7 This file attempts to describe the processes we use to maintain M4,
8 and is not part of a release distribution.
14 * If you incorporate a change from somebody on the net:
15 If it is a large change, you must make sure they have signed the
16 appropriate paperwork, and be sure to add their name and email
17 address to THANKS. AUTHORS is built from the FSF list of copyright
18 assignments, on fencepost.gnu.org.
20 * If somebody reports a new bug, write a test case, then mention his
21 name in the ChangeLog entry.
23 * The correct response to most actual bugs is to write a new test case
24 which demonstrates the bug. Then fix the bug, re-run the test suite,
25 and check everything in.
27 * Changes with user-visible effects must be mentioned in NEWS.
29 * GNU Coding Standards should be followed:
30 http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/
31 Additionally, while GNU M4 is not yet POSIX compliant, we are trying
32 to get closer to it (although some design decisions state that POSIX
33 compliance should only happen when POSIXLY_CORRECT is in the
34 environment or the -G option was passed on the command line):
35 http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/m4.html
41 * Before you can build from CVS, you need to bootstrap. This requires a
42 pre-installed version of GNU M4 built from a package, Autoconf 2.60 or
43 later, Automake 1.9.6 or later, and a CVS checkout of gnulib. Gnulib
45 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sv.gnu.org:/sources/gnulib co gnulib
47 * Either add the gnulib directory to your PATH, or run
48 GNULIB_TOOL=path/to/gnulib/gnulib-tool ./bootstrap
50 * When it is time for a release, it is a good idea to bootstrap with
51 official releases of the autotools, rather than CVS builds, to reduce
52 the pain of a user re-running bootstrap on the packaged M4. However,
53 files installed by Automake should be updated to the latest version
54 from their respective upstream source, rather than the version that
55 shipped with the automake release.
63 liberally, on as many platforms as you can. Use as many compilers and
66 * For branch-1_4, the testsuite is generated from the documentation.
67 All instances of @example in doc/m4.texinfo that are not preceeded by
68 "@comment ignore" are turned into tests in the checks directory.
71 5. Editing 'ChangeLog'
72 ======================
74 * When in doubt, check that emacs can syntax-color properly in
75 change-log-mode. And preferably use emacs 'C-x 4 a'
76 (add-change-log-entry-other-window) to open ChangeLog with an
77 appropriate new template.
79 * If this change is by a different author, or on a different date to the
80 last entry start a new entry at the top of the file with the format
81 (note two spaces between each field):
83 yyyy-mm-dd Name of Author <email@address>
85 * If more than one person collaborated on the change, additional
86 authors can be listed on subsequent lines, thus:
88 yyyy-mm-dd Name of Main Author <email@address>,
89 Name of Contributor <another@email.address>
91 * Where a change author did not supply a copyright assignment, but the
92 changes they submitted were sufficiently trivial to commit in any case
93 (see the GCS for guidelines on this), then flag this against their
94 name in the header, thus:
96 yyyy-mm-dd Name of Author <email@address> (tiny change)
98 * Preferably the next part should be a description of the overall
99 purpose of the change, separated from the header by a blank line,
100 indented by 1 tab, and filled at column 72. The last character of the
101 description should be a colon, :.
103 * Changes to each file come next. Each new file starts on a new line,
104 indented by 1 tab and starting with an asterisk and a space. Multiple
105 files can be listed here relative to $top_srcdir, and comma separated.
106 Names of functions (or sections as appropriate) to which the change
107 applies should be named inside parentheses and comma separated. If
108 this goes beyond column 72, then parens should be closed and re-opened
111 * file, another/file, test/testcases/foo.test (func_foo)
112 (func_bar, func_baz): Description of changes.
114 * If the change does not apply to particular functions (or sections),
115 the section list can be omitted:
117 * file, another/file, test/testcases/foo.test: General changes.
119 * If the changes are particular to certain architectures, they should be
120 listed after the functions in square brackets:
122 * file, another/file (func_foo) [linux, solaris]: Description of
125 * Subsequent changes in other files that are related to the same overall
126 enhancement or bugfix should be listed concurrently, without blank
127 lines. Always start a fresh line for a new file:
129 * file, another/file (func_foo) [linux, solaris]: Description of
131 * doc/foo.texi (Invoking Foo): Document.
