1 ================================================================
4 * This file attempts to describe the rules to use when hacking
7 ================================================================
10 * The correct response to most actual bugs is to write a new test case
11 which demonstrates the bug. Then fix the bug, re-run the test suite,
12 and check everything in.
14 * If you incorporate a change from somebody on the net:
15 First, if it is a large change, you must make sure they have signed the
16 appropriate paperwork.
17 Second, be sure to add their name and email address to THANKS
19 * If a change fixes a test, mention the test in the commit message.
20 If a change fixes a bug registered in the Automake debbugs tracker,
21 mention the bug number in the commit message.
23 * If somebody reports a new bug, mention his name in the commit message
24 and in the test case you write. Put him into THANKS.
26 * When documenting a non-trivial idiom or example in the manual, be
27 sure to add a test case for it, and to reference such test case from
28 a proper Texinfo comment.
30 * Some files in the automake package are not owned by automake; these
31 files are listed in the $(FETCHFILES) variable in Makefile.am. They
32 should never be edited here. Almost all of them can be updated from
33 respective upstreams with "make fetch" (this should be done especially
34 before releases). The only exception is the 'lib/COPYING' (from FSF),
35 which should be updated by hand whenever the GPL gets updated (which
36 shouldn't happen that often anyway :-)
38 * Changes other than bug fixes must be mentioned in NEWS. Important
39 bug fixes should be mentioned in NEWS, too.
41 ================================================================
44 * We've adopted the convention that internal AC_SUBSTs should be
45 named with a leading `am__', and internally generated targets
46 should be named with a leading `am--'. This convention, although
47 in place from at least February 2001, isn't yet universally used.
48 But all new code should use it.
50 We used to use `_am_' as the prefix for an internal AC_SUBST.
51 However, it turns out that NEWS-OS 4.2R complains if a Makefile
52 variable begins with `_'. Yay for them. I changed the target
53 naming convention just to be safe.
55 ================================================================
58 * Always use $(...) and not ${...}
60 * Use `:', not `true'. Use `exit 1', not `false'.
62 * Use `##' comments liberally. Comment anything even remotely
65 * Never use basename or dirname. Instead use sed.
67 * Do not use `cd' within back-quotes, use `$(am__cd)' instead.
68 Otherwise the directory name may be printed, depending on CDPATH.
69 More generally, do not ever use plain `cd' together with a relative
70 directory that does not start with a dot, or you might end up in one
73 * For install and uninstall rules, if a loop is required, it should be
74 silent. Then the body of the loop itself should print each
75 "important" command it runs. The printed commands should be preceded
78 * Ensure install rules do not create any installation directory where
79 nothing is to be actually installed. See automake bug#11030.
81 ================================================================
82 = Editing automake.in and aclocal.in
84 * Indent using GNU style. For historical reasons, the perl code
85 contains portions indented using Larry Wall's style (perl-mode's
86 default), and other portions using the GNU style (cperl-mode's
87 default). Write new code using GNU style.
89 * Don't use & for function calls, unless required.
90 The use of & prevents prototypes from being checked.
91 Just as above, don't change massively all the code to strip the
92 &, just convert the old code as you work on it, and write new
95 ================================================================
98 * To regenerate dependent files created by aclocal and automake,
99 use the `bootstrap' script. It uses the code from the source
100 tree, so the resulting files (aclocal.m4 and Makefile.in) should
101 be the same as you would get if you install this version of
102 automake and use it to generate those files. Be sure to have the
103 latest stable version of Autoconf installed. If such version is
104 not installed as "autoconf", pass it explicitly (along with the
105 accompanying "autom4te") when calling `bootstrap' and `configure'.
107 $ AUTOCONF=autoconf2.68 AUTOM4TE=autom4te2.68 ./bootstrap
108 $ ./configure AUTOCONF=autoconf2.68 AUTOM4TE=autom4te2.68
110 * Dependent files aclocal.m4, configure and Makefile.in in all
111 directories should be up to date in the git repository, so that
112 the changes in them can be easily noticed and analyzed.
114 * The git tree currently carries a number of branches: master for the
115 current development, and release branches named branch-X.Y. The maint
116 branch serves as common ground for both master and the active release
117 branches. Changes intended for both should be applied to maint, which
118 should then be merged to release branches and master, of course after
119 suitable testing. It is advisable to merge only after a set of related
120 commits have been applied.
122 * Example work flow for patches to maint:
124 # 1. Checkout the "maint" branch:
127 # 2. Apply the patch(es) with "git am" (or create them with $EDITOR):
129 # 2a. Run required tests, if any ...
131 # 3. Merge maint into branch-1.11:
132 git checkout branch-1.11
134 # 3a. Run required tests, if any ...
136 # 4. Redo steps 3 and 3a for master:
141 # 5. Push the maint and master branches:
142 git push --dry-run origin maint branch-1.11 master
143 # if all seems ok, then actually push:
144 git push origin maint branch-1.11 master
146 * When fixing a bug (especially a long-standing one), it may be useful
147 to commit the fix to a new temporary branch based off the commit that
148 introduced the bug. Then this "bugfix branch" can be merged into all
149 the active branches descending from the buggy commit. This offers a
150 simple way to fix the bug consistently and effectively.
152 * When referring to older commits, use 'git describe' output as pointer.
154 * There may be a number of longer-lived feature branches for new developments.
155 They should be based off of a common ancestor of all active branches to
156 which the feature should or might be merged later. The next branch may
157 serve as common ground for feature merging and testing, should they not
158 be ready for master yet.
160 * For merges from branches other than maint, prefer 'git merge --log' over
161 plain 'git merge', so that a later 'git log' gives an indication of which
162 actual patches were merged even when they don't appear early in the list.
164 * master and release branches should not be rewound, i.e., should always
165 fast-forward, except maybe for privacy issues. The maint branch should not
166 be rewound except maybe after retiring a release branch or a new stable
167 release. For next, and for feature branches, the announcement for the
168 branch should document rewinding policy.
170 ================================================================
173 * Use "make check" and "make maintainer-check" liberally.
175 * Make sure each test file is executable.
177 * Use `keep_testdirs=yes' to keep test directories for successful
180 * Use perl coverage information to ensure your new code is thoroughly
181 tested by your new tests.
183 * See file `tests/README' for more information.
185 ================================================================
188 * The steps outlined here are meant to be followed for alpha and stable
189 releases as well. Where differences are expected, they will be
190 explicitly described.
192 * Fetch new versions of the files that are maintained by the FSF.
193 Commit. Unfortunately you need an FSF account to do this.
194 (You can also use `make fetch', but that is still woefully incomplete.)
198 * Update the version number in configure.ac.
199 (The idea is that every other alpha number will be a net release.
200 The repository will always have its own "odd" number so we can easily
201 distinguish net and repo versions.)
204 ./bootstrap && ./configure && make && make check && make distcheck
206 * Run `make release-stats' if release statistics in doc/automake.texi
207 have not been updated yet.
209 * Run `make git-release'.
210 This will run "make dist" to create the tarballs, commit the last
211 changes to NEWS, configure.ac and m4/amversion.m4, tag the repository,
212 sign the tarballs, and upload them.
213 Use `make GNUPLOADFLAGS="--user key" git-release' to sign with
216 * Update version number in configure.ac to next alpha number.
217 Re-run ./bootstrap and commit.
219 * Don't forget to `git push' your changes so they appear in the public
222 * For stable releases, update the manuals at www.gnu.org:
225 wget "http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/~checkout~/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs.sh"
226 wget "http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/~checkout~/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs_template"
227 sh ./gendocs.sh --email bug-automake@gnu.org automake "GNU Automake"
228 - copy manuals recursively to web cvs,
230 - Check for link errors, fix them, recheck until convergence:
231 <http://validator.w3.org/checklink>
233 * Send the announcement at least to <autotools-announce@gnu.org> and
234 <automake@gnu.org>. If the release is a stable one, the announcement
235 must also go to <info-gnu@gnu.org>; if it is an alpha or beta release,
236 announcement should be sent also to <platform-testers@gnu.org>, to
237 maximize the possibility of early testing on exotic or proprietary
238 systems. Finally, copy the announcement into the NEWS feed at
239 <https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/automake>.
243 Copyright (C) 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 Free Software
246 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
247 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
248 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
251 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
252 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
253 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
254 GNU General Public License for more details.
256 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
257 along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.