diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/SubmittingPatches')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/SubmittingPatches | 294 |
1 files changed, 161 insertions, 133 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches index 01354c2bb5..0dbf2c9843 100644 --- a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches +++ b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches @@ -6,23 +6,31 @@ Checklist (and a short version for the impatient): - check for unnecessary whitespace with "git diff --check" before committing - do not check in commented out code or unneeded files - - provide a meaningful commit message - the first line of the commit message should be a short - description and should skip the full stop - - if you want your work included in git.git, add a - "Signed-off-by: Your Name <your@email.com>" line to the - commit message (or just use the option "-s" when - committing) to confirm that you agree to the Developer's - Certificate of Origin + description (50 characters is the soft limit, see DISCUSSION + in git-commit(1)), and should skip the full stop + - the body should provide a meaningful commit message, which: + . explains the problem the change tries to solve, iow, what + is wrong with the current code without the change. + . justifies the way the change solves the problem, iow, why + the result with the change is better. + . alternate solutions considered but discarded, if any. + - describe changes in imperative mood, e.g. "make xyzzy do frotz" + instead of "[This patch] makes xyzzy do frotz" or "[I] changed + xyzzy to do frotz", as if you are giving orders to the codebase + to change its behaviour. + - try to make sure your explanation can be understood without + external resources. Instead of giving a URL to a mailing list + archive, summarize the relevant points of the discussion. + - add a "Signed-off-by: Your Name <you@example.com>" line to the + commit message (or just use the option "-s" when committing) + to confirm that you agree to the Developer's Certificate of Origin - make sure that you have tests for the bug you are fixing - make sure that the test suite passes after your commit Patch: - use "git format-patch -M" to create the patch - - send your patch to <git@vger.kernel.org>. If you use - git-send-email(1), please test it first by sending - email to yourself. - do not PGP sign your patch - do not attach your patch, but read in the mail body, unless you cannot teach your mailer to @@ -31,12 +39,16 @@ Checklist (and a short version for the impatient): corrupt whitespaces. - provide additional information (which is unsuitable for the commit message) between the "---" and the diffstat - - send the patch to the list _and_ the maintainer - if you change, add, or remove a command line option or make some other user interface change, the associated documentation should be updated as well. - if your name is not writable in ASCII, make sure that you send off a message in the correct encoding. + - send the patch to the list (git@vger.kernel.org) and the + maintainer (gitster@pobox.com) if (and only if) the patch + is ready for inclusion. If you use git-send-email(1), + please test it first by sending email to yourself. + - see below for instructions specific to your mailer Long version: @@ -49,6 +61,34 @@ But the patch submission requirements are a lot more relaxed here on the technical/contents front, because the core GIT is thousand times smaller ;-). So here is only the relevant bits. +(0) Decide what to base your work on. + +In general, always base your work on the oldest branch that your +change is relevant to. + + - A bugfix should be based on 'maint' in general. If the bug is not + present in 'maint', base it on 'master'. For a bug that's not yet + in 'master', find the topic that introduces the regression, and + base your work on the tip of the topic. + + - A new feature should be based on 'master' in general. If the new + feature depends on a topic that is in 'pu', but not in 'master', + base your work on the tip of that topic. + + - Corrections and enhancements to a topic not yet in 'master' should + be based on the tip of that topic. If the topic has not been merged + to 'next', it's alright to add a note to squash minor corrections + into the series. + + - In the exceptional case that a new feature depends on several topics + not in 'master', start working on 'next' or 'pu' privately and send + out patches for discussion. Before the final merge, you may have to + wait until some of the dependent topics graduate to 'master', and + rebase your work. + +To find the tip of a topic branch, run "git log --first-parent +master..pu" and look for the merge commit. The second parent of this +commit is the tip of the topic branch. (1) Make separate commits for logically separate changes. @@ -58,10 +98,20 @@ your commit head. Instead, always make a commit with complete commit message and generate a series of patches from your repository. It is a good discipline. -Describe the technical detail of the change(s). +Give an explanation for the change(s) that is detailed enough so +that people can judge if it is good thing to do, without reading +the actual patch text to determine how well the code does what +the explanation promises to do. If your description starts to get too long, that's a sign that you probably need to split up your commit to finer grained pieces. +That being said, patches which plainly describe the things that +help reviewers check the patch, and future maintainers understand +the code, are the most beautiful patches. Descriptions that summarise +the point in the subject well, and describe the motivation for the +change, the approach taken by the change, and if relevant how this +differs substantially from the prior version, are all good things +to