134 * If the change is in response to a problem reported by someone other
135 than the author, then credit them at the end of the description with:
137 Reported by Reporter Name <email@address>.
139 * See the GNU Coding Standards document for more details on ChangeLog
146 * If you are an m4 maintainer, but have not yet registered your
147 gpg public key and (preferred) email address with the FSF, send an
148 email, preferably GPG-signed, to <ftp-upload@gnu.org> that includes
151 (a) name of package(s) that you are the maintainer for, and your
152 preferred email address.
154 (b) an ASCII armored copy of your GnuPG key, as an attachment.
155 ("gpg --export -a YOUR_KEY_ID > mykey.asc" should give you
158 When you have received acknowledgement of your message, the proper GPG
159 keys will be registered on ftp-upload.gnu.org and only then will you be
160 authorized to upload files to the FSF ftp machines.
162 * If you do not have access to the mailing list administrative interface,
163 approach the list owners for the password. Be sure to check the lists
164 (esp. bug-m4) for outstanding bug reports also in the list of
165 pending moderation requests. This step is not strictly necessary.
167 * Make sure you have wget installed.
169 * Make sure you have a copy of xdelta installed, and a copy of the previous
170 release tarball in the build directory.
172 * Make sure your locale is sane, e.g. by exporting LC_ALL=C.
174 * Update the version number in configure.ac.
175 See http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/contribute.html for details of
176 the numbering scheme (m4 uses the same scheme as libtool).
178 * Update NEWS, ChangeLog.
182 * Run ./configure (or create a build directory first and run configure
183 from there, if you want to keep the build tree separate).
185 * Run `make distcheck'. If there are any problems, fix them and start
188 * Run ./commit from the source tree.
190 * Run `make -fMakefile.maint cvs-dist' (or `make -f../Makefile.maint
191 cvs-dist' if you are running from a VPATH build directory, where `../'
192 is the relative path to the directory with `configure' in it), which
193 will build a release tarball (with `make distcheck') and tag the tree
194 with release-$(VERSION).
196 * Run 'make -f[../]Makefile.maint deltas' (pass
197 LASTRELEASE=maj.min[.mic[alpha]] if needed) to create both diff and
198 xdelta files between the previous release tarball and the new.
200 * Run '[../]./gnupload --to [dest].gnu.org:m4 [files]' to create
201 detached gpg signature and clear signed directive files, and upload
202 the combination to the correct location. For an alpha release,
203 gnupload will place files in alpha.gnu.org, in /incoming/alpha, and
204 the xdelta file is not strictly necessary. For a full release,
205 gnupload will place files in ftp.gnu.org, in /incoming/ftp.
207 * Send announcement to m4-discuss@gnu.org, m4-announce@gnu.org, and
208 autotools-announce@gnu.org. If not an alpha send to info-gnu@gnu.org
211 * Update version number in configure.ac to next alpha number.
212 See http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/contribute.html for details of
213 the numbering scheme.
215 * Update NEWS, ChangeLog.
219 * For non-alpha releases, update the webpages. Replace manual.html with
220 the new one (generate with `make -f[../]Makefile.maint web-manual').
223 7. Alpha release note template
224 ==============================
226 To: m4-announce@gnu.org, m4-discuss@gnu.org, autotools-announce@gnu.org
227 Subject: GNU M4 @VERSION@ released (alpha release).
229 The GNU M4 Team is pleased to announce alpha release @VERSION@ of GNU
232 GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro processor.
233 It is mostly SVR4 compatible, although it has some extensions (for
234 example, handling more than 9 positional parameters to macros). `m4'
235 also has built-in functions for including files, running shell commands,
236 doing arithmetic, etc. Autoconf needs GNU `m4' for generating
237 `configure' scripts, but not for running them.
