How to Submit Patches to the NetLabel Tools Project =============================================================================== https://github.com/netlabel/netlabel_tools This document is intended to act as a guide to help you contribute to the NetLabel Tools project. It is not perfect, and there will always be exceptions to the rules described here, but by following the instructions below you should have a much easier time getting your work merged with the upstream project. * Test Your Code Unfortunately, we do not have a test suite for the NetLabel Tools probject, but please test your code manually, as much as possible. Make sure it works on new systems, make sure it works on old systems. Try your best not to break anything, and if you break something, make sure you have a good reason, and make sure you tell us about it when you post your patch. In addition to functional and regression testing, you should also verify that yoour patch is consistent with the formatting and coding style of the project. You can do this by running the following command: # make check-syntax ... if there are any problems with your changes a diff/patch will be shown which indicates the problems and how to fix them. * Generate the Patch(es) Depending on how you decided to work with the code base and what tools you are using there are different ways to generate your patch(es). However, regardless of what tools you use, you should always generate your patches using the "unified" diff/patch format and the patches should always apply to the NetLabel Tools source tree using the following command from the top directory of the sources repository: # patch -p1 < changes.patch If you are not using git, stacked git (stgit), or some other tool which can generate patch files for you automatically, you may find the following command helpful in generating patches, where "netlabel_tools.orig/" is the unmodified source code directory and "netlabel_tools/" is the source code directory with your changes: # diff -purN netlabel_tools.orig/ netlabel_tools/ When in doubt please generate your patch and try applying it to an unmodified copy of the NetLabel Tools sources; if it fails for you, it will fail for the rest of us. * Explain Your Work At the top of every patch you should include a description of the problem you are trying to solve, how you solved it, and why you chose the solution you implemented. If you are submitting a bug fix, it is also incredibly helpful if you can describe/include a reproducer for the problem in the description as well as instructions on how to test for the bug and verify that it has been fixed. * Sign Your Work The sign-off is a simple line at the end of the patch description, which certifies that you wrote it or otherwise have the right to pass it on as an open-source patch. The "Developer's Certificate of Origin" pledge is taken from the Linux Kernel and the rules are pretty simple: Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1 By making a contribution to this project, I certify that: (a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I have the right to submit it under the open source license indicated in the file; or (b) The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source license and I have the right under that license to submit that work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part by me, under the same open source license (unless I am permitted to submit under a different license), as indicated in the file; or (c) The contribution was provided directly to me by some other person who certified (a), (b) or (c) and I have not modified it. (d) I understand and agree that this project and the contribution are public and that a record of the contribution (including all personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off) is maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent with this project or the open source license(s) involved. ... then you just add a line to the bottom of your patch description, with your real name, saying: Signed-off-by: Random J Developer * Email Your Patch(es) Finally, you will need to email your patches to the mailing list so they can be reviewed and potentially merged into the main repository. When sending patches to the mailing list it is important to send your email in text form, no HTML mail please, and ensure that your email client does not mangle your patches. It should be possible to save your raw email to disk and apply it directly to the NetLabel Tools source code; if that fails then you likely have a problem with your email client. When in doubt try a test first by sending yourself an email with your patch and attempting to apply the emailed patch to the repository; if it fails for you, it will fail for the rest of us trying to test your patch.