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 * New macros must be blind, or else prefixed with `m4' or `__', in
30 order to minimize backward compatibility issues with previous
31 releases of M4 when processing English text.
33 * GNU Coding Standards should be followed:
34 http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/
35 Additionally, while GNU M4 is not yet POSIX compliant, we are trying
36 to get closer to it (although some design decisions state that POSIX
37 compliance should only happen when POSIXLY_CORRECT is in the
38 environment or the -G option was passed on the command line):
39 http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/m4.html
45 * Before you can build from CVS, you need to bootstrap. This requires a
46 pre-installed version of GNU M4 1.4.x or later, built from a package;
47 Autoconf 2.60 or later; Automake 1.10a or later; CVS Head of Libtool
48 (will become Libtool 2.0); Gettext 0.16 or later; and a CVS checkout
49 of gnulib. Gnulib can be obtained by:
50 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sv.gnu.org:/sources/gnulib co gnulib
52 * Either add the gnulib directory to your PATH, or run
53 GNULIB_TOOL=path/to/gnulib/gnulib-tool ./bootstrap
55 * When it is time for a release, it is a good idea to bootstrap with
56 official releases of the autotools, rather than CVS builds, to reduce
57 the pain of a user re-running bootstrap on the packaged M4. However,
58 files installed by Automake should be updated to the latest version
59 from their respective upstream source, rather than the version that
60 shipped with the automake release.
68 liberally, on as many platforms as you can. Use as many compilers and
71 * Some of the testsuite is generated from the documentation.
72 All instances of @example in doc/m4.texinfo that are not preceeded by
73 "@comment ignore" are turned into tests in the tests directory.
76 5. Editing 'ChangeLog'
77 ======================
79 * When in doubt, check that emacs can syntax-color properly in
80 change-log-mode. And preferably use emacs 'C-x 4 a'
81 (add-change-log-entry-other-window) to open ChangeLog with an
82 appropriate new template.
84 * If this change is by a different author, or on a different date to the
85 last entry start a new entry at the top of the file with the format
86 (note two spaces between each field):
88 yyyy-mm-dd Name of Author <email@address>
90 * If more than one person collaborated on the change, additional
91 authors can be listed on subsequent lines, thus:
93 yyyy-mm-dd Name of Main Author <email@address>,
94 Name of Contributor <another@email.address>
96 * Where a change author did not supply a copyright assignment, but the
97 changes they submitted were sufficiently trivial to commit in any case
98 (see the GCS for guidelines on this), then flag this against their
99 name in the header, thus:
101 yyyy-mm-dd Name of Author <email@address> (tiny change)
103 * Preferably the next part should be a description of the overall
104 purpose of the change, separated from the header by a blank line,
105 indented by 1 tab, and filled at column 72. The last character of the
106 description should be a colon, :.
108 * Changes to each file come next. Each new file starts on a new line,
109 indented by 1 tab and starting with an asterisk and a space. Multiple
110 files can be listed here relative to $top_srcdir, and comma separated.
111 Names of functions (or sections as appropriate) to which the change
112 applies should be named inside parentheses and comma separated. If
113 this goes beyond column 72, then parens should be closed and re-opened
116 * file, another/file, test/testcases/foo.test (func_foo)
117 (func_bar, func_baz): Description of changes.
119 * If the change does not apply to particular functions (or sections),
120 the section list can be omitted:
122 * file, another/file, test/testcases/foo.test: General changes.
124 * If the changes are particular to certain architectures, they should be
125 listed after the functions in square brackets:
127 * file, another/file (func_foo) [linux, solaris]: Description of
130 * Subsequent changes in other files that are related to the same overall
131 enhancement or bugfix should be listed concurrently, without blank
132 lines. Always start a fresh line for a new file:
134 * file, another/file (func_foo) [linux, solaris]: Description of
136 * doc/foo.texi (Invoking Foo): Document.