239 Here are the compressed sources:
241 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz [@SIZE@]
242 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2 [@SIZE@]
244 Here are the xdeltas and diffs against m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@:
246 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz [@SIZE@]
247 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta [@SIZE@]
249 Here are the gpg detached signatures:
251 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz.sig
252 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2.sig
253 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz.sig
254 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta.sig
256 You should download the signature named after any tarball you download,
257 and then verify its integrity with, for example:
259 gpg --verify m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz.sig
261 If that command fails because you don't have the required public key,
262 then run this command to import it:
264 gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys @KEY@
266 Here are the MD5 and SHA1 checksums:
268 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
269 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
270 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
271 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
272 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
273 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
274 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
275 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
277 This release has @SUMMARY_OF_IMPROVEMENTS_SINCE_LAST_RELEASE_ON_THIS_BRANCH@.
279 This release was bootstrapped with @BOOTSTRAP_TOOLS_WITH_VERSIONS@.
281 Alternatively, you can fetch the unbootstrapped sourcecode from
282 anonymous cvs by using the following commands:
285 $ cvs -z3 -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.sv.gnu.org:/sources/m4 \
286 co -r @CVS_RELEASE_TAG@ m4
288 You will then need to have recent versions of Automake and Autoconf
289 installed, and a recent checkout of gnulib, in order to bootstrap the
290 checked out sources yourself.
292 New in @VERSION@: @RELEASE_DATE@
294 @EXCERPT_FROM_NEWS_FILE@
296 Please report bugs to <bug-m4@gnu.org>, along with the output of 'make
297 check' and any other information that might be useful in resolving the
301 8. Full release note template
302 =============================
305 To: m4-announce@gnu.org, m4-discuss@gnu.org, autotools-announce@gnu.org
306 Subject: GNU M4 @VERSION@ released.
308 The GNU M4 Team is pleased to announce the release of GNU M4 @VERSION@.
310 GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro processor.
311 It is mostly SVR4 compatible, although it has some extensions (for
312 example, handling more than 9 positional parameters to macros). `m4'
313 also has built-in functions for including files, running shell commands,
314 doing arithmetic, etc. Autoconf needs GNU `m4' for generating
315 `configure' scripts, but not for running them.
317 This release has @SUMMARY_OF_IMPROVEMENTS_SINCE_LAST_RELEASE_ON_THIS_BRANCH@.
319 New in @VERSION@: @RELEASE_DATE@
321 @EXCERPT_FROM_NEWS_FILE@
323 m4-@VERSION@ is available now from ftp.gnu.org, along with diffs and
324 xdeltas against m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@ that are also
325 available from ftp.gnu.org. Please use a mirror to reduce stress on the
328 http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html
330 Here are the compressed sources:
332 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz [@SIZE@]
333 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2 [@SIZE@]
335 Here are the xdeltas and diffs against m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@:
337 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz [@SIZE@]
338 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta [@SIZE@]
340 Here are the gpg detached signatures:
342 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz.sig
343 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2.sig
344 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz.sig
345 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta.sig
347 You should download the signature named after any tarball you download,
348 and then verify its integrity with, for example:
350 gpg --verify m4-@VERSION.tar.gz.sig
352 If that command fails because you don't have the required public key,
353 then run this command to import it:
355 gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys @KEY@
357 Here are the MD5 and SHA1 checksums:
359 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
360 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
361 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
362 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
363 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
364 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
365 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
366 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
368 This release was bootstrapped with @BOOTSTRAP_TOOLS_WITH_VERSIONS@.
370 Alternatively, you can fetch the unbootstrapped sourcecode from
371 anonymous cvs by using the following commands:
374 $ cvs -z3 -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.sv.gnu.org:/sources/m4 \
375 co -r @CVS_RELEASE_TAG@ m4
377 You will then need to have the latest release versions of Automake
378 (@AUTOMAKE_VERSION@) and Autoconf (@AUTOCONF_VERSION@) installed to
379 bootstrap the checked out sources yourself.
381 Please report bugs to <bug-m4@gnu.org>, along with the output of 'make
382 check' and any other information that might be useful in resolving the
387 Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
389 The canonical source of this file is maintained with the
390 GNU M4 package. Report bugs to bug-m4@gnu.org.
392 GNU M4 is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
393 modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
394 published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
395 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
397 GNU M4 is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
398 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
399 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
400 General Public License for more details.
402 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
403 along with GNU M4; if not, write to the Free Software
404 Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA