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5 #+TITLE: How to contribute to Org?
7 #+EMAIL: bzg AT altern DOT org
12 # This file is the default header for new Org files in Worg. Feel free
13 # to tailor it to your needs.
15 [[file:index.org][{Back to Worg's index}]]
17 * Types of contributions
19 Every contribution to Org is very welcome. Here is a list of areas where
20 your contribution will be useful:
22 - you can submit *bug reports* -- Before sending a bug report, make sure
23 you have read this section of Org's manual: [[http://orgmode.org/org.html#Feedback][Feedback]]
25 - you can submit *feature requests* -- Org is already mature, but new
26 ideas keep popping up. If you want to request a feature, it might
27 be a good idea to have a look at the current [[http://orgmode.org/worg/org-issues.php][Issue tracking file]]
28 which captures both bug reports and feature requests. Or dig into
29 the mailing list for possible previous discussions about your idea.
30 If you cannot find back your idea, formulate it as detailed as
31 possible, if possible with examples, and send it to the mailing
34 - you can submit *patches* -- You can submit patches to the mailing list.
36 If your patch is against a file that is part of Emacs, then your
37 total contribution (all patches you submit) should change /less than
38 20 lines/. If you contribute more, you have to assign the copyright
39 of your contribution to the Free Software Foundation (see below).
41 - you can submit Org *add-ons* -- there are many Org add-ons. The best way
42 is to submit your code to the mailing list to discuss it with people. If
43 it is useful, you might consider contributing it to the =CONTRIB/=
44 directory in the git repository.
46 - you can submit material to the *Worg* website -- This website is made of
47 Org files that you can contribute to. Learn what Worg is [[file:worg-about.org][about]] and how
48 to contribute to it [[file:worg-git.org][through git]].
50 * Copyright issues when contributing to Emacs org-mode
52 Org is made of many files. Most of them are also distributed as part
53 of GNU Emacs. These files are called the /Org core/, and they are all
54 copyrighted by the [[http://www.fsf.org][Free Software Foundation, Inc]]. If you consider
55 contributing to these files, your first need to grant the right to
56 include your works in GNU Emacs to the FSF. For this you need to
57 complete [[http://orgmode.org/request-assign-future.txt][this form]], send it to [[mailto:assign@gnu.org][assign@gnu.org]], and tell the Org-mode
58 maintainer when this process is complete. Some people consider this a
59 hassle. I don't want to discuss this in detail here - there are some
60 good reasons for getting the copyright registered, an example is
61 discussed in this [[http://twit.tv/floss117][FLOSS weekly podcast]]. Furthermore, by playing
62 according to the Emacs rules, we gain the fantastic advantage that
63 every version of Emacs ships with Org-mode already fully built in. So
64 please consider doing this - it makes our work as maintainers so much
65 easier, because we can then take your patches without any additional
68 If you want to learn more about /why/ copyright assignments are
69 collected, read this: [[http://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-assign.html][Why the FSF gets copyright assignments from
72 * Preferred way of submitting patches
74 Org-mode is developed using /git/ as the version control system. Git
75 provides an amazing framework to collaborate on a project. Git can be
76 used to make patches and send them via email - this is perfectly fine
77 for minor changes. These patches will be automatically registered at
78 [[http://patchwork.newartisans.com/project/org-mode][John Wiegley's patchwork server]] and will then be accepted, rejected,
79 or sent back to the author with a request for modification.
81 For more significant contributions, the best way to submit patches is
82 through public branches of your repository clone.
84 1. Clone our git repository at =http://repo.or.cz/w/org-mode.git=
86 2. Create a repository that can be publicly accessed, for example on
87 /GitHub/, /repo.or.cz/, or on your own server.
89 3. Push your topic branches (and optionally the master branch) to your
92 Define a remote for your public repository you push topics to.
94 : git remote add REMOTE URL-GOES-HERE
96 Push branches to the remote
98 : git push REMOTE BRANCH1 [BRANCH2 BRANCH3 ...]
