-================================================================
+============================================================================
= This file
* This file attempts to describe the rules to use when hacking
automake.
-================================================================
+============================================================================
= Administrivia
* The correct response to most actual bugs is to write a new test case
* Changes other than bug fixes must be mentioned in NEWS. Important
bug fixes should be mentioned in NEWS, too.
-================================================================
+============================================================================
= Naming
* We've adopted the convention that internal AC_SUBSTs should be
variable begins with the underscore character. Yay for them.
I changed the target naming convention just to be safe.
-================================================================
+============================================================================
= Editing '.am' files
* Always use $(...) and not ${...}
* Ensure install rules do not create any installation directory where
nothing is to be actually installed. See automake bug#11030.
-================================================================
+============================================================================
= Editing automake.in and aclocal.in
* Indent using GNU style. For historical reasons, the perl code
&, just convert the old code as you work on it, and write new
code without.
-================================================================
+============================================================================
+= Automake versioning and compatibility scheme
+
+* There are three kinds of automake releases:
+
+ - new major releases (e.g., 2.0, 5.0)
+ - new minor releases (e.g., 1.14, 2.1)
+ - micro a.k.a. "bug-fixing" releases (e.g., 1.13.2, 2.0.1, 3.5.17).
+
+ A new major release should have the major version number bumped, and
+ the minor and micro version numbers reset to zero. A new minor release
+ should have the major version number unchanged, the minor version number
+ bumped, and the micro version number reset to zero. Finally, a new
+ micro version should have the major and minor version numbers unchanged,
+ and the micro version number bumped.
+
+ For example, the first minor version after 1.13.2 will be 1.14; the
+ first bug-fixing version after 1.14 that will be 1.14.1; the first
+ new major version after all such releases will be 2.0; the first
+ bug-fixing version after 2.0 will be 2.0.1; and a further bug-fixing
+ version after 2.0.1 will be 2.0.2.
+
+* Micro releases should be just bug-fixing releases; no new features
+ should be added, and ideally, only trivial bugs, recent regressions,
+ or documentation issues should be addressed by them.
+
+* Minor releases can introduce new "safe" features, do non-trivial
+ but mostly safe code clean-ups, and even add new runtime warnings
+ (rigorously non-fatal); but they shouldn't include any backward
+ incompatible change, nor contain any potentially destabilizing
+ refactoring or sweeping change, nor introduce new features whose
+ implementation might be liable to cause bugs or regressions in
+ existing code.
+
+* Major releases can introduce backward-incompatibilities (albeit
+ such incompatibilities should be announced well in advance, and
+ a smooth transition plan prepared for them), and try more risking
+ and daring refactorings and code cleanups.
+
+* For more information, refer to the extensive discussion associated
+ with automake bug#13578.
+
+============================================================================
= Working with git
* To regenerate dependent files created by aclocal and automake,
- use the 'bootstrap' script. It uses the code from the source
+ use the 'bootstrap.sh' script. It uses the code from the source
tree, so the resulting files (aclocal.m4 and Makefile.in) should
be the same as you would get if you install this version of
automake and use it to generate those files. Be sure to have the
latest stable version of Autoconf installed and available early
in your PATH.
-* The git tree currently carries a number of branches: master for the
- current development, and release branches named branch-X.Y. The maint
- branch serves as common ground for both master and the active release
- branches. Changes intended for both should be applied to maint, which
- should then be merged to release branches and master, of course after
- suitable testing. It is advisable to merge only after a set of related
- commits have been applied.
-
-* Example work flow for patches to maint:
-
- # 1. Checkout the "maint" branch:
- git checkout maint
-
- # 2. Apply the patch(es) with "git am" (or create them with $EDITOR):
- git am -3 0*.patch
- # 2a. Run required tests, if any ...
-
- # 3. Merge maint into branch-1.11:
- git checkout branch-1.11
- git merge maint
- # 3a. Run required tests, if any ...
-
- # 4. Redo steps 3 and 3a for master:
- git checkout master
- git merge maint
- # testing ...
-
- # 5. Push the maint and master branches:
- git push --dry-run origin maint branch-1.11 master
- # if all seems ok, then actually push:
- git push origin maint branch-1.11 master
+* The Automake git tree currently carries three basic branches: 'maint',
+ 'master' and 'next'.
+
+* The 'maint' branch, reserved to changes that should go into the next
+ micro release; so it will just see fixes for regressions, trivial
+ bugs, or documentation issues, and no "active" development whatsoever.
+ Since emergency regression-fixing or security releases could be cut
+ from this branch at any time, it should always be kept in a releasable
+ state.
+
+* The 'master' branch is where the development of the next minor release
+ takes place. It should be kept in a stable, almost-releasable state,
+ to simplify testing and deploying of new minor version. Note that
+ this is not a hard rule, and such "stability" is not expected to be
+ absolute (emergency releases are cut from maint anyway).
+
+* The 'next' branch is reserved for the development of the next major
+ release. Experimenting a little here is OK, but don't let the branch
+ grow too unstable; if you need to do exploratory programming
+ or over-arching change, you should use a dedicated topic branch, and
+ only merge that back once it is reasonably stable.
+
+* The 'maint' branch should be kept regularly merged into the 'master'
+ branch, and the 'master' branch into the 'next' branch. It is advisable
+ to merge only after a set of related commits have been applied, to avoid
+ introducing too much noise in the history.
+
+* There may be a number of longer-lived feature branches for new
+ developments. They should be based off of a common ancestor of all
+ active branches to which the feature should or might be merged later.
+
+* After a new minor release is done, the 'master' branch is to be merged
+ into the 'maint' branch, and then a "new" 'master' branch created
+ stemming from the resulting commit.
+ Similarly, after a new major release is done, the 'next' branch is to
+ be merged into both the 'master' and 'maint' branch, and then "new"
+ 'master' and 'next' branches created stemming from the resulting commit.
* When fixing a bug (especially a long-standing one), it may be useful
to commit the fix to a new temporary branch based off the commit that
the active branches descending from the buggy commit. This offers a
simple way to fix the bug consistently and effectively.
-* There may be a number of longer-lived feature branches for new developments.
- They should be based off of a common ancestor of all active branches to
- which the feature should or might be merged later. The next branch may
- serve as common ground for feature merging and testing, should they not
- be ready for master yet.
-
-* For merges from branches other than maint, prefer 'git merge --log' over
- plain 'git merge', so that a later 'git log' gives an indication of which
- actual patches were merged even when they don't appear early in the list.
+* For merges, prefer 'git merge --log' over plain 'git merge', so that
+ a later 'git log' gives an indication of which actual patches were
+ merged even when they don't appear early in the list.
-* master and release branches should not be rewound, i.e., should always
- fast-forward, except maybe for privacy issues. The maint branch should not
- be rewound except maybe after retiring a release branch or a new stable
- release. For next, and for feature branches, the announcement for the
- branch should document rewinding policy.
+* The 'next', 'master' and 'maint' branches should not be rewound, i.e.,
+ should always fast-forward, except maybe for privacy issues. For
+ feature branches, the announcement for the branch should document
+ the rewinding policy.
-================================================================
+============================================================================
= Writing a good commit message
* Here is the general format that Automake's commit messages are expected
... removed in commit 'v1.11-1674-g02e9072' of 01-01-2012,
"dist: ditch support for lzma"...
-================================================================
+============================================================================
= Test suite
* Use "make check" and "make maintainer-check" liberally.
* Use perl coverage information to ensure your new code is thoroughly
tested by your new tests.
-* See file 'tests/README' for more information.
+* See file 't/README' for more information.
-================================================================
+============================================================================
= Release procedure
* The steps outlined here are meant to be followed for alpha and stable
releases as well. Where differences are expected, they will be
explicitly described.
-* Fetch new versions of the files that are maintained by the FSF.
- Commit. Unfortunately you need an FSF account to do this.
- (You can also use "make fetch", but that is still woefully incomplete.)