have. Oh, another thing. I am picky about whitespaces. Make sure your changes do not trigger errors with the sample pre-commit hook shipped @@ -71,7 +121,7 @@ run git diff --check on your changes before you commit. (1a) Try to be nice to older C compilers -We try to support wide range of C compilers to compile +We try to support a wide range of C compilers to compile git with. That means that you should not use C99 initializers, even if a lot of compilers grok it. @@ -84,8 +134,7 @@ Another thing: NULL pointers shall be written as NULL, not as 0. (2) Generate your patch using git tools out of your commits. -git based diff tools (git, Cogito, and StGIT included) generate -unidiff which is the preferred format. +git based diff tools generate unidiff which is the preferred format. You do not have to be afraid to use -M option to "git diff" or "git format-patch", if your patch involves file renames. The @@ -112,7 +161,12 @@ lose tabs that way if you are not careful. It is a common convention to prefix your subject line with [PATCH]. This lets people easily distinguish patches from other -e-mail discussions. +e-mail discussions. Use of additional markers after PATCH and +the closing bracket to mark the nature of the patch is also +encouraged. E.g. [PATCH/RFC] is often used when the patch is +not ready to be applied but it is for discussion, [PATCH v2], +[PATCH v3] etc. are often seen when you are sending an update to +what you have previously sent. "git format-patch" command follows the best current practice to format the body of an e-mail message. At the beginning of the @@ -153,16 +207,16 @@ patch, format it as "multipart/signed", not a text/plain message that starts with '-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----'. That is not a text/plain, it's something else. -Note that your maintainer does not necessarily read everything -on the git mailing list. If your patch is for discussion first, -send it "To:" the mailing list, and optionally "cc:" him. If it -is trivially correct or after the list reached a consensus, send -it "To:" the maintainer and optionally "cc:" the list. - -Also note that your maintainer does not actively involve himself in -maintaining what are in contrib/ hierarchy. When you send fixes and -enhancements to them, do not forget to "cc: " the person who primarily -worked on that hierarchy in contrib/. +Unless your patch is a very trivial and an obviously correct one, +first send it with "To:" set to the mailing list, with "cc:" listing +people who are involved in the area you are touching (the output from +"git blame $path" and "git shortlog --no-merges $path" would help to +identify them), to solicit comments and reviews. After the list +reached a consensus that it is a good idea to apply the patch, re-send +it with "To:" set to the maintainer and optionally "cc:" the list for +inclusion. Do not forget to add trailers such as "Acked-by:", +"Reviewed-by:" and "Tested-by:" after your "Signed-off-by:" line as +necessary. (4) Sign your work @@ -210,60 +264,99 @@ then you just add a line saying This line can be automatically added by git if you run the git-commit command with the -s option. -Some people also put extra tags at the end. They'll just be ignored for -now, but you can do this to mark internal company procedures or just -point out some special detail about the sign-off. +Notice that you can place your own Signed-off-by: line when +forwarding somebody else's patch with the above rules for +D-C-O. Indeed you are encouraged to do so. Do not forget to +place an in-body "From: " line at the beginning to properly attribute +the change to its true author (see (2) above). + +Also notice that a real name is used in the Signed-off-by: line. Please +don't hide your real name. + +If you like, you can put extra tags at the end: +1. "Reported-by:" is used to credit someone who found the bug that + the patch attempts to fix. +2. "Acked-by:" says that the person who is more familiar with the area + the patch attempts to modify liked the patch. +3. "Reviewed-by:", unlike the other tags, can only be offered by the + reviewer and means that she is completely satisfied that the patch + is ready for application. It is usually offered only after a + detailed review. +4. "Tested-by:" is used to indicate that the person applied the patch + and found it to have the desired effect. + +You can also create your own tag or use one that's in common usage +such as "Thanks-to:", "Based-on-patch-by:", or "Mentored-by:". ------------------------------------------------ -MUA specific hints +An ideal patch flow -Some of patches I receive or pick up from the list share common -patterns of breakage. Please make sure your MUA is set up -properly not to corrupt whitespaces. Here are two common ones -I have seen: +Here is an ideal patch flow for this project the current maintainer +suggests to the contributors: + + (0) You come up with an itch. You code it up. -* Empty context lines that do not have _any_ whitespace. + (1) Send it to the list and cc people who may need to know about + the change. -* Non empty context lines that have one extra whitespace at the - beginning. + The people who may need to know are the ones whose code you + are butchering. These people happen to be the ones who are + most likely to be knowledgeable enough to help you, but + they have no obligation to help you (i.e. you ask for help, + don't demand). "git log -p -- $area_you_are_modifying" would + help you find out who they are. -One test you could do yourself if your MUA is set up correctly is: + (2) You get comments and suggestions for improvements. You may + even get them in a "on top of your change" patch form. -* Send the patch to yourself, exactly the way you would, except - To: and Cc: lines, which would not contain the list and - maintainer