0
+
+```
+https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/org.jsmart/zerocode-tdd/<VERSION>
+```
+
+> Note: It took 10 min to publish, but may take up to 2 hours before the artifact is resolvable via standard Maven build tools.
+
+You can see the last 3 months stats(publisher insight) here:
+- https://central.sonatype.com/publishing/insights <--- use same userid/password as above
+
+---
+
+## Post-Release Steps
+
+### 7. Merge the release branch into master
+
+Open a Pull Request from the release branch (e.g. `1_4_0`) into `master` on GitHub and merge it.
+
+### 8. Bump to next development snapshot (best practice, not mandatory)
+
+After merging, update `master` to the next development version:
+
+```bash
+git checkout master
+git pull origin master
+mvn versions:set -DnewVersion=1.4.1-SNAPSHOT -DgenerateBackupPoms=false
+git add -A
+git commit -m "Prepare next development version 1.4.1-SNAPSHOT"
+git push origin master
+```
+
+> You can keep `1.4.0` (without `-SNAPSHOT`) on master if you prefer not to bump yet. 
+> The snapshot bump is a best practice that signals active development is continuing toward the next release.

core/pom.xml

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jsmart</groupId>
         <artifactId>zerocode-tdd-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>1.3.48-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.4.0</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>zerocode-tdd</artifactId>

http-testing-examples/pom.xml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>zerocode-tdd-parent</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jsmart</groupId>
-        <version>1.3.48-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.4.0</version>
     </parent>
 
     <groupId>org.jsmart</groupId>

junit5-testing-examples/pom.xml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>zerocode-tdd-parent</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jsmart</groupId>
-        <version>1.3.48-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.4.0</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>zerocode-tdd-jupiter</artifactId>

kafka-testing-examples/pom.xml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 	<parent>
 		<artifactId>zerocode-tdd-parent</artifactId>
 		<groupId>org.jsmart</groupId>
-		<version>1.3.48-SNAPSHOT</version>
+		<version>1.4.0</version>
 	</parent>
 
 	<artifactId>kafka-testing-examples</artifactId>

pom.xml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
     <artifactId>zerocode-tdd-parent</artifactId>
     <groupId>org.jsmart</groupId>
-    <version>1.3.48-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.4.0</version>
 
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
     <name>ZeroCode TDD Parent</name>

zerocode-maven-archetype/pom.xml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jsmart</groupId>
         <artifactId>zerocode-tdd-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>1.3.48-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.4.0</version>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>zerocode-maven-archetype</artifactId>