fdo-mirrors/dbus
1
0
Fork 0
mirror of https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus.git synced 2026-05-01 19:37:58 +02:00
Code Issues Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions

CONTRIBUTING.md: Update and rewrite

Browse source 
This file hadn't kept up with reality, and needs updating for Gitlab.
Take the opportunity to rewrite it.

Much of the text, particularly about commit messages, was taken from
Wayland's contributing guide (thanks to Ander Conselvan de Oliveira,
Bryce Harrington, Eric Engestrom, Pekka Paalanen and Daniel Stone).

Signed-off-by: Simon McVittie <smcv@collabora.com>
This commit is contained in:
Simon McVittie 2018-10-16 15:44:59 +01:00
parent cc00a7a6e9
commit 91de178f9e
1 changed files with 225 additions and 205 deletions
Show stats Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

430
CONTRIBUTING.md
View file

@ -4,56 +4,166 @@ The guidelines in this file are the ideals; it's better to send a
not-fully-following-guidelines patch than no patch at all, though. We
can always polish it up.
## Mailing list
## Source code and issue tracking
The D-Bus mailing list is dbus@lists.freedesktop.org; discussion
of patches, etc. should go there.
Source code and issue tracking for the D-Bus specification and its
reference implementation 'dbus' are provided by freedesktop.org Gitlab:
<https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus>.
## Security
## Reporting security vulnerabilities
If you find a security vulnerability that is not known to the public,
please report it privately to dbus-security@lists.freedesktop.org
or by reporting a freedesktop.org bug that is marked as
restricted to the "D-BUS security group".
or by reporting a Gitlab issue at
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus/issues/new and marking it
as "confidential".
## Mailing list
The D-Bus mailing list is dbus@lists.freedesktop.org; discussion of
protocol enhancements, new implementations, etc. should go there.
## Code of Conduct
As a freedesktop.org project, dbus follows the Contributor Covenant,
found at: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/CodeOfConduct
Please conduct yourself in a respectful and civilised manner when
interacting with community members on mailing lists, IRC, or bug
trackers. The community represents the project as a whole, and abusive
or bullying behaviour is not tolerated by the project.
## Development
D-Bus uses Git as its version control system. The main repository is
hosted on freedesktop.org Gitlab. To clone D-Bus, execute one of the
following commands:
git clone https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus.git
git clone git@gitlab.freedesktop.org:dbus/dbus.git
The second form is the one that allows pushing, but it also requires
an SSH account on the server. The first form allows anonymous
checkouts.
### Branches
D-Bus development happens in multiple branches in parallel. The main
branches are the current stable branch, with an even minor number (like
1.0, 1.2 and 1.4), and the next development branch, with the next odd
number. At the time of writing, the stable branch is dbus 1.12.x and
the development branch is dbus 1.13.x, leading to a new 1.14.x stable
branch in future.
Stable branches are named after the version number itself (`dbus-1.2`,
`dbus-1.4`), whereas the development branch is simply known as
`master`.
New features, enhancements, minor bug fixes, and bug fixes that are
unusually intrusive should always be based on the `master` branch.
Fixes for significant bugs should be developed on the `master` branch
and cherry-picked to the most recent stable branch.
Depending on the release cycles of various Linux distributions, some
older stable branches might continue to receive fixes for security
vulnerabilities (and sometimes major non-security bugs) for a time.
These are announced on the D-Bus mailing list.
Old development branches are not supported at all, and will not receive
any bug fixes - not even for security vulnerabilities. Please do not
use a development branch like 1.13.x in your OS distribution, unless
you can guarantee that you will upgrade to the next stable branch such
as 1.14.x when it becomes available.
### Commits
If you are making changes that you wish to be incorporated upstream,
please do as small commits to your local git tree that are individually
correct, so there is a good history of your changes.
The first line of the commit message should be a single sentence that
describes the change, optionally with a prefix that identifies the
area of the code that is affected.
The body of the commit message should describe what the patch changes
and why, and also note any particular side effects. This shouldn't be
empty on most of the cases. It shouldn't take a lot of effort to write a
commit message for an obvious change, so an empty commit message body is
only acceptable if the questions "What?" and "Why?" are already answered
on the one-line summary.
The lines of the commit message should have at most 76 characters,
to cope with the way git log presents them.
See [notes on commit messages](https://who-t.blogspot.com/2009/12/on-commit-messages.html),
[A Note About Git Commit Messages](https://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html)
or [How to Write a Git Commit Message](https://chris.beams.io/posts/git-commit/)
for recommended reading on writing high-quality commit messages.
Your patches should also include a Signed-off-by line with your name and
email address, indicating that your contribution follows the [Developer's
Certificate of Origin](https://developercertificate.org/). If you're
not the patch's original author, you should also gather S-o-b's by
them (and/or whomever gave the patch to you.) The significance of this
is that it certifies that you created the patch, that it was created
under an appropriate open source license, or provided to you under those
terms. This lets us indicate a chain of responsibility for the copyright
status of the code.
We won't reject patches that lack S-o-b, but it is strongly recommended.
### Sending a merge request
When you consider your changes to be ready for merging to mainline:
* create a personal fork of <https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus>
on freedesktop.org Gitlab
* push your changes to your personal fork as a branch
* create a merge request at
<https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus/merge_requests>
### Security guidelines
Most of D-Bus is security sensitive. Guidelines related to that:
- avoid memcpy(), sprintf(), strlen(), snprintf, strlcat(),
strstr(), strtok(), or any of this stuff. Use DBusString.
If DBusString doesn't have the feature you need, add it
to DBusString.
- avoid `memcpy()`, `sprintf()`, `strlen()`, `snprintf()`, `strlcat()`,
`strstr()`, `strtok()`, or any of this stuff. Use `DBusString`.
If `DBusString` doesn't have the feature you need, add it
to `DBusString`.
There are some exceptions, for example
if your strings are just used to index a hash table
and you don't do any parsing/modification of them, perhaps
DBusString is wasteful and wouldn't help much. But definitely
if you're doing any parsing, reallocation, etc. use DBusString.
`DBusString` is wasteful and wouldn't help much. But definitely
if you're doing any parsing, reallocation, etc. use `DBusString`.
- do not include system headers outside of dbus-memory.c,
dbus-sysdeps.c, and other places where they are already
- do not include system headers outside of `dbus-memory.c`,
`dbus-sysdeps.c`, and other places where they are already
included. This gives us one place to audit all external
dependencies on features in libc, etc.
- do not use libc features that are "complicated"
and may contain security holes. For example, you probably shouldn't
try to use regcomp() to compile an untrusted regular expression.
try to use `regcomp()` to compile an untrusted regular expression.
Regular expressions are just too complicated, and there are many
different libc's out there.
different libc implementations out there.
- we need to design the message bus daemon (and any similar features)
to use limited privileges, run in a chroot jail, and so on.
http://vsftpd.beasts.org/ has other good security suggestions.
## Coding Style
### Coding Style
- The C library uses GNU coding conventions, with GLib-like
extensions (e.g. lining up function arguments). The
Qt wrapper uses KDE coding conventions.
- Please follow the coding style and indentation of nearby code.
- C code uses GNU coding conventions (approximately "gnu" style in
Emacs), with GLib-like extensions (e.g. lining up function arguments).
- Write docs for all non-static functions and structs and so on. try
"doxygen Doxyfile" prior to commit and be sure there are no
warnings printed.
`doxygen Doxyfile` prior to commit and try not to cause any new
warnings.
- All external interfaces (network protocols, file formats, etc.)
should have documented specifications sufficient to allow an
@ -63,89 +173,97 @@ http://vsftpd.beasts.org/ has other good security suggestions.
data). Avoiding heuristics is also important for security reasons;
if it looks funny, ignore it (or exit, or disconnect).
## Development
### Licensing
D-Bus uses Git as its version control system. The main repository is
hosted on freedesktop.org. To clone D-Bus, execute one of the
following commands:
Please match the existing licensing (a dual-license: AFL-2.1 or GPL-2+,
recipient's choice). Entirely new modules can be placed under a more
permissive license: to avoid license proliferation, our preferred
permissive license is the variant of the MIT/X11 license used by the
Expat XML library (for example see the top of tools/ci-build.sh).
git clone https://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/dbus/dbus.git
git clone git://anongit.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus
git clone ssh://git.freedesktop.org/git/dbus/dbus
### Build systems
The last form is the one that allows pushing, but it also requires
an SSH account on the server. The other forms allow anonymous
checkouts.
The primary build system for dbus uses the GNU Autotools suite (Autoconf,
Automake and Libtool). This build system is strongly recommended for
Unix OS integrators. It can also be used to compile dbus for Windows
using the mingw-w64 compiler suite, either by cross-compiling on a Unix
system or by using an environment like MSYS2 on Windows.
D-Bus development happens in two branches in parallel: the current
stable branch, with an even minor number (like 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4), and
the next development branch, with the next odd number.
There is also a CMake build system. This is primarily there to make it
easier to build dbus on Windows, using either a MSYS2/mingw environment
or the MSVC compiler from Microsoft Visual Studio. It can also be used
on a GNU/Linux system, but this is not recommended for OS integrators.
The stable branch is named after the version number itself (dbus-1.2,
dbus-1.4), whereas the development branch is simply known as "master".
Changes contributed to dbus must not break the build for either of these
build systems. It is OK for the CMake build system to support fewer
options, support fewer operating systems, have less test coverage or
build fewer non-essential programs, but it must continue to work on at
least GNU/Linux and Windows.
When making a change to D-Bus, do the following:
### Environment variables
- check out the earliest branch of D-Bus that makes sense to have
your change in. If it's a bugfix, it's normally the current stable
branch; if it's a feature, it's normally the "master" branch. If
you have an important security fix, you may want to apply to older
branches too.
These are some of the environment variables that are used by the D-Bus
client library.
- for large changes:
if you're developing a new, large feature, it's recommended
to create a new branch and do your development there. Publish
your branch at a suitable place and ask others to help you
develop and test it. Once your feature is considered finalised,
you may merge it into the "master" branch.
* `DBUS_VERBOSE=1`
- for small changes:
. make your change to the source code
. execute tests to guarantee that you're not introducing a
regression. For that, execute: make check
(if possible, add a new test to check the fix you're
introducing)
. commit your change using "git commit"
in the commit message, write a short sentence describing what
you did in the first line. Then write a longer description in
the next paragraph(s).
. repeat the previous steps if necessary to have multiple commits
Turns on printing verbose messages. This only works if D-Bus has been
compiled with `--enable-verbose-mode`.
- extract your patches and send to the D-Bus mailing list for
review or post them to the D-Bus Bugzilla, attaching them to a bug
report. To extract the patches, execute:
git format-patch origin/master
* `DBUS_MALLOC_FAIL_NTH=n`
- once your code has been reviewed, you may push it to the Git
server:
git push origin my-branch:remote
OR
git push origin dbus-X.Y
OR
git push origin master
(consult the Git manual to know which command applies)
Can be set to a number, causing every *n*th call to `dbus_alloc` or
`dbus_realloc` to fail. This only works if D-Bus has been compiled with
`--enable-embedded-tests`.
- (Optional) if you've not worked on "master", merge your changes to
that branch. If you've worked on an earlier branch than the current
stable, merge your changes upwards towards the stable branch, then
from there into "master".
