path: root/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-newbie.xml

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<chapter id='dev-manual-newbie'>

<title>The Yocto Project Open Source Development Environment</title>

<para>
    This chapter helps you understand the Yocto Project as an open source development project.
    In general, working in an open-source environment is very different than working in a 
    proprietary environment.  
    Additionally, the Yocto Project uses specific tools and constructs as part of its development 
    environment.  
    The chapter specifically addresses open source philosophy, licensing issues, code repositories, 
    the open source distributed version control system Git, and best practices using Yocto Project.
</para>

<section id='open-source-philosophy'>
    <title>Open Source Philosophy</title>

    <para>
        Open source philosophy is characterized by software development directed by peer production 
        and collaboration through a concerned community of developers.  
        Contrast this to the more standard centralized development models used by commercial software 
        companies where a finite set of developers produce a product for sale using a defined set 
        of procedures that ultimately result in an end-product whose architecture and source material 
        are closed to the public.
    </para>

    <para>
        Open source projects conceptually have differing concurrent agendas, approaches, and production.   
        These facets of the development process can come from anyone in the public (community) that has a 
        stake in the software project.  
        The open source environment contains new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues 
        that differ from the more traditional development environment.  
        In an open source environment the end-product, source material, and documentation are 
        all available to the public at no cost.
    </para>

    <para>
        A benchmark example of an open source project is the Linux Kernel, which was initially conceived 
        and created by Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds in 1991.  
        Conversely, a good example of a non-open source project is the Windows family of operating 
        systems developed by Microsoft Corporation.
    </para>

    <para>
        Wikipedia has a good historical description of the Open Source Philosophy  
        <ulink url='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source'>here</ulink>. 
    </para>

    <para>
        You can also find helpful information on how to participate in the Linux Community 
        <ulink url='http://ldn.linuxfoundation.org/book/how-participate-linux-community'>here</ulink>.
    </para>
</section>

<section id='yocto-project-repositories'>
    <title>Yocto Project Source Repositories</title>

    <para>
        The Yocto Project team maintains complete source repositories for all Yocto Project files 
        <ulink url='http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi'>here</ulink>.
        This web-based source code browser is organized into categories by function such as
        IDE Plugins, Matchbox, Poky, Yocto Linux Kernel, and so forth.
        From the interface, you can click on any particular item in the "Name" column and 
        see the URL at the bottom of the page that you need to set up a Git repository for 
        that particular item.
        The ability to create Git repositories of the Yocto Project source allows you to 
        make changes, contribute to the history, and ultimately enhance the Yocto Project's 
        tools, Board Support Packages, and so forth.
    </para>

    <para>  
        Conversely, if you are a developer that is not interested in contributing back to the 
        Yocto Project you have the ability to simply download and extract release tarballs
        and use them within the Yocto Project environment.
        All that is required is a particular release of Yocto Project, a kernel, and 
        your application source code.  
    </para>

    <para>
        For any supported release of Yocto Project you can go to the Yocto Project website’s 
        <ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org/download'>download page</ulink> and get a 
        <filename>.bz2</filename> tarball of the release.  
        You can also go to this site to download any supported BSP tarballs.
        Unpacking the tarball gives you a hierarchical directory structure of Yocto Project 
        files that lets you develop using the Yocto Project.
    </para>

    <para>
        Once you are set up through either tarball extraction or creation of Git repositories, 
        you are ready to develop.
    </para>

