HOW-TO:Submit a patch: Difference between revisions

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XBMC is a non-profit open source hobby project that is developed only by volunteers in their spare-time without any monetary gain. The team of developers working on XBMC encurage anyone submit your own source code patches for bug-fixes, new features/functions, improvements to existing ones. All and any help/additions/contributions to the source code are appriciated, and please note that even though we will do our best to look at and give feedback on your code/patch as soon as possible please understand trhat there are no garantees that your patch will be accepted and implemented into XBMC. Please be patient (especially during public holiday periods). Please understand that clean and well documented code will most likely be looked at and implemented sooner than messy and undocumented code.
{{cleanup}}


:'''Note!''' We know our rules place a burden on you the submitter, but rest assured that maintaining a big and complex software project is even harder, so please accept our rules. We cannot afford to spend too much of our time fixing buggy, broken or outdated patches. The closer you follow our rules the higher is the probability that your patch will be included.
Kodi is a non-profit open source hobby project that is developed by volunteers in their spare time without any monetary gain.
The team of developers working on Kodi encourage anyone submit source code patches for bug-fixes, new features/functions or improvements to existing ones.
Any and all contributions to the source code are appreciated, though please understand that there is no guarantee that your patch will be accepted and implemented into Kodi.
If you wish to have input from Kodi developers prior to implementing a feature or improvement, please open a discussion on the [http://forum.kodi.tv kodi forums]. Lastly, understand that it may take us a little while to review your patch, so please be patient - clean and well documented code will most likely be looked at sooner than messy or undocumented code.




==Submitting a source code patch==
{{Bluev|'''NOTE!'''|
If it is under 255KB in size then please submit it on our [http://trac.xbmc.org XBMC Patch-Tracker] (you may [http://www.winzip.com zip] and/or split it if needed), otherwise please upload it somewhere on the internet and port the URL. Then to get some attention please post a new topic-thread in the development-section of our community-forums telling everyone about the patch and its functions/features, this also allows for a more open discussion about possible improvements/enhancements or additions and bugs/fixes.
We know our rules place a burden on you the submitter, but rest assured that maintaining a large, complex software project is even harder, so please accept the rules that have been set before you here. These rules are there for a reason, we cannot afford to spend too much of our time fixing buggy, broken or outdated patches. The closer you follow our rules the higher is the likelihood that your patch will be accepted.}}


==Minimum requirements==
= Code submissions =
We currently don't have any other minimum requirements other than the code being under [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html LGPL] or [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GPL] license and that all/any comments and documentation should be in correct and in English. Clean and well documented ([http://doxygen.org doxygen]) code are also more ''appreciated'' than messy and undocumented code. Please also try try to avoid code duplications as the Xbox hardware-platform which (we still try to stay backwards compatible with whenever possible) is quite resource restrictive.
Please submit all code submissions as a "''pull request''" to the [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pulls Kodi Github ] - see the section below for information on how to create a pull request. Then to get some attention please also post a new thread in the development-section of our [http://forum.kodi.tv forums] describing the patch. Doing so allows for a more open discussion with the whole Kodi community including non-developers about possible improvements/enhancements or additions and bugs/fixes. Note that any code you submit will be (c) Team XBMC.


==Code documentation==
== Minimum requirements ==
Though not a standard in the XBMC source code tree nor a requirement please try to use [http://www.doxygen.org doxygen] to document your code, and if possible please also add a small readme.txt to the the patch when submitting it, telling people what functions/features it serves and how to apply it.  
We currently do not have any other minimum requirements other than the code being under [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html LGPL] or [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GPL] license, that it is clean and that any comments and documentation be accurate and in English.


==Code guide-lines and formatting conventions==
== Code documentation ==
Still under discussion, please follow or add to the discussion [http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=5238 here]. Modular designs (like libs and DLL) are prefered.
Though not yet a standard in all Kodi source code, please try and document at least the "public" portions of your code using [http://www.doxygen.org doxygen] inline comments.
If you are submitting a new feature or function, please also add a small "''readme.txt''" to the the patch describing the use of feature that may be used as a basis for user documentation in the wiki later. You are most welcome to format this up for the wiki after the patch is submitted.


==Patch format==
== Code guide-lines and formatting conventions ==
Please do not send complete files. These need to be diffed by hand to see the changes, which makes reviews harder and less likely to occur. Besides as soon as one of the files changes, your version becomes harder to apply, thus reducing its chances of being accepted. Please follow these simple rules when making patch for XBMC.
:;Please consult:
{{main|Official:Code guidelines and formatting conventions}}


:'''1.''' Always make patches for Subversion HEAD. We do not accept patches for releases or outdated Subversion revisions.
All code should strive to be platform agnostic - Kodi is multi-platform software, thus any single platform-specific features should be discussed with Kodi team members before being implemented.
Major features should ideally be developed in a separate branch or in small increments so that other members have the opportunity to review the code and comment on it during development.