* `DBUS_MALLOC_FAIL_GREATER_THAN=n`
. execute: git checkout master
. ensure that you have the latest "master" from the server, update
if you don't
. execute: git merge dbus-X.Y
. if you have any conflicts, resolve them, git add the conflicted
files and then git commit
. push the "master" branch to the server as well
Can be set to a number, causing every call to `dbus_alloc` or
`dbus_realloc` to fail if the number of bytes to be allocated is greater
than the specified number. This only works if D-Bus has been compiled with
`--enable-embedded-tests`.
Executing this merge is recommended, but not necessary for all
changes. You should do this step if your bugfix is critical for the
development in "master", or if you suspect that conflicts will arise
(you're usually the best person to resolve conflicts introduced by
your own code), or if it has been too long since the last merge.
* `DBUS_TEST_MALLOC_FAILURES=n`
Many of the D-Bus tests will run over and over, once for each `malloc`
involved in the test. Each run will fail a different `malloc`, plus some
number of `malloc`s following that malloc (because a fair number of bugs
only happen if two or more `malloc`s fail in a row, e.g. error recovery
that itself involves `malloc`). This environment variable sets the
number of consecutive `malloc`s to fail.
## Making a release
Here's why you care: If set to 0, then the `malloc` checking is skipped,
which makes the test suite a lot faster. Just run with this
environment variable unset before you commit.
### Tests
Please try to write test coverage for all new functionality.
We have two broad categories of tests.
The *modular tests* are enabled by configuring with
`--enable-modular-tests`. These mostly use GLib's GTest framework,
and are standalone programs that do not affect the contents of the
production dbus library and programs. Most of them can be installed
alongside the library and programs by configuring with
`--enable-installed-tests`.
The *embedded tests* are enabled by configuring with
`--enable-embedded-tests`. Unlike the modular tests, enabling the
embedded tests adds special code to libdbus and dbus-daemon, some of
which may harm performance or security. A production version of dbus
that will be included in an operating system should never have the
embedded tests enabled.
If possible, new test coverage should be provided via modular tests,
preferably using GLib's GTest framework. `test/dbus-daemon.c` is a good
example.
## Information for maintainers
This section is not directly relevant to infrequent contributors.
### Releasing
To make a release of D-Bus, do the following:
@ -201,16 +319,9 @@ To make a release of D-Bus, do the following:
adding the new release under the Download heading. Then, cut the
link and changelog for the previous that was there.
- update the wiki page
http://www.freedesktop.org/Software/DbusReleaseArchive pasting the
previous release. Note that bullet points for each of the changelog
items must be indented three more spaces to conform to the
formatting of the other releases there.
- post to dbus@lists.freedesktop.org announcing the release.
## Making a ".0" stable release
### Making a ".0" stable release
We create a branch for each stable release. The branch name should be
dbus-X.Y which is a branch that has releases versioned X.Y.Z;
@ -235,89 +346,21 @@ To develop in this branch:
git checkout dbus-X.Y
## Environment variables
### Code reviews
These are the environment variables that are used by the D-Bus client library
The commit rules are approximately these:
* `DBUS_VERBOSE=1`
Turns on printing verbose messages. This only works if D-Bus has been
compiled with --enable-verbose-mode
* `DBUS_MALLOC_FAIL_NTH=n`
Can be set to a number, causing every nth call to dbus_alloc or
dbus_realloc to fail. This only works if D-Bus has been compiled with
--enable-tests.
* `DBUS_MALLOC_FAIL_GREATER_THAN=n`
Can be set to a number, causing every call to dbus_alloc or
dbus_realloc to fail if the number of bytes to be allocated is greater
than the specified number. This only works if D-Bus has been compiled with
--enable-tests.
* `DBUS_TEST_MALLOC_FAILURES=n`
Many of the D-Bus tests will run over and over, once for each malloc
involved in the test. Each run will fail a different malloc, plus some
number of mallocs following that malloc (because a fair number of bugs
only happen if two or more mallocs fail in a row, e.g. error recovery
that itself involves malloc). This env variable sets the number of
mallocs to fail.
Here's why you care: If set to 0, then the malloc checking is skipped,
which makes the test suite a heck of a lot faster. Just run with this
env variable unset before you commit.
## Tests
These are the test programs that are built if dbus is compiled using
--enable-tests.
* `dbus/test-dbus`
This is the main unit test program that tests all aspects of the D-Bus
client library.
* `dbus/bus-test`
This it the unit test program for the message bus.
* `test/break-loader`
A test that tries to break the message loader by passing it randomly
created invalid messages.
* `test/name-test/*`
This is a suite of programs which are run with a temporary session bus.
If your test involves multiple processes communicating, your best bet
is to add a test in here.
"make check" runs all the deterministic test programs (i.e. not break-loader).
"make lcov-check" is available if you configure with --enable-compiler-coverage
and gives a complete report on test suite coverage.
## Patches
Please file them at http://bugzilla.freedesktop.org under component
dbus, and also post to the mailing list for discussion. The commit
rules are:
- for fixes that don't affect API or protocol, they can be committed
- Fixes that don't affect API or protocol can be committed
if any one qualified reviewer other than patch author
reviews and approves
- for fixes that do affect API or protocol, two people
in the reviewer group have to review and approve the commit, and
posting to the list is definitely mandatory
- For fixes that do affect API or protocol, two people
in the reviewer group have to review and approve the commit.
- if there's a live unresolved controversy about a change,
- If there's a live unresolved controversy about a change,
don't commit it while the argument is still raging.
- at their discretion, members of the reviewer group may also commit
- At their discretion, members of the reviewer group may also commit
branches/patches under these conditions:
- the branch does not add or change API, ABI or wire-protocol
@ -325,48 +368,25 @@ rules are:
- the branch solves a known problem and is covered by the regression tests
- there are no objections from the rest of the review group within
a week of the patches being attached to Bugzilla
a week of the merge request being opened
- the committer gets a positive review on Bugzilla from someone they
consider qualified to review the change (e.g. a colleague with D-Bus
- the committer gets a positive review on the merge request from someone
they consider qualified to review the change (e.g. a colleague with D-Bus
experience; not necessarily a member of the reviewer group)
- regardless of reviews, to commit a patch:
- make check must pass
- Regardless of reviews, to commit a patch:
- `make check` must pass
- the test suite must be extended to cover the new code
as much as reasonably feasible (see Tests above)
- the patch has to follow the portability, security, and
style guidelines
- the patch should as much as reasonable do one thing,
not many unrelated changes
No reviewer should approve a patch without these attributes, and
failure on these points is grounds for reverting the patch.
The reviewer group that can approve patches:
Havoc Pennington <hp@pobox.net>
Michael Meeks <michael.meeks@novell.com>
Alexander Larsson <alexl@redhat.com>
Zack Rusin <zack@kde.org>
Joe Shaw <joe@assbarn.com>
Mikael Hallendal <micke@imendio.com>
Richard Hult <richard@imendio.com>
Owen Fraser-Green <owen@discobabe.net>
Olivier Andrieu <oliv__a@users.sourceforge.net>
Colin Walters <walters@verbum.org>
Thiago Macieira <thiago@kde.org>
John Palmieri <johnp@redhat.com>
Scott James Remnant <scott@netsplit.com>
Will Thompson <will.thompson@collabora.co.uk>
Simon McVittie <simon.mcvittie@collabora.co.uk>
David Zeuthen <davidz@redhat.com>
## Code of Conduct
As a freedesktop.org project, dbus follows the Contributor Covenant,
found at: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/CodeOfConduct
Please conduct yourself in a respectful and civilised manner when
interacting with community members on mailing lists, IRC, or bug
trackers. The community represents the project as a whole, and abusive
or bullying behaviour is not tolerated by the project.
The reviewer group that can approve patches consists of the members
of <https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus/project_members> with
"Maintainer" or "Owner" status.