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5 #+TITLE: How to contribute to Org?
7 #+EMAIL: mdl AT imapmail 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]] You can also read
24 this great text: "[[http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html][How to Send Bug Reports Effectively]]"
26 - you can submit *feature requests* -- Org is already mature, but new ideas
27 keep popping up. If you want to request a feature, it might be a good
28 idea to have a look at the current [[http://orgmode.org/worg/org-issues.html][Issue tracking file]] which captures
29 both bug reports and feature requests. Or dig into the mailing list for
30 possible previous discussions about your idea. If you cannot find back
31 your idea, formulate it as detailed as possible, if possible with
32 examples, and send it to the mailing list.
34 - you can submit *patches* -- You can submit patches to the mailing list.
35 See the [[For Org contributors: preferred way of submitting patches][Preferred way of submitting patches]] section for details.
37 If your patch is against a file that is part of Emacs, then your
38 total contribution (all patches you submit) should change /less than
39 20 lines/. If you contribute more, you have to assign the copyright
40 of your contribution to the Free Software Foundation (see below).
42 - you can submit Org *add-ons* -- there are many Org add-ons. The best way
43 is to submit your code to the mailing list to discuss it with people. If
44 it is useful, you might consider contributing it to the =CONTRIB/=
45 directory in the git repository.
47 - you can submit material to the *Worg* website -- This website is made of
48 Org files that you can contribute to. Learn what Worg is [[file:worg-about.org][about]] and how
49 to contribute to it [[file:worg-git.org][through git]].
51 * Copyright issues when contributing to Emacs org-mode
53 Org is made of many files. Most of them are also distributed as part of
54 GNU Emacs. These files are called the /Org core/, and they are all
55 copyrighted by the [[http://www.fsf.org][Free Software Foundation, Inc]]. If you consider
56 contributing to these files, your first need to grant the right to include
57 your works in GNU Emacs to the FSF. For this you need to complete [[http://orgmode.org/request-assign-future.txt][this
58 form]], send it to [[mailto:assign@gnu.org][assign@gnu.org]], and tell the Org-mode maintainer when this
59 process is complete. Some people consider this a hassle. I don't want to
60 discuss this in detail here - there are some good reasons for getting the
61 copyright registered, an example is discussed in this [[http://twit.tv/floss117][FLOSS weekly podcast]].
62 Furthermore, by playing according to the Emacs rules, we gain the fantastic
63 advantage that every version of Emacs ships with Org-mode already fully
64 built in. So please consider doing this - it makes our work as maintainers
65 so much easier, because we can then take your patches without any
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
77 1. Send your public key to [[mailto:emacs-orgmode%20AT%20dunsmor%20DOT%20com][Jason Dunsmore]].
78 2. Wait for confirmation that your public key has been added to the server.
79 3. Clone =org-mode.git= repository like this:
80 : ~$ git clone orgmode@orgmode.org:org-mode.git
81 4. Commit your changes and push them.
83 If you are undertaking big changes, please create a dedicated branch for
86 * For Org contributors: preferred way of submitting patches
88 Org-mode is developed using /git/ as the version control system. Git
89 provides an amazing framework to collaborate on a project. Git can be used
90 to make patches and send them via email -- this is perfectly fine for minor
93 As long as these patches are formatted properly, they will be
94 automatically registered at [[http://patchwork.newartisans.com/project/org-mode][John Wiegley's patchwork server]] and will
95 then be accepted, rejected, or sent back to the author with a request
96 for modification. In this context, "formatted properly" means that the
97 patches are included either plainly in the mail text, or as text
98 attachments (mime-type text, subtypes "x-patch", "x-diff", or
99 "plain"). In particular, binary types or, even worse,
100 "application/octet-stream" (the asinine default of some mail programs)
101 are *not* going to be recognized. Please find out how to convince your
102 mail program to send proper attachments. Also, if you include the
103 patch inline, please make sure that your mail program does not
104 reformat it (although there are plenty of places further down the line
105 where that can happen, unfortunately). If you attach the patch, then
106 reformatting is not a problem.
108 ** Sending quick fixes
111 This command will make a patch between the staging area (in your
112 computer), and the file you modified:
114 : git diff -p org-whatever.el > org-whatever.el.diff
116 If you already committed your changes to your index (staging area), then
117 you should compare against a particular branch (in this example,
120 : git diff -p origin/master org-whatever.el > org-whatever.el.diff
122 You email the output to the mailing list, adding =[PATCH]= to the
123 subject, and description of what you fixed or changed.
128 For more significant changes, you might want to work in several steps and
129 send each commit separately. Here is the suggested workflow
132 : ~$ git pull # make sure your repo is up to date
133 : ~$ git branch my-changes # create a new branch
134 : ~$ git checkout my-changes # switch to this new branch
136 ... make some changes (1) ...
138 : ~$ git commit -m "This is change (1)" # Commit your change
140 ... make another change (2) ...
142 : ~$ git commit -m "This is change (2)" # Commit your change
143 : ~$ git format-patch master # Creates two patches
145 ... Then two patches for your two commits are ready to be sent to the
146 list and detected by the patchwork server.
149 Write useful commit messages: unless your change is very small, please
150 provide 1) a reason for it in your email and 2) a ChangeLog entry in the
153 ** Sharing changes from a public branch
155 For more significant contributions, the best way to submit patches is
156 through public branches of your repository clone.
158 1. Clone our git repository at =http://orgmode.org/w/org-mode.git=
160 2. Create a repository that can be publicly accessed, for example on
161 /GitHub/, /repo.or.cz/, or on your own server.
163 3. Push your topic branches (and optionally the master branch) to your
166 Define a remote for your public repository you push topics to.
168 : git remote add REMOTE URL-GOES-HERE
170 Push branches to the remote
172 : git push REMOTE BRANCH1 [BRANCH2 BRANCH3 ...]
176 : git remote add github ssh://.../ # Done once to define the remote 'github'
177 : git push github my-topic
179 4. Do your work on topic-specific branches, using a branch name that
180 relates to what you are working on.
186 to pull commits from all defined remote repositories, in particular
187 the org-mode master at /repo.or.cz/.
189 6. When you have something workable, publish the git path and branch
190 name on the mailing list, so that people can test it and review
193 7. After your topic has been merged to the project master branch you
194 can delete the topic on your local and remote repositories.
196 : git branch -d NEWTOPIC
197 : git push REMOTE :NEWTOPIC
199 * Commit messages and ChangeLog entries
201 We have decided to no longer keep a ChangeLog file to record changes to
202 individual functions. In a modern version control system like git,
203 ChangeLog is duplicating information that should be in the commit message,
204 and it is the main cause of merge conflicts.
206 Instead, the change log entry should be part of the commit message. A
207 commit message should be constructed in the following way:
209 - Line 1 of the commit message should always be a short description of
210 the overall change. Line 1 does /not/ get a dot at the end.
211 - Line 2 is an empty line
212 - In line 3, the ChangeLog entry should start, in a similar format as
213 in the old ChangeLog files, but without the author information
214 (which is part of the commit anyway).
215 - After the changelog, another empty line should come before any
216 additional information that the committer wishes to provide in order
217 to explain the patch.
218 - If the change is a minor change made by a committer without
219 copyright assignment to the FSF, the commit message should also
220 contain the cookie =TINYCHANGE= (anywhere in the message). When we
221 later produce the ChangeLog file for Emacs, the change will be
222 marked appropriately.
224 Here is an example for such a message
227 Capture: Fix the case of using a template file
229 ,* lisp/org-capture.el (org-capture-set-plist): Make sure txt is a string
230 before calling `string-match'.
231 (org-capture-templates): Fix customization type.
232 ,* doc/org.texi (Capture): Document using a file for a template
234 The problem here was that a wrong keyword was given in the
235 customization type. This let to a string-match against a list value.
237 Modified from a patch proposal by Johan Friis.
242 If you are using /magit.el/ in Emacs, The ChangeLog-like such entries are
243 easily made by pressing =C= in the diff listing. Another option to make
244 the entries is to use `C-x 4 a' in the changed function. This will create
245 entries in the ChangeLog file, and you can then cut and paste these to the
246 commit message and remove the indentation.
248 * Copyrighted contributors to Org-mode
250 Here is the list of people who have contributed actual code to the
251 Org-mode core. Note that the manual contains a more extensive list
252 with acknowledgments, including contributed ideas! The lists below
253 are mostly for house keeping, to help the maintainers keep track of
256 ** Current contributors
258 :CUSTOM_ID: contributors_with_fsf_papers
261 Here is the list of people who signed the papers with the Free Software
262 Foundation and can now freely submit code to Org files that are included
270 6. Barry Leonard Gidden
275 11. Brian James Gough
279 15. Christopher League
280 16. Christopher Miles Gray
281 17. Christopher Suckling
284 20. Daniel M. Hackney
295 31. Jeffrey Ryan Horn
301 37. Konstantin Antipin
302 38. Lawrence Mitchell
312 48. Miguel A. Figueroa-Villanueva
343 These people have been asked to sign the papers, and they are
344 currently considering it or a request is being processed by the FSF.
350 These people have submitted tiny change patches that made it into Org
351 without FSF papers. When they submit more, we need to get papers
352 eventually. The limit is a cumulative change of 20 non-repetitive
353 change lines. Details are given in [[http://www.gnu.org/prep/maintain/maintain.html#Legally-Significant ][this document]].
358 (this list may be incomplete - please help to complete it)
362 These people cannot or prefer to not sign the FSF copyright papers,
363 and we can only accept patches that do not change the core files (the
364 ones that are also in Emacs).
366 Luckily, this list is still empty.
368 #+BEGIN: timestamp :string "Last update: " :format "%Y-%m-%d @ %H:%M"