139 * If the change is in response to a problem reported by someone other
140 than the author, then credit them at the end of the description with:
142 Reported by Reporter Name <email@address>.
144 * See the GNU Coding Standards document for more details on ChangeLog
151 * If you are an m4 maintainer, but have not yet registered your
152 gpg public key and (preferred) email address with the FSF, send an
153 email, preferably GPG-signed, to <ftp-upload@gnu.org> that includes
156 (a) name of package(s) that you are the maintainer for, and your
157 preferred email address.
159 (b) an ASCII armored copy of your GnuPG key, as an attachment.
160 ("gpg --export -a YOUR_KEY_ID > mykey.asc" should give you
163 When you have received acknowledgement of your message, the proper GPG
164 keys will be registered on ftp-upload.gnu.org and only then will you be
165 authorized to upload files to the FSF ftp machines.
167 * If you do not have access to the mailing list administrative interface,
168 approach the list owners for the password. Be sure to check the lists
169 (esp. bug-m4) for outstanding bug reports also in the list of
170 pending moderation requests. This step is not strictly necessary.
172 * Make sure you have wget installed.
174 * Make sure you have a copy of xdelta installed, and a copy of the previous
175 release tarball in the build directory.
177 * Make sure your locale is sane, e.g. by exporting LC_ALL=C.
179 * Update the version number in configure.ac.
180 See http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/contribute.html for details of
181 the numbering scheme (m4 uses the same scheme as libtool).
183 * Update NEWS, ChangeLog.
187 * Run ./configure (or create a build directory first and run configure
188 from there, if you want to keep the build tree separate).
190 * Run `make distcheck'. If there are any problems, fix them and start
193 * Run ./commit from the source tree.
195 * Run `make cvs-dist', which will build a release tarball (with `make
196 distcheck'), and tag the tree with release-$(VERSION).
198 * Run 'make deltas' (pass LASTRELEASE=maj.min[.mic[alpha]] if needed) to
199 create both diff and xdelta files between the previous release tarball
202 * Run '[../]./gnupload --to [dest].gnu.org:m4 [files]' to create
203 detached gpg signature and clear signed directive files, and upload
204 the combination to the correct location. For an alpha release,
205 gnupload will place files in alpha.gnu.org, in /incoming/alpha, and
206 the xdelta file is not strictly necessary. For a full release,
207 gnupload will place files in ftp.gnu.org, in /incoming/ftp.
209 * Send announcement to m4-discuss@gnu.org, m4-announce@gnu.org, and
210 autotools-announce@gnu.org. If not an alpha send to info-gnu@gnu.org
213 * Update version number in configure.ac to next alpha number.
214 See http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/contribute.html for details of
215 the numbering scheme.
217 * Update NEWS, ChangeLog.
221 * For non-alpha releases, update the webpages. Replace manual.html with
222 the new one (generate with `make web-manual').
225 7. Alpha release note template
226 ==============================
228 To: m4-announce@gnu.org, m4-discuss@gnu.org, autotools-announce@gnu.org
229 Subject: GNU M4 @VERSION@ released (alpha release).
231 The GNU M4 Team is pleased to announce alpha release @VERSION@ of GNU
234 GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro processor.
235 It is mostly SVR4 compatible, although it has some extensions (for
236 example, handling more than 9 positional parameters to macros). `m4'
237 also has built-in functions for including files, running shell commands,
238 doing arithmetic, etc. Autoconf needs GNU `m4' for generating
239 `configure' scripts, but not for running them.
241 Here are the compressed sources:
243 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz [@SIZE@]
244 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2 [@SIZE@]
246 Here are the xdeltas and diffs against m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@:
248 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz [@SIZE@]
249 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta [@SIZE@]
251 Here are the gpg detached signatures:
253 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz.sig
254 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2.sig
255 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz.sig
256 ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta.sig
258 You should download the signature named after any tarball you download,
259 and then verify its integrity with, for example:
261 gpg --verify m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz.sig
263 If that command fails because you don't have the required public key,
264 then run this command to import it:
