How to write code for CVS

* License of CVS

    CVS is Copyright (C) 1989-2005 The Free Software Foundation, Inc.

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
    the Free Software Foundation; either version 1, or (at your option)
    any later version.

    More details are available in the COPYING file but, in simplified
    terms, this means that any distributed modifications you make to
    this software must also be released under the GNU General Public
    License.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
    GNU General Public License for more details.

* Source

Patches against the development version of CVS are most likely to be accepted:

	$ export CVS_RSH="ssh"
	$ cvs -z3 -d:ext:anoncvs@savannah.nongnu.org:/cvsroot/cvs co ccvs

* Compiler options

If you are using GCC, you'll want to configure with -Wall, which can
detect many programming errors.  This is not the default because it
might cause spurious warnings, but at least on some machines, there
should be no spurious warnings.  For example:

	$ ./configure CPPFLAGS=-Wall

* Backwards Compatibility

Only bug fixes are accepted into the stable branch.  New features should be
applied to the trunk.

If it is not inextricable from a bug fix, CVS's output (to stdout/stderr)
should not be changed on the stable branch in order to best support scripts and
other tools which parse CVS's output.  It is ok to change output between
feature releases (on the trunk), though such changes should be noted in the
NEWS file.

Changes in the way CVS responds to command line options, config options, etc.
should be accompanied by deprecation warnings for an entire stable series of
releases before being changed permanently, if at all possible.

* Indentation style

CVS mostly uses a consistent indentation style which looks like this:

void
foo (char *arg, int c)
{
    long aflag;

    if (arg)
    {
	bar (arg);
	baz (arg);
    }

    switch (c)
    {
      case 'A':
        aflag = 1;
        break;
      case 'E':
        go to myerr;
    }

    printf ("Literal string line 1\n"
	    "Literal string line 2\n"
	    "Literal string line 3\n");
    return;

  myerr:
    printf ("Error argument found\n");
}

  - Do not cast NULL unless it is a stdarg argument to a function.

  - Do not cast functions returning (void *), e.g., xmalloc ().

  - Do not cast non-stdarg arguments to a function to '(void *)'
    except to drop a 'const' modifier.

  - Snuggle ! close to its expression (i.e., '! foo' => '!foo').

  - Functions and C statements have a space before the "("
    and the expression does not have a leading or trailing space
    (i.e., 'if( foo )' => 'if (foo)'), although it is sometimes
    desirable to add a newline after the "(" for #ifdef'd code.
	
  - For switch statements, indent 'case' by 2 and the body of the case
    by an additional 2 spaces.

  - Labels should be indented by 2 spaces rather than the 4 spaces
    used by the rest of the current block level.


    while ((var = next_arg ()) != 0)
    {
      again:
        switch (var)
        {
          case ONE:
            code_for_case_one ();
            break;
          case TWO:
            code_for_case_two ();
            break;
          case THREE:
            push_arg (RESET_ONE);
            var = ONE;
	    go to again;
          default:
            code_for_default_case ():
            break;
        }
    }

  - NULL-protected free goes on one line if possible, for example:
        
	if (var)
            free (var);
	if (var2 != NULL)
            free (var2);

    should be written as:
          
        if (var) free (var);
        if (var2) free (var2);

    if the value needs to be set to NULL after the free, then use

	if (var)
	{
            free (var):
            var = NULL;
	}

    as the idiom. 

  - Use whitespace in arithmetic expressions, for example

	foo (arg+2);

    should be written as

	foo (arg + 2);

    likewise for normal arithmetic expression assignments.

  - Argument lists get a space after a comma.

  - Do not parenthesize return values unless the expression needs to
    span multiple lines.

  - Cast negative constants when used in assignments or comparisons
    with unsigned types.

  - Try to be consistent with block comments:

    /* This is a good block comment (spanning multiple lines of text).
     * It starts with slash-star, leads each line with a star aligned with
     * the first, and ends with a similarly aligned star-slash on a line
     * by itself.
     */

    /* This is a bad block comment,
       because it can make it hard to tell what is code
       and what is not code. */

  - Sentences in comments should have a double space between each
    period (.) and the beginning of the next sentence.

  - Conditional expressions that need to be split should put the ?
    operator on the new line.

  - Follow GNU standards for breaking logical expressions over
    multiple lines where possible.

  - Do not snuggle open-lbrace blocks.

  - Remove '#if 0' code where possible. Add a comment FIXME if it
    really is a possible problem.

  - Remove commented-out code where possible (FIXME blocks are
    excepted). 

The file cvs-format.el contains settings for emacs and the NEWS file
contains a set of options for the indent program which I haven't tried
but which are correct as far as I know.  You will find some code which
does not conform to this indentation style; the plan is to re-indent it
as those sections of the code are changed (one function at a time,
perhaps).

In a submitted patch it is acceptable to refrain from changing the
indentation of large blocks of code to minimize the size of the patch;
the person checking in such a patch should re-indent it.

* Portability

The general rule for portability is that it is only worth including
portability cruft for systems on which people are actually testing and
using new CVS releases.  Without testing, CVS will fail to be portable
for any number of unanticipated reasons.

CVS is now assuming a freestanding C89 compiler.  If you don't have one, you
should find an old release of GCC that did not require a freestanding C89
compiler to build, build that on your system, build a newer release of GCC
if you wish, then build CVS using GCC as your freestanding C89 compiler.

A freestanding C89 compiler is guaranteed to support function prototypes,
void *, and assert().

The following headers can be assumed and are included from lib/system.h for a
freestanding C89 implementation: <float.h>, <limits.h>, <stdarg.h>, <stddef.h>.
We are not assuming the other standard headers listed by C89 (hosted headers)
because these four headers are the only headers guaranteed to be shipped with
a C89 compiler (freestanding compiler).  We are not currently assuming that the
system the compiler is running on provides the rest of the C89 headers.

The following C89 hosted headers can be assumed due to their presence in UNIX
version 7 and are included from lib/system.h: <assert.h>, <ctype.h>, <errno.h>,
<math.h>, <setjmp.h>, <signal.h>, <stdio.h>.  <time.h> can also be assumed but
is included via lib/xtime.h via lib/system.h to include some Autoconf magic
which avoids including <time.h> and <sys/time.h> on systems that can't handle
both.

The following C89 headers are also assumed since we believe GCC includes them
even on systems where it is installed as a freestanding compiler when the
system lacks them, despite their not being required: <stdlib.h>, <string.h>.
When the system does not lack these headers, they can sometimes not be
standards compatible, but GCC provides a script, `fixincludes', for the purpose
of fixing ANSI conformance problems and we think we can rely on asking users to
either use GCC or run this script to fix conformance problems manually.  A
GNULIB developer has made a statement that if this turns out to be a problem,
GNULIB <stdlib.h> and <string.h> substitutes could be included in GNULIB, so if
we discover the problem, this should be discussed on <bug-gnulib@gnu.org>.

A substitute C99 <stdbool.h> is included from GNULIB for platforms that lack
this header.  Please see the comments in the lib/stdbool_.h file for its
limitations.

<sys/types.h> can be assumed despite a lack of a presence in even C99, since
it has been around nearly forever and no-one has ever complained about our code
assuming its existence.

CVS has also been assuming <pwd.h> for some time.  I am unsure of the
rationale.

GNULIB also assumes <sys/stat.h>.  I am unsure of the rationale.

A substitute POSIX.2 <fnmatch.h> header and fnmatch() function is provided for
systems that lack them.  Similarly for the non-standard <alloca.h> header and
alloca() function.  Other substitute headers and functions are also provided
when needed.  See the lib directory or the maint-aux/srclist.txt file for more
information.

Please do not use multi-line strings.  Despite their common acceptance by many
compilers, they are not part of the ANSI C specification.  As of GCC version
3.3, they are no longer supported.  See the Indentation Style section above for
an example of a literal string which is not multi-line but which will print
multiple lines.

* Other style issues

When composing header files, do not declare function prototypes using the
`extern' storage-class identifier.  Under C89, there is no functional
difference between a function declaration with and without `extern', unless the 
function is declared `static'.  This is NOT the case for global variables.
Global variables declared in header files MUST be declared `extern'.  For
example:

/* Global variables */
extern int foo;
extern char *bar;

/* Function declarations */
int make_foo(void);
char *make_bar(int _foobar);

* Run-time behaviors

Use assert() to check "can't happen" conditions internal to CVS.  We
realize that there are functions in CVS which instead return NULL or
some such value (thus confusing the meaning of such a returned value),
but we want to fix that code.  Of course, bad input data, a corrupt
repository, bad options, etc., should always print a real error
message instead.

Do not use arbitrary limits (such as PATH_MAX) except perhaps when the
operating system or some external interface requires it.  We spent a
lot of time getting rid of them, and we don't want to put them back.
If you find any that we missed, please report it as with other bugs.
In most cases such code will create security holes (for example, for
anonymous read-only access via the CVS protocol, or if a WWW cgi script
passes client-supplied arguments to CVS).

Although this is a long-term goal, it also would be nice to move CVS
in the direction of reentrancy.  This reduces the size of the data
segment and will allow a multi-threaded server if that is desirable.
It is also useful to write the code so that it can be easily be made
reentrant later.  For example, if you need to pass data to some functions,
you need a static variable, but use a single pointer so that when the function
is fixed to pass along the argument, then the code can easily use that
argument.

* Coding standards in general

Generally speaking the GNU coding standards are mostly used by CVS
(but see the exceptions mentioned above, such as indentation style,
and perhaps an exception or two we haven't mentioned).  This is the
file standards.text at the GNU FTP sites. The primary URL for this
information is http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/ which contains links
to many different formats of the standards.

* Regenerating Build Files (UNIX)

On UNIX, if you wish to change the build files, you will need Autoconf and
Automake.

Some combinations of Automake and Autoconf versions may break the
CVS build if file timestamps aren't set correctly and people don't
have the same versions the developers do, so the rules to run them
automatically aren't included in the generated Makefiles unless you run
configure with --enable-maintainer-mode.

The CVS Makefiles and configure script were built using Automake 1.9.6 and
Autoconf 2.59, respectively.

There is a known bug in Autoconf 2.57 that will prevent the configure
scripts it generates from working on some platforms.  Other combinations of
autotool versions may or may not work.  If you get other versions to work,
please send a report to <bug-cvs@nongnu.org>.

* Regenerating Build Files (Windows)

If for some reason you end up regenerating the *.mak files to submit a patch,
please run windows-NT/fix-msvc-mak.pl to remove the absolute paths from the
generated *.mak files before generating any patches.

* Rebuilding Yacc sources

The lib/getdate.y file requires GNU Bison 1.875 to rebuild lib/getdate.c.  Not
having GNU Bison 1.875 should not stop the build unless the lib/getdate.c file
is actually missing, perhaps deleted via `make maintainerclean'.

* Writing patches (strategy)

Only some kinds of changes are suitable for inclusion in the
"official" CVS.  Bugfixes, where CVS's behavior contradicts the
documentation and/or expectations that everyone agrees on, should be
OK (strategically).  For features, the desirable attributes are that
the need is clear and that they fit nicely into the architecture of
CVS.  Is it worth the cost (in terms of complexity or any other
tradeoffs involved)?  Are there better solutions?

If the design is not yet clear (which is true of most features), then
the design is likely to benefit from more work and community input.
Make a list of issues, or write documentation including rationales for
how one would use the feature.  Discuss it with coworkers, a
newsgroup, or a mailing list, and see what other people think.
Distribute some experimental patches and see what people think.  The
intention is arrive at some kind of rough community consensus before
changing the "official" CVS.  Features like zlib, encryption, and
the RCS library have benefited from this process in the past.

If longstanding CVS behavior, that people may be relying on, is
clearly deficient, it can be changed, but only slowly and carefully.
For example, the global -q option was introduced in CVS 1.3 but the
command -q options, which the global -q replaced, were not removed
until CVS 1.6.

* Writing patches (tactics)

When you first distribute a patch it may be suitable to just put forth
a rough patch, or even just an idea.  But before the end of the
process the following should exist:

  - ChangeLog entry (see the GNU coding standards for details).

  - Changes to the NEWS file and cvs.texinfo, if the change is a
    user-visible change worth mentioning.

  - Somewhere, a description of what the patch fixes (often in
    comments in the code, or maybe the ChangeLog or documentation).

  - Most of the time, a test case (see TESTS).  It can be quite
    frustrating to fix a bug only to see it reappear later, and adding
    the case to the testsuite, where feasible, solves this and other
    problems.  See the TESTS file for notes on writing new tests.

If you solve several unrelated problems, it is generally easier to
consider the desirability of the changes if there is a separate patch
for each issue.  Use context diffs or unidiffs for patches.

Include words like "I grant permission to distribute this patch under
the terms of the GNU Public License" with your patch.  By sending a
patch to bug-cvs@nongnu.org, you implicitly grant this permission.

Submitting a patch to bug-cvs is the way to reach the people who have
signed up to receive such submissions (including CVS developers), but
there may or may not be much (or any) response.  If you want to pursue
the matter further, you are probably best off working with the larger
CVS community.  Distribute your patch as widely as desired (mailing
lists, newsgroups, web sites, whatever).  Write a web page or other
information describing what the patch is for.  It is neither practical
nor desirable for all/most contributions to be distributed through the
"official" (whatever that means) mechanisms of CVS releases and CVS
developers.  Now, the "official" mechanisms do try to incorporate
those patches which seem most suitable for widespread usage, together
with test cases and documentation.  So if a patch becomes sufficiently
popular in the CVS community, it is likely that one of the CVS
developers will eventually try to do something with it.  But dealing
with the CVS developers may be the last step of the process rather
than the first.

* What is the schedule for the next release?

There isn't one.  That is, upcoming releases are not announced (or
even hinted at, really) until the feature freeze which is
approximately 2 weeks before the final release (at this time test
releases start appearing and are announced on info-cvs).  This is
intentional, to avoid a last minute rush to get new features in.

* Mailing lists

In addition to the mailing lists listed in the README file, developers should
take particular note of the following mailling lists:

    bug-cvs:  This is the list which users are requested to send bug reports
      to.  General CVS development and design discussions also take place on
      this list.
    info-cvs:  This list is intended for user questions, but general CVS
      development and design discussions sometimes take place on this list.
    cvs-cvs:  The only messages sent to this list are sent
      automatically, via the CVS `loginfo' mechanism, when someone
      checks something in to the master CVS repository.
    cvs-test-results:  The only messages sent to this list are sent
      automatically, daily, by a script which runs "make check"
      and "make remotecheck" on the master CVS sources.

To subscribe to any of these lists, send mail to <list>-request@nongnu.org
or visit http://savannah.nongnu.org/mail/?group=cvs and follow the instructions
for the list you wish to subscribe to.