annotate DOCS/tech/cvs-howto.txt @ 7288:159a5be61015

rewrite (much ;), no content change

About CVS write access:      by A'rpi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I. TECH SIDE:
=============
1. Changing password:

  As you probably got a restricted CVS-only shell, it's not trivial:

  ssh [e-mail] passwd
  
  (replace LOGIN with your loginname. leave 'passwd' unchanged, it's command)
  
  Note: if you need real shell for something, tell me.

2. Checkout devel. source tree:
  
  export CVS_RSH=ssh
  cvs -z3 -d:ext:[e-mail]:/cvsroot/mplayer co main
  
  NOTE: cvs -d:pserver: mode doesn't allow writting, even with password!
  
3. Commiting changes:

  cvs -z3 commit -m "comment - what and why did you change" filename(s)
  
  Do not use such comments: "bugfix." or "files changed" or "dunno"
  You don't have to include filename in comment, as comments are linked
  to files. If you have different comments for files, commit them separated,
  not at same time.
  
4. Adding new files/dirs:

  cvs add filename/dirname
  
5. Removing files:

  rm filename
  cvs remove filename
  cvs commit -m "reason of removing this file" filename
  
6. Check changes:
  
  cvs -z3 diff -u filename(s)
  
  it's recommended to check changes first, before commit. especially if you
  forget what did you change :)
  and this way you will see if your patch has debug stuff or indenting change,
  and you can fix it before commiting and triggering me to use cvs-backup.
  
7. Check changelog:

  cvs -z3 log filename(s)
  
8. Rename/move files or content of files:

  you can NOT do that. ask CVS server admin (A'rpi) to do it!
  do NOT remove & re-add file - it will kill changelog!!!!

  don't do big cut'n'paste from one file to another without very big
  and already discussed and allowed (-dev-eng list) reason!
  it will make those changes untrackable!

  such actions are useless and treated as cosmetics in 99% of cases,
  so try to avoid these.
  
  
If you have any tech problems with cvs server, contact me:
A'rpi <[e-mail]>


II. POLICY / RULES:
===================

1. You shouldn't commit code which makes cvs broken!
   (i mean unfinished but enabled code which break
    compiling or compiles but does not work)

2. You don't have over-test things. if it works for you,
   and you think it should work for others too, then commit.
   If it has problems (portability, exploits compiler bugs,
   unusual environment etc) they will be reported, it's ok.

3. You can commit unfinished stuff (for testing etc), but it
   must be disabled (#ifdef etc) by default.

4. Do not change behaviour of the program (renaming options etc)
   without discussing first at the MPlayer-dev-eng list.
   Do not decrease/remove functionality of code. Just improve!

5. Source indenting and other cosmetical changes are refused.
   I'll remove those commits...
   Every developer has its own indenting style, you shouldn't
   change it. Of course if you (re)write something then you can
   use your own style...
   (Many projects forces a given indenting style - we don't)
   
   Note: if you had to put if(){ .. } over big (> 5 lines) code,
   do NOT change the indent of the inner part (move it right) !

6. Always fill out the comment at commiting (-m switch of cvs, or
   in the editor if you left -m).
   It shouldn't be such lines: "fixed!" or "Changed it."
   Describe in a few lines (usually 1 line is enough) what did
   you changed and why did you do that. You can refer mails if bugfix.

7. If you apply patch by someone else, include his name and email
   address in the cvs comment! Do NOT commit patches for other
   developer's code (code not maintained by you) without his
   permission! If he didn't commited - he probably has the reason!

8. I've developed something called CVS-Backup. It archives CVS
   repository after each commit - so I can reverse your commits
   (without messing up changelog) if they are bad.
   If you think your bugfix or other change was bad and unneeded,
   ask me to reverse it instead of commiting previous version!

9. You won't have write access to DOCS/. (you have to its subdirs).
   It was changed to avoid breaking docs or getting translations
   or homepage desynced. Send your DOCS patch to Gabucino, he'll
   review, and commit (or not. probably not. never...).
   
Also read patches.txt !!!!

I think our rules aren't too hard. If you have comments, contact me.

III. Beginners Guide	by David Holm
====================
When I first got CVS write access I got banned after only a few hours
because I didn't fully understand this documentation. This part is for
those of you who have just got cvs write access and want to avoid the
most common pitfalls leading to cvs ban.
I will introduce a step-by-step guide explaining how I'm making sure
that my cvs commits are proper and won't get me banned.

1. You should set up two dirs for mplayer, one which contains the stable
   version and has the :ext: option instead of :pserver: in CVS/Root.
   The other should be your development dir and have the CVS/Root set to
   :pserver: instead of :ext:, that way you can't commit development code
   by accident (since only :ext: allows writes).
   This is my setup:
   ~/mplayer
	    /main
	    /main.dev
    NOTE: I'll use these dir names from hereon in the guide, what you want
    to call your dirs are entirely up to you. This is _only_ an example.

2. When you are satisfied with the changes in "main.dev" and think you are
   ready to commit the changes to CVS start by doing the following in the
   "~/mplayer" dir":
   diff -Nur -x "CVS" -x ".*" main main.dev > dev2stable
   dev2stable is the filename for the patchfile, it doesn't matter what you
   call it.
   
3. Now comes one of the tricky parts, editing the patch.
   I prefer using mcedit (comes with Midnight Commander) since it does syntax
   highlighting in patches (= it uses colors to identify lines =), But most
   ascii editors should do (meaning don't use staroffice and save it as a
   star office document for instance ;)
   I will try to explain this as good as I can.
	Read throught the patch and remove all occurances of:
	    * diff -Nur.... that are affecting files YOU have NOT modified
	      these occur when either main or main.dev are different version
	      (not checked out at the same time)
	      EVERYTHING from the diff -Nur... line until the next diff -Nur...
	      line are changes to the file specified after the diff options,
	      and ONLY that file.
	      
	    * Lines containing "Binary files..." if you add the 'a' switch to
	      -N(a)ur binary files will be added to the patch as well, making it
	      huge and puts alot of unnecessary data in it (since you seldom
	      commit any binaries).
	      
	    * If you find changes within a diff block that you don't want to
	      commit you can delete them if they are the only changes ranging
	      from the @@ -x,y +x,y @@ until the line before the next
	      @@ -x,y +x,y @@. You _cannot_ remove single lines after a 
	      @@ -x,y +x,y @@ because that will break the patch!.
	        example:
		...
		@@ -15,34 +15,6 @@
		- old_option;
		+ new_option;
		@@ -65,13 +65,3 @@
		...
		
		Ok:
		...
		@@ -65,13 +65,3 @@
		...
		
		Will break patch:
		...
		@@ -15,34 +15,6 @@
		  old_option;
		@@ -65,13 +65,3 @@
		...
	    
	      When I end up in situation where I have to remove just smoe lines from
	      a block I leave it alone, remember (write down) which file it is in and
	      then edit the file in "main" after I've applied the patch.
	      
	    * Now it's time for applying the patch to the "main" (stable) dir. This
	      should be done in two steps:
	        1. enter "main" and run "patch -p1 --dry-run < ../dev2stable"
		    -p1 means that you are one level deep (that you have entered
		    the "main" directory and that should be stripped when patching,
		    if you run it from "~/mplayer" you would use -p0).
		    --dry-run means that patch does everything it normally does
		    but without modifying ANY files, this is a great way of testing
		    whether your patch works or not.
		    "../dev2stable" is your patchfile. (don't forget the '<')
		    If the dry run fails check the line it failed on and figure out
		    why it failed, make a new patch, and try again.
		2. Ok, you finally have a working patch, remove --dry-run and patch
		   "main" and you are done with the patching part =).

4. It's almost time for the final step, commiting the changes. But first you MUST make
   sure your changes compiles without breaking anything and that it follows the Policy 
   mentioned in section 2. (Read it until your eyes are bleeding if you want to keep CVS 
   access!)
   Don't worry about object files etc that will be created in your "main" dir, they won't
   be sent to CVS on commit, you must use the add command to add new files (discuss it on
   the list before adding new files!).
   Now to make sure your additions follow policy do the following on every file you will
   commit:
    "cvs -z3 diff -u <filename> > <filename.d> of course the output file (<filename.d>) can
    have any name you want. This will create a file showing the differences between the
    file on cvs and your updated local file.
   I will explain some of the policy rules I had a hard time understanding:
    5. This means that if for instance you have lines in <filename.d> that look
       something like this:
       -
       +
       That means that you have either added or removed a tab or spaces on that line.
       That qualifies as cosmetical changes and is disallowed. Edit the file and put
       back/remove the added/removed tab/spaces.
       Do a new diff on the file and make sure it fixed the cosmetics.
    6. Make sure you read and understand this properly before commiting anything. Commit
       one file at a time!

5. Ok, you have a working patch following the cvs policy, excellent work. Now for the
   final step, commiting. This is real simple. Just run the following command in "main"
   for each file you want to commit:
    "cvs -z3 commit -m "<comment (changes)>" <filename>" or
    "cvs -z3 commit <filename>"
   The latter will bring up your default text editor for writing comments (I prefer this
   method).
   
You are done, congratulations. If you are certain you have followed all the policies you
shouldn't have any troubles with CVS maintainers at all.
At first I thought the policy was too strict, I discussed it with Arpi and he made some
very good points, so don't complain.