:'''2.''' Make unified diff created using e.g. svn diff against head ('svn diff' or 'diff -Naur'). Unified diffs can be applied easily with 'patch'. This is much harder with other diff types. Besides, unified diffs are more readable and thus easier to review. Also, if patch is general in nature, the the diff should preferably be against the trunk (and not a branch).
== Patch format ==
Please do not send complete files. These need to be diffed by hand to see the changes, which makes reviews harder and less likely to occur. Besides as soon as one of the files changes, your version becomes harder to apply, thus reducing its chances of being accepted. Please follow these simple rules when making patch for Kodi:


::'''NOTE!''' Please make each patch per feature, (not one patch per source file with multiple features in it).
:'''1.''' Use git to its full potential.  The best thing is to fork the Kodi project on [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc Kodi github], branch from there, and develop your patch on top of HEAD.  See the [https://help.github.com excellent documentation at github] for help with this.


:'''3.''' Please create the diff from the root of the XBMC SVN source tree, this makes the diff easier to apply as it saves the step of searching for and changing to the correct directory.
:'''2.''' Make sure you keep each commit as simple as possible as well as self-contained.  i.e. a commit series that builds at each commit and builds up the functionality required is much nicer than a single huge commit that changes lots of things at once.


:'''4.''' Test the functionality of your patch. We'll *refuse* it if it breaks something, even if it extends other features!
:'''3.''' When you're changing functions that require re-indenting, it's best to do the functionality change in one commit, with a second commit for the cosmetic re-indenting.


:'''5.''' Read your patch. We may *refuse* it if it changes indentation of the code or if it does tab/space conversion or other cosmetic changes!
:'''4.''' Check your commits for unnecessary cosmetic changes such as whitespace changes, particularly for whitespace at end of line.


::'''TIP!''' If you already wrote some code and did cosmetic changes, you can use 'diff -uwbBE' to help you remove them. Do not forget to check the patch to make sure diff did not ignore some important change and remove any remaining cosmetics! To use these options directly with svn, use this command: ''svn diff --diff-cmd diff -x -uwbBE''
:'''5.''' Doxy and new functions added, particularly if they're to the public API of a class. Doxy classes as well if necessary. The important thing is what the function is supposed to do, what parameter values are (plus any default values) and what the return code is.


:'''6.''' Comment parts that really need it (tricky side-effects etc). Always document string operations! Comment on what you are doing and why it is safe. This makes it easy to review and change your code if needed. Commenting trivial code not required. Comments must be English!
:'''6.''' Make sure you maintain const'ness where reasonable.


:'''7.''' If you implement new features, add, change, or modify the behavior of existing features, please do not forget to also update the wiki documentation. The wiki documentation maintainers will assist you in doing this, (start by applying for "ninja" status which means write access to our wiki).  
:'''7.''' If you implement new features or modify the behaviour of existing features, please do not forget to also point out whether any changes are required in the wiki documentation, and ideally perform these changes once your patch series is accepted.


:'''8.''' If you make independent changes, try to submit them as separate patches in separate patch-tracker item to our XBMC patch-tracker. Likewise, if your patch is very big, try splitting it into several self-contained pieces. Each part can then be reviewed and committed separately. Logical units should stay together, though, i.e. do not send a patch for every file or directory you change.
:'''8.''' When you're done, push to your github repo and do a pull request against the main Kodi repository. See the [https://help.github.com excellent documentation at github] for more information.


:'''9.''' Do not upload the patch to a web or FTP site unless it is absolotly no way around it, intsead upload it directly to our XBMC patch-tracker. The fewer steps it takes us to get at the patch the higher the likelihood for it to get reviewed and applied. If your patch is so big you cannot send it by mail, try splitting it into smaller pieces.
:'''9.''' Give us a few days to react. We try to review patches as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we are constantly overloaded with work, be it Kodi-related or from our day to day lives. If your patch seems to be ignored, post a reminder asking for opinions in the forum's development section or as a reply to the original patch ticket, mentioning that you got ignored - we are interested in your work and will eventually either accept it or reject it with an explanation of what we liked and disliked about your patch. Note that we will often ask you to make changes to your patch to make it acceptable before we commit it, so please implement those changes, and update your branch with the changes made as you go. Some of these changes may seem trivial, but the less work we need to do, the faster it'll hit GIT.


:'''10.''' Give us a few days to react. We try to review patches as fast as possible, but unfortunately we are constantly overloaded with work, be it XBMC-related or from our day to day lives. If your patch seems to be ignored, post a reminder asking for opinions as a reply to the original patch and mention that you got ignored. We are interested in your work and will eventually either accept it or reject it with an explanation of what we disliked about your patch. We will often ask you to make changes to your patch to make it acceptable. Implement them if you want to see your patch applied and send the update to the mailing list.
:'''10.''' Enjoy developing for Kodi :)


:'''11.''' Do not immediately ask for Subversion write access. If you have contributed one or more nice, acceptable patches and they need maintaining or you want to be an XBMC developer, you'll get Subversion write access.
= External Links =
* [http://en.tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-Release-Practice-HOWTO/index.html Software releases and good patching practice HOW-TO] great guide for best practice for patches.


:'''12.''' If you send a modified or updated version of your patch, resend the complete patch. It is very time-consuming and error-prone to piece together patches that are distributed over several mails. Please always resend patches as replies to the original mail to keep the thread with the discussion together.
[[Category:How-to|Submit a Patch]]
 
[[Category:Development]]
 
 
[[category:How To|Submit a Patch]]
[[category:Development]]
[[category:Inner Workings]]

Latest revision as of 12:24, 29 April 2015

Cleanup.png This page or section may require cleanup, updating, spellchecking, reformatting and/or updated images. Please improve this page if you can. The discussion page may contain suggestions.


Kodi is a non-profit open source hobby project that is developed by volunteers in their spare time without any monetary gain. The team of developers working on Kodi encourage anyone submit source code patches for bug-fixes, new features/functions or improvements to existing ones. Any and all contributions to the source code are appreciated, though please understand that there is no guarantee that your patch will be accepted and implemented into Kodi. If you wish to have input from Kodi developers prior to implementing a feature or improvement, please open a discussion on the kodi forums. Lastly, understand that it may take us a little while to review your patch, so please be patient - clean and well documented code will most likely be looked at sooner than messy or undocumented code.


NOTE! We know our rules place a burden on you the submitter, but rest assured that maintaining a large, complex software project is even harder, so please accept the rules that have been set before you here. These rules are there for a reason, we cannot afford to spend too much of our time fixing buggy, broken or outdated patches. The closer you follow our rules the higher is the likelihood that your patch will be accepted.


Code submissions

Please submit all code submissions as a "pull request" to the Kodi Github - see the section below for information on how to create a pull request. Then to get some attention please also post a new thread in the development-section of our forums describing the patch. Doing so allows for a more open discussion with the whole Kodi community including non-developers about possible improvements/enhancements or additions and bugs/fixes. Note that any code you submit will be (c) Team XBMC.

Minimum requirements

We currently do not have any other minimum requirements other than the code being under LGPL or GPL license, that it is clean and that any comments and documentation be accurate and in English.

Code documentation

Though not yet a standard in all Kodi source code, please try and document at least the "public" portions of your code using doxygen inline comments. If you are submitting a new feature or function, please also add a small "readme.txt" to the the patch describing the use of feature that may be used as a basis for user documentation in the wiki later. You are most welcome to format this up for the wiki after the patch is submitted.

Code guide-lines and formatting conventions

Please consult

All code should strive to be platform agnostic - Kodi is multi-platform software, thus any single platform-specific features should be discussed with Kodi team members before being implemented. Major features should ideally be developed in a separate branch or in small increments so that other members have the opportunity to review the code and comment on it during development.

Patch format

Please do not send complete files. These need to be diffed by hand to see the changes, which makes reviews harder and less likely to occur. Besides as soon as one of the files changes, your version becomes harder to apply, thus reducing its chances of being accepted. Please follow these simple rules when making patch for Kodi:

1. Use git to its full potential. The best thing is to fork the Kodi project on Kodi github, branch from there, and develop your patch on top of HEAD. See the excellent documentation at github for help with this.
2. Make sure you keep each commit as simple as possible as well as self-contained. i.e. a commit series that builds at each commit and builds up the functionality required is much nicer than a single huge commit that changes lots of things at once.
3. When you're changing functions that require re-indenting, it's best to do the functionality change in one commit, with a second commit for the cosmetic re-indenting.
4. Check your commits for unnecessary cosmetic changes such as whitespace changes, particularly for whitespace at end of line.
5. Doxy and new functions added, particularly if they're to the public API of a class. Doxy classes as well if necessary. The important thing is what the function is supposed to do, what parameter values are (plus any default values) and what the return code is.
6. Make sure you maintain const'ness where reasonable.
7. If you implement new features or modify the behaviour of existing features, please do not forget to also point out whether any changes are required in the wiki documentation, and ideally perform these changes once your patch series is accepted.
8. When you're done, push to your github repo and do a pull request against the main Kodi repository. See the excellent documentation at github for more information.
9. Give us a few days to react. We try to review patches as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we are constantly overloaded with work, be it Kodi-related or from our day to day lives. If your patch seems to be ignored, post a reminder asking for opinions in the forum's development section or as a reply to the original patch ticket, mentioning that you got ignored - we are interested in your work and will eventually either accept it or reject it with an explanation of what we liked and disliked about your patch. Note that we will often ask you to make changes to your patch to make it acceptable before we commit it, so please implement those changes, and update your branch with the changes made as you go. Some of these changes may seem trivial, but the less work we need to do, the faster it'll hit GIT.
10. Enjoy developing for Kodi :)

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