102 : git remote add github ssh://.../ # Done once to define the remote 'github'
103 : git push github my-topic
105 4. Do your work on topic-specific branches, using a branch name that
106 relates to what you are working on.
112 to pull commits from all defined remote repositories, in particular
113 the org-mode master at /repo.or.cz/.
115 6. When you have something workable, publish the git path and branch
116 name on the mailing list, so that people can test it and review
119 7. After your topic has been merged to the project master branch you
120 can delete the topic on your local and remote repositories.
122 : git branch -d NEWTOPIC
123 : git push REMOTE :NEWTOPIC
125 * Commit messages and ChangeLog entries
127 We have decided to no longer keep a ChangeLog file to record changes
128 to individual functions. In a modern version control system like git,
129 ChangeLog is duplicating information that should be in the commit
130 message, and it is the main cause of merge conflicts.
132 Instead, the change log entry should be part of the commit message. A
133 commit message should be constructed in the following way:
135 - Line 1 of the commit message should always be a short description of
136 the overall change. Line 1 does /not/ get a dot at the end.
137 - Line 2 is an empty line
138 - In line 3, the ChangeLog entry should start, in a similar format as
139 in the old ChangeLog files, but without the author information
140 (which is part of the commit anyway).
141 - After the changelog, another empty line should come before any
142 additional information that the committer wishes to provide in order
143 to explain the patch.
144 - If the change is a minor change made by a committer without
145 copyright assignment to the FSF, the commit message should also
146 contain the cookie =TINYCHANGE= (anywhere in the message). When we
147 later produce the ChangeLog file for Emacs, the change will be
148 marked appropriately.
150 Here is an example for such a message
153 Capture: Fix the case of using a template file
155 ,* lisp/org-capture.el (org-capture-set-plist): Make sure txt is a string
156 before calling `string-match'.
157 (org-capture-templates): Fix customization type.
158 ,* doc/org.texi (Capture): Document using a file for a template
160 The problem here was that a wrong keyword was given in the
161 customization type. This let to a string-match against a list value.
163 Modified from a patch proposal by Johan Friis.
168 If you are using /magit.el/ in Emacs, The ChangeLog-like such entries
169 are easily made by pressing =C= in the diff listing. Another option
170 to make the entries is to use `C-x 4 a' in the changed function. This
171 will create entries in the ChangeLog file, and you can then cut and
172 paste these to the commit message and remove the indentation.
174 * Copyrighted contributors to Org-mode
176 Here is the list of people who have contributed actual code to the
177 Org-mode core. Note that the manual contains a more extensive list
178 with acknowledgments, including contributed ideas! The lists below
179 are mostly for house keeping, to help the maintainers keep track of
182 ** Current contributors
184 :CUSTOM_ID: contributors_with_fsf_papers
187 Here is the list of people who signed the papers with the Free Software
188 Foundation and can now freely submit code to Org files that are included
193 3. Konstantin Antipin
200 10. Andreas Burtzlaff
208 18. Miguel A. Figueroa-Villanueva
214 24. Daniel M. Hackney
224 34. Christopher League
241 51. Christopher Suckling
248 These people have been asked to sign the papers, and they are
249 currently considering it or a request is being processed by the FSF.
255 These people have submitted tiny change patches that made it into Org
256 without FSF papers. When they submit more, we need to get papers
257 eventually. The limit is a cumulative change of 20 non-repetitive
258 change lines. Details are given in [[http://www.gnu.org/prep/maintain/maintain.html#Legally-Significant ][this document]].
264 (this list may be incomplete - please help to complete it)
268 These people cannot or prefer to not sign the FSF copyright papers,
269 and we can only accept patches that do not change the core files (the
270 ones that are also in Emacs).
272 Luckily, this list is still empty.
274 #+BEGIN: timestamp :string "Last update: " :format "%Y-%m-%d @ %H:%M"
275 Last update: 06-04-2010 16:29