266 gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys @KEY@
268 Here are the MD5 and SHA1 checksums:
270 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
271 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
272 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
273 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
274 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
275 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
276 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
277 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
279 This release has @SUMMARY_OF_IMPROVEMENTS_SINCE_LAST_RELEASE_ON_THIS_BRANCH@.
281 This release was bootstrapped with @BOOTSTRAP_TOOLS_WITH_VERSIONS@.
283 Alternatively, you can fetch the unbootstrapped sourcecode from
284 anonymous cvs by using the following commands:
287 $ cvs -z3 -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.sv.gnu.org:/sources/m4 \
288 co -r @CVS_RELEASE_TAG@ m4
290 You will then need to have recent versions of Automake and Autoconf
291 installed, and a recent checkout of gnulib, in order to bootstrap the
292 checked out sources yourself.
294 New in @VERSION@: @RELEASE_DATE@
296 @EXCERPT_FROM_NEWS_FILE@
298 Please report bugs to <bug-m4@gnu.org>, along with the output of 'make
299 check' and any other information that might be useful in resolving the
303 8. Full release note template
304 =============================
307 To: m4-announce@gnu.org, m4-discuss@gnu.org, autotools-announce@gnu.org
308 Subject: GNU M4 @VERSION@ released.
310 The GNU M4 Team is pleased to announce the release of GNU M4 @VERSION@.
312 GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro processor.
313 It is mostly SVR4 compatible, although it has some extensions (for
314 example, handling more than 9 positional parameters to macros). `m4'
315 also has built-in functions for including files, running shell commands,
316 doing arithmetic, etc. Autoconf needs GNU `m4' for generating
317 `configure' scripts, but not for running them.
319 This release has @SUMMARY_OF_IMPROVEMENTS_SINCE_LAST_RELEASE_ON_THIS_BRANCH@.
321 New in @VERSION@: @RELEASE_DATE@
323 @EXCERPT_FROM_NEWS_FILE@
325 m4-@VERSION@ is available now from ftp.gnu.org, along with diffs and
326 xdeltas against m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@ that are also
327 available from ftp.gnu.org. Please use a mirror to reduce stress on the
330 http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html
332 Here are the compressed sources:
334 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz [@SIZE@]
335 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2 [@SIZE@]
337 Here are the xdeltas and diffs against m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@:
339 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz [@SIZE@]
340 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta [@SIZE@]
342 Here are the gpg detached signatures:
344 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz.sig
345 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2.sig
346 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz.sig
347 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta.sig
349 You should download the signature named after any tarball you download,
350 and then verify its integrity with, for example:
352 gpg --verify m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz.sig
354 If that command fails because you don't have the required public key,
355 then run this command to import it:
357 gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys @KEY@
359 Here are the MD5 and SHA1 checksums:
361 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
362 @MD5SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
363 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
364 @MD5SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
365 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.gz
366 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@VERSION@.tar.bz2
367 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.diff.gz
368 @SHA1SUM@ m4-@PREV_RELEASE_VERSION_ON_THIS_BRANCH@-@VERSION@.xdelta
370 This release was bootstrapped with @BOOTSTRAP_TOOLS_WITH_VERSIONS@.
372 Alternatively, you can fetch the unbootstrapped sourcecode from
373 anonymous cvs by using the following commands:
376 $ cvs -z3 -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.sv.gnu.org:/sources/m4 \
377 co -r @CVS_RELEASE_TAG@ m4
379 You will then need to have the latest release versions of Automake
380 (@AUTOMAKE_VERSION@) and Autoconf (@AUTOCONF_VERSION@) installed to
381 bootstrap the checked out sources yourself.
383 Please report bugs to <bug-m4@gnu.org>, along with the output of 'make
384 check' and any other information that might be useful in resolving the
389 Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
391 The canonical source of this file is maintained with the
392 GNU M4 package. Report bugs to bug-m4@gnu.org.
394 GNU M4 is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
395 modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
396 published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
397 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
399 GNU M4 is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
400 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
401 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
402 General Public License for more details.
404 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
405 along with GNU M4; if not, write to the Free Software
406 Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA