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Diffstat (limited to 'doc/emacs/trouble.texi')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/emacs/trouble.texi | 240 |
1 files changed, 223 insertions, 17 deletions
diff --git a/doc/emacs/trouble.texi b/doc/emacs/trouble.texi index 5f3cf9223eb..13d5cbd7ec2 100644 --- a/doc/emacs/trouble.texi +++ b/doc/emacs/trouble.texi @@ -1060,19 +1060,44 @@ but using it will take extra work. Maintaining GNU Emacs is a lot of work in the best of circumstances, and we can't keep up unless you do your best to help. +Every patch must have several pieces of information before we +can properly evaluate it. + +When you have all these pieces, bundle them up in a mail message and +send it to the developers. Sending it to +@email{bug-gnu-emacs@@gnu.org} (which is the bug/feature list) is +recommended, because that list is coupled to a tracking system that +makes it easier to locate patches. If your patch is not complete and +you think it needs more discussion, you might want to send it to +@email{emacs-devel@@gnu@@gnu.org} instead. If you revise your patch, +send it as a followup to the initial topic. + +We prefer to get the patches as plain text, either inline (be careful +your mail client does not change line breaks) or as MIME attachments. + @itemize @bullet @item -Send an explanation with your changes of what problem they fix or what -improvement they bring about. For a fix for an existing bug, it is +Include an explanation with your changes of what problem they fix or what +improvement they bring about. + +@itemize +@item +For a fix for an existing bug, it is best to reply to the relevant discussion on the @samp{bug-gnu-emacs} list, or the bug entry in the GNU Bug Tracker at @url{http://debbugs.gnu.org}. Explain why your change fixes the bug. @item -Always include a proper bug report for the problem you think you have -fixed. We need to convince ourselves that the change is right before -installing it. Even if it is correct, we might have trouble -understanding it if we don't have a way to reproduce the problem. +For a new feature, include a description of the feature and your +implementation. + +@item +For a new bug, include a proper bug report for the problem you think +you have fixed. We need to convince ourselves that the change is +right before installing it. Even if it is correct, we might have +trouble understanding it if we don't have a way to reproduce the +problem. +@end itemize @item Include all the comments that are appropriate to help people reading the @@ -1104,6 +1129,8 @@ right away. That gives us the option of installing it immediately if it is important. @item +The patch itself. + Use @samp{diff -c} to make your diffs. Diffs without context are hard to install reliably. More than that, they are hard to study; we must always study a patch to decide whether we want to install it. Unidiff @@ -1114,6 +1141,12 @@ If you have GNU diff, use @samp{diff -c -F'^[_a-zA-Z0-9$]+ *('} when making diffs of C code. This shows the name of the function that each change occurs in. +If you are using the Emacs repository, make sure your copy is +up-to-date (e.g. with @code{git pull}). You can commit your changes +to a private branch and generate a patch from the master version by +using @code{git format-patch master}. Or you can leave your changes +uncommitted and use @code{git diff}. + @item Avoid any ambiguity as to which is the old version and which is the new. Please make the old version the first argument to diff, and the new @@ -1138,8 +1171,16 @@ feel that the purpose needs explaining, it probably does---but put the explanation in comments in the code. It will be more useful there. Please look at the change log entries of recent commits to see what -sorts of information to put in, and to learn the style that we use. -@xref{Change Log}. +sorts of information to put in, and to learn the style that we use. Note that, +unlike some other projects, we do require change logs for +documentation, i.e. Texinfo files. +@xref{Change Log}, +@ifset WWW_GNU_ORG +see +@url{http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/html_node/Change-Log-Concepts.html}, +@end ifset +@xref{Change Log Concepts, Change Log Concepts, +Change Log Concepts, gnu-coding-standards, GNU Coding Standards}. @item When you write the fix, keep in mind that we can't install a change that @@ -1160,11 +1201,52 @@ Please help us keep up with the workload by designing the patch in a form that is clearly safe to install. @end itemize -@c FIXME: Include the node above? @node Contributing @section Contributing to Emacs Development @cindex contributing to Emacs +Emacs is a collaborative project and we encourage contributions from +anyone and everyone. + +There are many ways to contribute to Emacs: + +@itemize +@item +find and report bugs; @xref{Bugs}. + +@item +answer questions on the Emacs user mailing list +@url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gnu-emacs}. + +@item +write documentation, either on the wiki, or in the Emacs source +repository (@pxref{Sending Patches}). + +@item +check if existing bug reports are fixed in newer versions of Emacs +@url{http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/pkgreport.cgi?which=pkg&data=emacs}. + +@item +fix existing bug reports +@url{http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/pkgreport.cgi?which=pkg&data=emacs}. + +@item +@c etc/TODO not in WWW_GNU_ORG +implement a feature listed in the @file{etc/TODO} file in the Emacs +distribution, and submit a patch. + +@item +implement a new feature, and submit a patch. + +@item +develop a package that works with Emacs, and publish it on your own +or in Gnu ELPA (@url{https://elpa.gnu.org/}). + +@item +port Emacs to a new platform, but that is not common nowadays. + +@end itemize + If you would like to work on improving Emacs, please contact the maintainers at @ifnothtml @email{emacs-devel@@gnu.org}. @@ -1186,24 +1268,148 @@ you have not yet started work, it is useful to contact before you start; it might be possible to suggest ways to make your extension fit in better with the rest of Emacs. +When implementing a feature, please follow the Emacs coding standards; +@xref{Coding Standards}. In addition, non-trivial contributions +require a copyright assignment to the FSF; @xref{Copyright Assignment}. + The development version of Emacs can be downloaded from the repository where it is actively maintained by a group of developers. See the Emacs project page -@url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/emacs/} for details. +@url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/emacs/} for access details. + +It is important to write your patch based on the current working +version. If you start from an older version, your patch may be +outdated (so that maintainers will have a hard time applying it), or +changes in Emacs may have made your patch unnecessary. After you have +downloaded the repository source, you should read the file +@file{INSTALL.REPO} for build instructions (they differ to some extent +from a normal build). + +If you would like to make more extensive contributions, see the +@file{./CONTRIBUTE} file in the Emacs distribution for information on +how to be an Emacs developer. + +For documentation on Emacs (to understand how to implement your +desired change), refer to: + +@itemize +@item +@ifset WWW_GNU_ORG +@ifhtml +the Emacs Manual +@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/emacs.html}. +@end ifhtml +@ifnothtml +@xref{Top, Emacs Manual,,emacs}. +@end ifnothtml +@end ifset +@ifclear WWW_GNU_ORG +@xref{Top, Emacs Manual,,emacs}. +@end ifclear + +@item +@ifset WWW_GNU_ORG +@ifhtml +the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual +@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/elisp.html}. +@end ifhtml +@ifnothtml +@xref{Top, Emacs Lisp Reference Manual,,elisp}. +@end ifnothtml +@end ifset +@ifclear WWW_GNU_ORG +@xref{Top, Emacs Lisp Reference Manual,,elisp}. +@end ifclear + +@item +@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs} + +@item +@url{http://www.emacswiki.org/} +@end itemize + +@menu +* Coding Standards:: Gnu Emacs coding standards +* Copyright Assignment:: assigning copyright to the FSF +@end menu -For more information on how to contribute, see the +@node Coding Standards +@subsection Coding Standards +@cindex coding standards + +Contributed code should follow the GNU Coding Standards +@url{http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/}. This may also be available +in info on your system. + +If it doesn't, we'll need to find someone to fix the code before we +can use it. + +Emacs has additional style and coding conventions: + +@itemize +@item @ifset WWW_GNU_ORG @ifhtml -@url{http://gnu.org/software/emacs/CONTRIBUTE, etc/CONTRIBUTE} +the "Tips" Appendix in the Emacs Lisp Reference +@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Tips.html}. @end ifhtml @ifnothtml -@file{etc/CONTRIBUTE} +@xref{Tips, "Tips" Appendix in the Emacs Lisp Reference, Tips +Appendix, elisp, Emacs Lisp Reference}. @end ifnothtml @end ifset @ifclear WWW_GNU_ORG -@file{etc/CONTRIBUTE} +@xref{Tips, "Tips" Appendix in the Emacs Lisp Reference, Tips +Appendix, elisp, Emacs Lisp Reference}. @end ifclear -file in the Emacs distribution. + +@item +Avoid using @code{defadvice} or @code{eval-after-load} for Lisp code +to be included in Emacs. + +@item +Remove all trailing whitespace in all source and text files. + +@item +Emacs has no convention on whether to use tabs in source code; please +don't change whitespace in the files you edit. + +@item +Use @code{?\s} instead of @code{? } in Lisp code for a space character. + +@end itemize + +@node Copyright Assignment +@subsection Copyright Assignment +@cindex copyright assignment + +The FSF (Free Software Foundation) is the copyright holder for GNU Emacs. +The FSF is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer +user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users. +For general information, see the website @url{http://www.fsf.org/}. + +Generally speaking, for non-trivial contributions to GNU Emacs we +require that the copyright be assigned to the FSF. For the reasons +behind this, see @url{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-assign.html}. + +Copyright assignment is a simple process. Residents of some countries +can do it entirely electronically. We can help you get started, and +answer any questions you may have (or point you to the people with the +answers), at the @email{emacs-devel@@gnu.org} mailing list. + +(Please note: general discussion about why some GNU projects ask +for a copyright assignment is off-topic for emacs-devel. +See gnu-misc-discuss instead.) + +A copyright disclaimer is also a possibility, but we prefer an assignment. +Note that the disclaimer, like an assignment, involves you sending +signed paperwork to the FSF (simply saying "this is in the public domain" +is not enough). Also, a disclaimer cannot be applied to future work, it +has to be repeated each time you want to send something new. + +We can accept small changes (roughly, fewer than 15 lines) without +an assignment. This is a cumulative limit (e.g. three separate 5 line +patches) over all your contributions. @node Service @section How To Get Help with GNU Emacs @@ -1211,8 +1417,8 @@ file in the Emacs distribution. @cindex help-gnu-emacs mailing list @cindex gnu.emacs.help newsgroup -If you need help installing, using or changing GNU Emacs, there are two -ways to find it: +If you need help installing, using or changing GNU Emacs, there are +two ways to find it: @itemize @bullet @item |