==================
Developing Roundup
==================

:Version: $Revision: 1.6 $

Note: the intended audience of this document is the developers of the core
Roundup code. If you just wish to alter some behaviour of your Roundup
installation, see `customising roundup`_.

.. contents::

Getting Started
---------------

Anyone wishing to help in the development of Roundup must read `Roundup's
Design Document`_ and the `implementation notes`_.

All development is coordinated through two resources:

- roundup-dev mailing list at
  http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/roundup-devel
- Sourceforge's issue trackers at
  https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=31577

Small Changes
-------------

Most small changes can be submitted through the Feature tracker, with patches
attached that give context diffs of the affected source.


CVS Access
----------

To get CVS access, contact richard@users.sourceforge.net.

CVS stuff:

1. to tag a release (eg. the pre-release of 0.5.0)::

    cvs tag release-0-5-0-pr1

1. to make a branch (eg. branching for code freeze/release)::

    cvs co -d maint-0-5 -r release-0-5-0-pr1
    cd maint-0-5 
    cvs tag -b maint-0-5

2. to check out a branch (eg. the maintenance branch for 0.5.x)::

    cvs co -d maint-0-5 -r maint-0-5

3. to merge changes from the maintenance branch to the trunk, in the
   directory containing the HEAD checkout::

    cvs up -j maint-0-5

   though this is highly discouraged, as it generally creates a whole swag
   of conflicts :(

Standard tag names:

*release-maj-min-patch[-sub]*
  Release of the major.minor.patch release, possibly a beta or pre-release,
  in which case *sub* will be one of "b*N*" or "pr*N*".
*maint-maj-min*
  Maintenance branch for the major.minor release. Patch releases are tagged in
  this branch.

Typically, release happen like this:

1. work progresses in the HEAD branch until milestones are met,
2. a series of beta releases are tagged in the HEAD until the code is
   stable enough to freeze,
3. the pre-release is tagged in the HEAD, with the resultant code branched
   to the maintenance branch for that release,
4. bugs in the release are patched in the maintenance branch, and the final
   and patch releases are tagged there, and
5. further major work happens in the HEAD.

Project Rules
-------------

Mostly the project follows Guido's Style (though naming tends to be a little
relaxed sometimes). In short:

- 80 column width code
- 4-space indentations
- All modules must have a CVS Id line near the top, and a CVS Log at the end

Other project rules:

- New functionality must be documented, even briefly (so at least we know
  where there's missing documentation) and changes to tracker configuration
  must be logged in the upgrading document.
- subscribe to roundup-checkins to receive checkin notifications from the
  other developers with CVS access
- discuss any changes with the other developers on roundup-dev. If nothing
  else, this makes sure there's no rude shocks
- write unit tests for changes you make (where possible), and ensure that
  all unit tests run before committing changes
- run pychecker over changed code

The administrators of the project reserve the right to boot developers who
consistently check in code which is either broken or takes the codebase in
directions that have not been agreed to.


-----------------

Back to `Table of Contents`_

.. _`Table of Contents`: index.html
.. _`Customising Roundup`: customizing.html
.. _`Roundup's Design Document`: spec.html
.. _`implementation notes`: implementation.html