    <para>
        In summary, here is where you can get the Yocto Project files needed for development:
        <itemizedlist>
            <listitem><para><emphasis><ulink url='http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi'>Source Repositories:</ulink></emphasis>
                This area contains IDE Plugins, Matchbox, Poky, Poky Support, Tools, Yocto Linux Kernel, and Yocto 
                Metadata Layers.
                You can create Git repositories for each of these areas.</para>
                <para>
                <imagedata fileref="figures/source-repos.png" align="center" width="6in" depth="4in" />
                </para></listitem>
            <listitem><para><anchor id='index-downloads' /><emphasis><ulink url='http://autobuilder.yoctoproject.org/downloads/'>Index of /downloads:</ulink></emphasis>
                This area contains an index of the Eclipse-plugin, miscellaneous support, poky, pseudo, and 
                all released versions of Yocto Project in the form of images or tarballs.
                Downloading and extracting these files does not produce a Git repository but rather 
                a snapshot of a particular release or image. 
                [WRITER NOTE: link will be http://downloads.yoctoproject.org.]</para>
                <para>
                <imagedata fileref="figures/index-downloads.png" align="center" width="6in" depth="4in" />
                </para></listitem>
            <listitem><para><emphasis><ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org/download'>Yocto Project Download Page</ulink></emphasis>
                This page on the Yocto Project website allows you to download any Yocto Project
                release or Board Support Package (BSP) in tarball form.
                The tarballs are similar to those found in the 
                <ulink url='http://autobuilder.yoctoproject.org/downloads/'>Index of /downloads:</ulink> area.</para>
                <para>
                <imagedata fileref="figures/yp-download.png" align="center" width="6in" depth="4in" />
            </para></listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
    </para>
</section>

<section id='yocto-project-terms'>
    <title>Yocto Project Terms</title>

    <para>
        Following is a list of terms and definitions users new to the Yocto Project development 
        environment might find helpful.
        Some terms are universal but are included here just in case:
    <itemizedlist>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Image</emphasis> - An image is a collection of recipes created
            with BitBake (baked) and made part of a root filesystem.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Recipe</emphasis> - A set of instructions for building packages.  
            A recipe describes where you get source code and which patches to apply.
            Recipes describe dependencies for libraries or for other recipes and they 
            also contain configuration and compilation options.  
            Recipes also let you customize how software is installed into images.  
            Recipes contain the logical unit of execution, the software/images to build and 
            use the <filename>.bb</filename> file extension.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>BitBake</emphasis> - The task executor and scheduler used by Yocto Project
            to build images. 
            For more information on BitBake, see the <ulink url='http://bitbake.berlios.de/manual/'>
            BitBake documentation</ulink>.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Package</emphasis> - The output from a baked recipe.
            A package is generally the compiled binaries produced from the recipe's sources.  
            You ‘bake’ something by running it through BitBake.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Layer</emphasis> - A logical collection of recipes representing the core, 
            a BSP, or an application stack.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Metadata</emphasis> - Information for a build that is generally 
            architecture-independent.  
            This information includes Task definitions in recipes, classes, and configuration 
            information.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Configuration File</emphasis>:  Configuration information in the 
            <filename>.conf</filename> files provides global definitions of variables.  
            The <filename>build/conf/local.conf</filename> configuration file defines local user-defined variables.  
            The <filename>distro/poky.conf</filename> configuration file defines Yocto ‘distro’ configuration 
            variables.  
            The <filename>machine/beagleboard.conf</filename> configuration file defines machine-specific variables
            (i.e. Texas Instruments ARM Cortex-A8 development board in this example.  
            Configuration files end with a <filename>.conf</filename> filename extension.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Classes</emphasis> - Files that encapsulate and inherit logic.  
            Class files end with the <filename>.bbclass</filename> filename extension.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Append Files</emphasis> - Files that append build information to 
            a recipe file.  
            Information in append files override the information in the similarly-named recipe file.
            Append files use the <filename>.bbappend</filename> filename suffix.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Tasks</emphasis> - Arbitrary groups of software used to contain Recipes.  
            You simply use Tasks to hold recipes that when build usually accomplished a single task.  
            For example, a task could contain the recipes for a company’s proprietary or value-add software.  
            Or the task could contain the recipes that enable graphics. 
            A task is really just another recipe.  
            Because task files are recipes, they end with the <filename>.bb</filename> filename 
            extension.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>OE-Core</emphasis> - A core set of metadata originating 
            with OpenEmbedded (OE) that is shared between OE and the Yocto Project.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Upstream</emphasis> - A reference to source code or repositories
            that are not local to the development system but located in a master area that is controlled
            by the maintainer of the source code.
            For example, in order for a developer to work on a particular piece of code they need to 
            first get a copy of it from an "upstream" source.</para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    </para>
</section>