address. + (3) Polish, refine, and re-send to the list and the people who + spend their time to improve your patch. Go back to step (2). -* Save that patch to a file in UNIX mailbox format. Call it say - a.patch. + (4) The list forms consensus that the last round of your patch is + good. Send it to the list and cc the maintainer. -* Try to apply to the tip of the "master" branch from the - git.git public repository: + (5) A topic branch is created with the patch and is merged to 'next', + and cooked further and eventually graduates to 'master'. + +In any time between the (2)-(3) cycle, the maintainer may pick it up +from the list and queue it to 'pu', in order to make it easier for +people play with it without having to pick up and apply the patch to +their trees themselves. + +------------------------------------------------ +Know the status of your patch after submission - $ git fetch http://kernel.org/pub/scm/git/git.git master:test-apply - $ git checkout test-apply - $ git reset --hard - $ git am a.patch +* You can use Git itself to find out when your patch is merged in + master. 'git pull --rebase' will automatically skip already-applied + patches, and will let you know. This works only if you rebase on top + of the branch in which your patch has been merged (i.e. it will not + tell you if your patch is merged in pu if you rebase on top of + master). -If it does not apply correctly, there can be various reasons. +* Read the git mailing list, the maintainer regularly posts messages + entitled "What's cooking in git.git" and "What's in git.git" giving + the status of various proposed changes. -* Your patch itself does not apply cleanly. That is _bad_ but - does not have much to do with your MUA. Please rebase the - patch appropriately. +------------------------------------------------ +MUA specific hints + +Some of patches I receive or pick up from the list share common +patterns of breakage. Please make sure your MUA is set up +properly not to corrupt whitespaces. -* Your MUA corrupted your patch; "am" would complain that - the patch does not apply. Look at .dotest/ subdirectory and - see what 'patch' file contains and check for the common - corruption patterns mentioned above. +See the DISCUSSION section of git-format-patch(1) for hints on +checking your patch by mailing it to yourself and applying with +git-am(1). -* While you are at it, check what are in 'info' and - 'final-commit' files as well. If what is in 'final-commit' is - not exactly what you would want to see in the commit log - message, it is very likely that your maintainer would end up - hand editing the log message when he applies your patch. - Things like "Hi, this is my first patch.\n", if you really - want to put in the patch e-mail, should come after the - three-dash line that signals the end of the commit message. +While you are at it, check the resulting commit log message from +a trial run of applying the patch. If what is in the resulting +commit is not exactly what you would want to see, it is very +likely that your maintainer would end up hand editing the log +message when he applies your patch. Things like "Hi, this is my +first patch.\n", if you really want to put in the patch e-mail, +should come after the three-dash line that signals the end of the +commit message. Pine @@ -319,57 +412,10 @@ that or Gentoo did it.) So you need to set the it. -Thunderbird ------------ - -(A Large Angry SCM) - -Here are some hints on how to successfully submit patches inline using -Thunderbird. - -This recipe appears to work with the current [*1*] Thunderbird from Suse. - -The following Thunderbird extensions are needed: - AboutConfig 0.5 - http://aboutconfig.mozdev.org/ - External Editor 0.7.2 - http://globs.org/articles.php?lng=en&pg=8 - -1) Prepare the patch as a text file using your method of choice. - -2) Before opening a compose window, use Edit->Account Settings to -uncheck the "Compose messages in HTML format" setting in the -"Composition & Addressing" panel of the account to be used to send the -patch. [*2*] - -3) In the main Thunderbird window, _before_ you open the compose window -for the patch, use Tools->about:config to set the following to the -indicated values: - mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed => false - mailnews.wraplength => 0 - -4) Open a compose window and click the external editor icon. - -5) In the external editor window, read in the patch file and exit the -editor normally. - -6) Back in the compose window: Add whatever other text you wish to the -message, complete the addressing and subject fields, and press send. - -7) Optionally, undo the about:config/account settings changes made in -steps 2 & 3. - - -[Footnotes] -*1* Version 1.0 (20041207) from the MozillaThunderbird-1.0-5 rpm of Suse -9.3 professional updates. - -*2* It may be possible to do this with about:config and the following -settings but I haven't tried, yet. - mail.html_compose => false - mail.identity.default.compose_html => false - mail.identity.id?.compose_html => false +Thunderbird, KMail, GMail +------------------------- +See the MUA-SPECIFIC HINTS section of git-format-patch(1). Gnus ---- @@ -384,21 +430,3 @@ characters (most notably in people's names), and also whitespaces (fatal in patches). Running 'C-u g' to display the message in raw form before using '|' to run the pipe can work this problem around. - - -KMail ------ - -This should help you to submit patches inline using KMail. - -1) Prepare the patch as a text file. - -2) Click on New Mail. - -3) Go under "Options" in the Composer window and be sure that -"Word wrap" is not set. - -4) Use Message -> Insert file... and insert the patch. - -5) Back in the compose window: add whatever other text you wish to the -message, complete the addressing and subject fields, and press send. |