+* Fetch new versions of the files that are maintained by the FSF by
+ running "make fetch". In case any file in the automake repository
+ has been updated, commit and re-run the testsuite.
-* Update NEWS.
+* Ensure that the copyright notices of the distributed files is up to
+ date. The maintainer-only target "update-copyright" can help with
+ this.
+
+* Check NEWS; in particular, ensure that all the relevant differences
+ with the last release are actually reported.
* Update the version number in configure.ac.
(The idea is that every other alpha number will be a net release.
distinguish net and repo versions.)
* Run this:
- ./bootstrap && ./configure && make && make check && make distcheck
+
+ make bootstrap && make check && make distcheck
+
+ It is also advised to run "git clean -fdx" before invoking the
+ bootstrap, to ensure a really clean rebuild. However, it must
+ be done carefully, because that command will remove *all* the
+ files that are not tracked by git!
* Run "make git-tag-release".
- This will run the maintainer checks, check that the NEWS file is
- up-to-date, check that the local git repository and working tree
- are clean and up-to-date, and create a proper signed git tag for
- the release (based on the contents of $(VERSION)).
+ This will run the maintainer checks, verify that the local git
+ repository and working tree are clean and up-to-date, and create
+ a proper signed git tag for the release (based on the contents
+ of $(VERSION)).
* Run "make git-upload-release".
This will first verify that you are releasing from a tagged version
locations. In case you need to sign with a non-default key, you can
use "make GNUPLOADFLAGS='--user KEY' git-upload-release".
-* Update version number in configure.ac to next alpha number.
- Re-run ./bootstrap and commit.
+* For stable releases you'll have to update the manuals at www.gnu.org.
-* Don't forget to "git push" your changes so they appear in the public
- git tree.
+ - Generate manuals (with the help of the standard gendocs.sh script):
+
+ make web-manual
+
+ The ready-to-be-uploaded manuals (in several formats) will be left
+ in the 'doc/web-manuals' directory.
+
+ - Commit the updated manuals to web CVS:
+
+ make web-manual-update
+
+ If your local username is different from your username at Savannah,
+ you'll have to override the 'CVS_USER' make variable accordingly;
+ for example:
+
+ make web-manual-update CVS_USER=slattarini
-* For stable releases, update the manuals at www.gnu.org:
- - Generate manuals:
- cd doc
- wget "http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/~checkout~/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs.sh"
- wget "http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/~checkout~/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs_template"
- sh ./gendocs.sh --email bug-automake@gnu.org automake "GNU Automake"
- - copy manuals recursively to web cvs,
- - commit.
- Check for link errors, fix them, recheck until convergence:
<http://validator.w3.org/checklink>
-* Send the announcement at least to <autotools-announce@gnu.org> and
- <automake@gnu.org>. If the release is a stable one, the announcement
- must also go to <info-gnu@gnu.org>; if it is an alpha or beta release,
- announcement should be sent also to <platform-testers@gnu.org>, to
- maximize the possibility of early testing on exotic or proprietary
- systems. Finally, copy the announcement into the NEWS feed at
+* Create an announcement message with "make announcement". Edit the
+ generated 'announcement' file appropriately, in particularly filling
+ in by hand any "TODO" left in there.
+
+* Update version number in configure.ac to next alpha number.
+ Re-run ./bootstrap.sh and commit.
+
+* Don't forget to "git push" your changes so they appear in the public
+ git tree.
+
+* Send the announcement generated in the earlier steps at least to
+ <autotools-announce@gnu.org> and <automake@gnu.org>. If the release
+ is a stable one, the announcement must also go to <info-gnu@gnu.org>;
+ if it is an alpha or beta release, announcement should be sent also
+ to <platform-testers@gnu.org>, to maximize the possibility of early
+ testing on exotic or proprietary systems. Finally, copy an abridged
+ version of the announcement into the NEWS feed at:
<https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/automake>.
+ Be sure to link a version to the complete announcement (from
+ the version you sent to the automake list, as get archived on
+ <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/automake/>).
-----
-Copyright (C) 2003-2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright (C) 2003-2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
projects / platform / upstream / automake.git / blobdiff