<section id='licensing'>
    <title>Licensing</title>

    <para>
        Because open source projects are open to the public they have different licensing structures in place.  
        License evolution for both Open Source and Free Software has an interesting history.  
        If you are interested in the history you can find basic information here:
    <itemizedlist>
        <listitem><para><ulink url='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_license'>Open source license history</ulink>
            </para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><ulink url='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_license'>Free software license
            history</ulink></para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    </para>

    <para>
        In general, Yocto Project is broadly licensed under the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
        (MIT) License.  
        MIT licensing permits the reuse of software within proprietary software as long as the 
        license is distributed with that software.  
        MIT is also compatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL).  
        Patches to the Yocto Project follow the upstream licensing scheme.
    </para>

    <para>
        You can find information on the MIT License <ulink url='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_License'>here</ulink>.
        You can find information on the GNU GPL <ulink url='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPL'>here</ulink>. 
    </para>

    <para>
        When you build an image using Yocto Project, the build process uses a known list of licenses to 
        ensure compliance.  
        Once the build completes, the list of all licenses found and used during the build are 
        kept in the resulting build directory at 
        <filename>&lt;build_directory&gt;/tmp/deploy/images/licenses</filename>.  
        If a module requires a license that is not in the base list, the build process 
        generates a warning during the build.  
        It is up to the developer to resolve potential licensing issues.
    </para>

    <para>
        The base list of licenses used by the build process is a combination of the Software Package 
        Data Exchange (SPDX) list and the Open Source Initiative (OSI) projects.  
        <ulink url='http://spdx.org'>SPDX Group</ulink> is a working group of the Linux Foundation 
        that maintains a specification 
        for a standard format for communicating the components, licenses, and copyrights 
        associated with a software package.  
        <ulink url='http://opensource.org'>OSI</ulink> is a corporation dedicated to the Open Source 
        Definition and the effort for reviewing 
        and approving licenses that are OSD-conformant.  
    </para>

    <para>
        You can find a list of the combined SPDX and OSI licenses that the Yocto Project uses 
        <ulink url='http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi/poky/tree/meta/files/common-licenses'>here</ulink>.
        The wiki page discusses the license infrastructure used by the Yocto Project.
    </para>
</section>

<section id='git'>
    <title>Git</title>

    <para>
        The Yocto Project uses Git, which is a free, open source distributed version control system.  
        Git supports distributed development, non-linear development, and can handle large projects.  
        It is best that you know how to work with Git if you are going to use Yocto Project for development.  
    </para>

    <para>
        Git has an extensive set of commands that lets you manage changes and perform 
        collaboration over the life of a project.  
        Conveniently though, you can manage with a small set of basic operations and workflows 
        once you understand the basic philosophy behind Git.  
        You do not have to be an expert in Git to be functional.  
        A good place to look for instruction on a minimal set of Git commands is 
        <ulink url='http://git-scm.com/documentation'>here</ulink>.   
        If you need to download Git you can do so 
        <ulink url='http://git-scm.com/download'>here</ulink>. 
    </para>

    <para>
        Git works by using branching techniques that track content change (not files) 
        within a project (e.g. a new feature or updated documentation).  
        Creating a tree-like structure based on project divergence allows for excellent historical 
        information over the life of a project.  
        This methodology also allows for an environment in which you can do lots of 
        experimentation on your project as you develop changes or new features.  
        For example, you can create a “branch”, experiment with some feature, and then 
        if you like the feature you incorporate the branch into the tree.  
        If you don’t, you cut the branch off by deleting it.  
    </para>

    <para>
        If you don’t know much about Git, we suggest you educate            
        yourself by visiting the links previously mentioned.
    </para>

    <para>
        The following list briefly describes some basic Git operations as a way to get started.  
        As with any set of commands, this list (in most cases) simply shows the base command and 
        omits the many arguments they support.  
        See the Git documentation for complete descriptions and strategies on how to use these commands:
    <itemizedlist>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git init</filename></emphasis> – Initializes an empty Git repository.  
            You cannot use Git commands unless you have a <filename>.git</filename> repository.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git clone</filename></emphasis> – Creates a clone of a repository.  
            During collaboration this command allows you to create a local repository that is on 
            equal footing with a fellow developer’s repository.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git add</filename></emphasis> – Adds updated file contents to the index that 
            Git uses to track changes.  
            All files that have changed must be added before they can be committed.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git commit</filename></emphasis> – Creates a “commit” that documents 
            the changes you made.  
            Commits are used for historical purposes, for determining if a maintainer of a project 
            will allow the change, and for ultimately pushing the change from your local Git repository 
            into the project’s upstream (or master) repository.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git status</filename></emphasis> – Reports any modified files that 
            possibly need added and committed.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git checkout &lt;branch-name&gt;</filename></emphasis> - Changes 
            your working branch.  This command is analogous to “cd”.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git checkout –b &lt;working-branch&gt;</filename></emphasis> - Creates 
            a working branch on your local machine where you can isolate work.  
            It is a good idea to use local branches when adding specific features or changes.  
            This way if you don’t like what you have done you can easily get rid of the work.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git branch</filename></emphasis> – Reports existing branches and 
            tells you which branch in which you are currently working.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git branch -D &lt;branch-name&gt;</filename></emphasis> – 
            Deletes an existing branch.  You need to be in a branch other than the one you are deleting 
            in order to delete &lt;branch-name&gt;.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git pull</filename></emphasis> – Retrieves information from an upstream Git 
            repository and places it in your local Git repository.  
            You use this command to make sure you are synchronized with the upstream repository 
            from which the project’s maintainer uses to pull changes into the master repository.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git push</filename></emphasis> – Sends all your local changes you 
            have committed to an upstream Git repository.  
            The maintainer of the project draws from these repositories when adding your changes to the 
            project’s master repository.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git merge</filename></emphasis> – Combines or adds changes from one 
            local branch of your repository with another branch.  
            When you create a local Git repository the default branch is named “master”.  
            A typical workflow is to create a temporary branch for isolated work, make and commit your 
            changes, switch to the master branch, merge the changes from the temporary branch into the 
            master branch, and then delete the temporary branch</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git cherry-pick</filename></emphasis> – Choose and apply specific 
            commits from one branch into another branch.  
            There are times when you might not be able to merge all the changes in one branch with 
            another but need to pick out certain ones.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>gitk</filename></emphasis> – Provides a GUI view of the branches 
            and changes in your local Git repository.  
            This command is a good way to see where things have diverged in your local repository.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis><filename>git log</filename></emphasis> – Reports a history of your changes to the 
            repository.</para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    </para>
</section>

<section id='workflows'>
    <title>Workflows</title>

    <para>
        This section provides some overview on workflows using Git.  
        In particular, the information covers basic practices that describe roles and actions in a 
        collaborative development environment.  
        Again, if you are familiar with this type of development environment you might want to just skip the section. 
    </para>

    <para>
        The Yocto Project files are maintained using Git in a "master" branch whose Git history 
        tracks every change and whose structure provides branches for all diverging functionality.
        This is typical for open-source projects, although Git does not have to be used.
        For the Yocto Project a key individual called the "maintainer" is responsible for "master".  
        The "master" branch is the “upstream” repository where the final builds of the project occur.  
        The maintainer is responsible for allowing changes in from other developers and for 
        organizing the underlying branch structure to reflect release strategies and so forth.  
    </para>

    <para>
        The project also has contribution repositories known as “contrib” areas.  
        These areas temporarily hold changes to the project that have been submitted or committed 
        by the Yocto Project development team and by community members that contribute to the project.  
        The maintainer determines if the changes are qualified to be moved from the "contrib" areas
        into the "master" branch of the Git repository.
    </para>

    <para>
        Developers (including contributing community members) create and maintain cloned repositories 
        of the upstream "master" branch.  
        These repositories are local to their development platforms and are used to develop changes.  
        When a developer is satisfied with a particular feature or change they “push” the changes 
        to the appropriate "contrib" repository.
    </para>

    <para>  
        Developers are responsible for keeping their local repository up-to-date with "master".  
        They are also responsible for straightening out any conflicts that might arise within files 
        that are being worked on simultaneously by more than one person.  
        All this work is done locally on the developer’s machine before anything is pushed to a 
        "contrib" area and examined at the maintainer’s level.
    </para>

    <para>
        A somewhat formal method exists by which developers commit changes and push them into the 
        "contrib" area and subsequently request that the maintainer include them into "master"  
        This process is called “submitting a patch” or “submitting a change.”  
    </para>

    <para>
        To summarize the environment:  we have a single point of entry for changes into the project’s 
        "master" branch of the Git repository, which is controlled by the project’s maintainer.  
        And, we have a set of developers who independently develop, test, and submit changes 
        to "contrib" areas for the maintainer to examine.  
        The maintainer then chooses which changes are going to become permanently a part of the project.  
    </para>

    <para>
        [WRITER NOTE: Would like a figure here for Git workflow]
    </para>

    <para>
        While each development environment is unique, there are some best practices or methods 
        that help development run smoothly.  
        The following list describes some of these practices.  
        For more detailed information about these strategies see 
        <ulink url='http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/gitworkflows.html'>Git Workflows</ulink>. 
    <itemizedlist>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Make Small Changes</emphasis> - It is best to keep your changes you commit 
            small as compared to bundling many disparate changes into a single commit.  
            This practice not only keeps things manageable but also allows the maintainer 
            to more easily include or refuse changes.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Use Branches Liberally</emphasis> - It is very easy to create, use, and 
            delete local branches in your working Git repository.  
            You can name these branches anything you like.  
            It is helpful to give them names associated with the particular feature or change 
            on which you are working.  
            Once you are done with a feature or change you simply discard the branch.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Merge Changes</emphasis> - The <filename>git merge</filename>
            command allows you to take the 
            changes from one branch and fold them into another branch.  
            This process is especially helpful when more than a single developer might be working 
            on different parts of the same feature.  
            Merging changes also automatically identifies any collisions or “conflicts” 
            that might happen resulting from the same lines of code being altered by two different 
            developers.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Manage Branches</emphasis> - Because branches are easy to use, you should 
            use a system where branches indicate varying levels of code readiness.  
            For example, you can have a “work” branch to develop in, a “test” branch where the code or 
            change is tested, a “stage” branch where changes are ready to be committed, and so forth.  
            As your project develops, you can merge code across the branches to reflect ever-increasing 
            stable states of the development.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Use Push and Pull</emphasis> - The push-pull workflow is based on the 
            concept of developers “pushing” local commits to a remote repository, which is 
            usually a contribution repository.  
            It is also based on the developers “pulling” known states of the project down into their 
            local development repositories.  
            This workflow easily allows you to pull changes submitted by other developers from the 
            upstream repository into your work area ensuring that you have the most recent software 
            on which to develop.
            The Yocto Project has two scripts named <filename>create-pull-request</filename> and 
            <filename>send-pull-request</filename> that ship with the release to facilitate this 
            workflow.
            You can find these scripts in the local Yocto Project files Git repository in
            <filename>scripts</filename>.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para><emphasis>Patch Workflow</emphasis> - This workflow allows you to notify the 
            maintainer through an email that you have a change (or patch) you would like considered 
            for the "master" branch of the Git repository.  
            To send this type of change you format the patch and then send the email using the Git commands 
            <filename>git format-patch</filename> and <filename>git send-email</filename>. 
            You can find information on how to submit later in this chapter.</para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    </para>
</section>

<section id='tracking-bugs'>
    <title>Tracking Bugs</title>

    <para>
        The Yocto Project uses <ulink url='http://www.bugzilla.org/about/'>Bugzilla</ulink> to track bugs.  
        This bug-tracking application works well for group development because it tracks bugs and code 
        changes, can be used to communicate changes and problems with developers, can be used to 
        submit and review patches, and can be used to manage quality assurance.  
        You can find a good overview of Bugzilla <ulink url='http://www.bugzilla.org/about/'>here</ulink>.     
    </para>

    <para>
        Sometimes it is helpful to submit, investigate, or track a bug against the Yocto Project itself.  
        While normally this is a process relevant only to Yocto Project developers, you can find information 
        for Bugzilla configuration and bug tracking procedures specific to the Yocto Project 
        <ulink url='https://wiki.yoctoproject.org/wiki/Bugzilla_Configuration_and_Bug_Tracking'>here</ulink>.     
    </para>

    <para>
        The Yocto Project uses its own version of the Bugzilla application.  
        You can find the home page <ulink url='http://bugzilla.yoctoproject.org'>here</ulink>.  
        You need to use this implementation of Bugzilla when logging a defect against anything released 
        by the Yocto Project team.     
    </para>

    <para>
        Here are some things to remember when dealing with bugs against the Yocto Project:   
    <itemizedlist>
        <listitem><para>The Yocto Project follows a naming bug-naming convention: 
            <filename>[YOCTO &lt;number&gt;]</filename>, where <filename>&lt;number&gt;</filename> is the 
            assigned defect ID used in Bugzilla.  
            So, for example, a valid way to refer to a defect when creating a commit comment 
            would be <filename>[YOCTO 1011]</filename>.   
            This convention becomes important if you are submitting patches against the Yocto Project 
            code itself.
            See the following section for more information.</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para>Defects for Yocto Project fall into one of four classifications:  Yocto Projects, 
            Infrastructure, Poky, and Yocto Metadata Layers.</para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    </para>
</section>

<section id='how-to-submit-a-change'>
    <title>How to Submit a Change</title>

    <para>
        During the development process it is necessary to submit your changes to the maintainer 
        of the project.  
        Furthermore, in a collaborative environment it is necessary to have some sort of standard 
        or method through which you submit changes.  
        Otherwise, things would get quite chaotic.  
    </para>

    <para>
        When you submit a change or patch to the Yocto Project you must follow certain procedures.  
        In particular, the headers in patches and the commit messages must follow a certain standard.  
        The general process is the same as described earlier in this chapter.  
        For complete details on how to create proper commit messages and patch headers see 
        [WRITER NOTE:  I need the link to Mark's wiki page here that describes the process.]
    </para>

    <para>
        Following are general instructions for both pushing changes upstream and for submitting changes as patches.
    </para>

    <section id='pushing-a-change-upstream'>
        <title>Pushing a Change Upstream</title>

        <para>
            The basic flow for pushing a change to an upstream "contrib" Git repository is as follows:
        <itemizedlist>
            <listitem><para>Make your changes in your local Git repository.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Stage your commit (or change) by using the <filename>git add</filename>
                command.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Commit the change by using the <filename>git commit</filename>
                command and push it to the upstream "contrib" repository.  
                Be sure to provide a commit message that follows the project’s commit standards.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Notify the maintainer that you have pushed a change.</para></listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
            You can find general Git information on how to push a change upstream 
            <ulink url='http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/user-manual.html#Developing-With-git'>
            here</ulink>.
        </para>
    </section>

    <section id='submitting-a-patch'>
        <title>Submitting a Patch</title>

        <para>
            If you have a just a few changes you can commit them and then submit them as an email to the maintainer.
            Here is the general procedure:
        <itemizedlist>
            <listitem><para>Make your changes in your local Git repository.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Stage your commit (or change) by using the <filename>git add</filename>
                command.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Commit the change by using the <filename>git commit</filename> command.  
                Be sure to provide a commit message that follows the project’s commit standards.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Format the commit by using the <filename>git format-patch</filename>
                command.  
                This step produces a numbered series of files in the current directory – one for 
                each commit.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Import the files into your mail client by using the 
                <filename>git-send-email</filename> command.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Send the email by hand to the maintainer.</para></listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
             Be aware that there could be protocols and standards that you need to follow for your particular 
             project.
             You can find general Git information for submitting a patch  
             <ulink url='http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/user-manual.html#sharing-development'>
             here</ulink>. 
        </para>
    </section>
</section>
















</chapter>
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