This is ../info/beta.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.6 from
beta.texi.

START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Beta: (beta).      Info on beta versions of XEmacs.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file describes info relevant to beta versions of XEmacs.

   Copyright (C) 2005 Ben Wing.  Copyright (C) 2005 Free Software
Foundation, Inc.

   This file is part of XEmacs.

   XEmacs 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 2, or (at your option) any
later version.

   XEmacs 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.

   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with XEmacs; see the file COPYING.  If not, write to the Free
Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA
02111-1307, USA.


File: beta.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Introduction,  Prev: (dir),  Up: (dir)

   This Info file describes info relevant to beta versions of XEmacs.

* Menu:

* Introduction::
* Compiling Beta XEmacs::
* Packages::
* Improving XEmacs::
* Index::

 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---

Introduction

* Mailing Lists::
* Beta Release Schedule::
* Reporting Problems::
* Getting the Source::

Mailing Lists

* XEmacs Beta Mailing List::
* XEmacs Patches Mailing List::
* XEmacs Design Mailing List::
* List Administrivia::
* Managing your subscription via the Web::
* Subscribing by e-mail::
* Unsubscribing by e-mail::

Compiling Beta XEmacs

* Building an XEmacs from patches::
* Building XEmacs from a full distribution::

Packages

* Binary package installation::
* Manual procedures for package management::
* Building XEmacs and XEmacs packages from scratch::

Improving XEmacs

* Creating patches for submission::
* Large contributions::

Creating patches for submission

* Patch discussion etiquette::

Large contributions

* Updates to existing packages::
* New packages::
* Syncing with GNU Emacs::


File: beta.info,  Node: Introduction,  Next: Compiling Beta XEmacs,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

Introduction
************

You are running a potentially unstable version of XEmacs.  Please do
not report problems with Beta XEmacs to comp.emacs.xemacs.  Report them
to `mailto:xemacs-beta@xemacs.org', preferably with `M-x
report-xemacs-bug RET'.

* Menu:

* Mailing Lists::
* Beta Release Schedule::
* Reporting Problems::
* Getting the Source::


File: beta.info,  Node: Mailing Lists,  Next: Beta Release Schedule,  Prev: Introduction,  Up: Introduction

Mailing Lists
=============

* Menu:

* XEmacs Beta Mailing List::
* XEmacs Patches Mailing List::
* XEmacs Design Mailing List::
* List Administrivia::
* Managing your subscription via the Web::
* Subscribing by e-mail::
* Unsubscribing by e-mail::


File: beta.info,  Node: XEmacs Beta Mailing List,  Next: XEmacs Patches Mailing List,  Prev: Mailing Lists,  Up: Mailing Lists

XEmacs Beta Mailing List
------------------------

If you are not subscribed to the XEmacs beta list you should be.
Currently all discussion of development issues, including bug reports
and coding discussion, takes place on the XEmacs Beta mailing list.
Only patches and administrative actions regarding patches are sent
elsewhere (to the XEmacs Patches list).


File: beta.info,  Node: XEmacs Patches Mailing List,  Next: XEmacs Design Mailing List,  Prev: XEmacs Beta Mailing List,  Up: Mailing Lists

XEmacs Patches Mailing List
---------------------------

XEmacs Patches records proposed changes to XEmacs, and their
disposition.  It is open subscription, and all patches that are
seriously proposed for inclusion in XEmacs should be posted here.  You
can follow progress of your patch by subscribing to the mailing list or
in the archives.

   Besides patches, only actions by members of the XEmacs Review Board
should be posted to this list.  All discussion should be redirected to
XEmacs Beta or XEmacs Design.


File: beta.info,  Node: XEmacs Design Mailing List,  Next: List Administrivia,  Prev: XEmacs Patches Mailing List,  Up: Mailing Lists

XEmacs Design Mailing List
--------------------------

XEmacs Design is for design discussions such as adding major features
or whole modules, or reimplementation of existing functions, to XEmacs.


File: beta.info,  Node: List Administrivia,  Next: Managing your subscription via the Web,  Prev: XEmacs Design Mailing List,  Up: Mailing Lists

List Administrivia
------------------

In the descriptions below, the word LIST (all uppercase) is a variable.
Substitute "beta", "design", or "patches" as appropriate (to get
"xemacs-beta" as the mailbox for the XEmacs Beta mailing list, or
`http://www.xemacs.org/Lists/#xemacs-beta' for its URL).

   The XEmacs mailing lists are managed by the Mailman mailing list
package, and the usual Mailman commands work.  Do not send mailing list
requests to the main address (`mailto:xemacs-LIST@xemacs.org'), always
send them to `mailto:xemacs-LIST-request@xemacs.org'.  If you have
problems with the list itself, they should be brought to the attention
of the XEmacs Mailing List manager `mailto:list-manager@xemacs.org'
(the same mailbox, "list-manager", for all lists).  All public mailing
lists have searchable archives.  The URL is

   	     `http://list-archive.xemacs.org/xemacs-LIST'

   Note that the xemacs-LIST-admin address is used internally by the
Mailman software; it is NOT a synonym for xemacs-LIST-request.


File: beta.info,  Node: Managing your subscription via the Web,  Next: Subscribing by e-mail,  Prev: List Administrivia,  Up: Mailing Lists

Managing your subscription via the Web
--------------------------------------

Subscription, unsubscription, and options (such as digests and
temporarily suspending delivery) can be accomplished via the web
interface at `http://www.xemacs.org/Lists/#xemacs-LIST'.


File: beta.info,  Node: Subscribing by e-mail,  Next: Unsubscribing by e-mail,  Prev: Managing your subscription via the Web,  Up: Mailing Lists

Subscribing by e-mail
---------------------

Send an email message to `mailto:xemacs-LIST-request@xemacs.org' with
`subscribe' (without the quotes) as the BODY of the message.


File: beta.info,  Node: Unsubscribing by e-mail,  Prev: Subscribing by e-mail,  Up: Mailing Lists

Unsubscribing by e-mail
-----------------------

Send an email message to `mailto:xemacs-LIST-request@xemacs.org' with
`unsubscribe' (without the quotes) as the BODY of the message.


File: beta.info,  Node: Beta Release Schedule,  Next: Reporting Problems,  Prev: Mailing Lists,  Up: Introduction

Beta Release Schedule
=====================

We would like to achieve a weekly or fortnightly release cycle (you
know the Open Source model: release early, release often), and in a
perfect world that would indeed be the case.  There are at least three
things that often get in the way of that goal: 1) The Release Manager
has a life outside of XEmacs (hard to believe, I know, but true), 2) we
like to make releases that will build (at least on the Release
Manager's box), and 3) Murphy likes to throw a spanner in the works
right when you least expect it (Murphy's Law: Whatever can go wrong,
will go wrong).

   If you'd like to keep right up to date and ride the bleeding edge,
use CVS (see `http://www.xemacs.org/Develop/cvsaccess.html').  If you
can't use CVS for some reason and must use FTP, please let us know.  it
will make it more likely that we release betas more often.


File: beta.info,  Node: Reporting Problems,  Next: Getting the Source,  Prev: Beta Release Schedule,  Up: Introduction

Reporting Problems
==================

The best way to get problems fixed in XEmacs is to submit good problem
reports, `M-x report-xemacs-bug RET' will help you do this (assuming
you have a usable XEmacs).  Since this is beta software, problems are
certain to exist.  Please read through all of part II of the XEmacs FAQ
for an overview of problem reporting.  Other items which are most
important are:

  1. Do not submit C stack backtraces without line numbers.  Since it
     is possible to compile optimized with debug information with GCC
     it is never a good idea to compile XEmacs without the -g flag.
     XEmacs runs on a variety of platforms, and often it is not
     possible to recreate problems which afflict a specific platform.
     The line numbers in the C stack backtrace help isolate where the
     problem is actually occurring.

  2. Attempt to recreate the problem starting with an invocation of
     XEmacs with `xemacs -no-autoloads'.  Quite often, problems are due
     to package interdependencies, and the like.  An actual bug in
     XEmacs should be reproducible in a default configuration without
     loading any special packages (or the one or two specific packages
     that cause the bug to appear).  If you have trouble getting
     anything to work at all with the above invocation, use `xemacs
     -vanilla' instead.  If you need to load your user init file or the
     site file to get the problem to occur, then it has something to do
     with them, and you should try to isolate the issue in those files.

  3. A picture can be worth a thousand words.  When reporting an
     unusual display, it is generally best to capture the problem in a
     screen dump and include that with the problem report.  The easiest
     way to get a screen dump is to use the xv program and its grab
     function.  Save the image as a GIF to keep bandwidth requirements
     down without loss of information.  MIME is the preferred method
     for making the image attachments.


File: beta.info,  Node: Getting the Source,  Prev: Reporting Problems,  Up: Introduction

Getting the Source
==================

In addition to the normal tar distribution, XEmacs source is now
available via CVS.  Please see

   	    `http://www.xemacs.org/Develop/cvsaccess.html'


File: beta.info,  Node: Compiling Beta XEmacs,  Next: Packages,  Prev: Introduction,  Up: Top

Compiling Beta XEmacs
*********************

* Menu:

* Building an XEmacs from patches::
* Building XEmacs from a full distribution::


File: beta.info,  Node: Building an XEmacs from patches,  Next: Building XEmacs from a full distribution,  Prev: Compiling Beta XEmacs,  Up: Compiling Beta XEmacs

Building an XEmacs from patches
===============================

All beta releases of XEmacs are included with patches from the previous
version in an attempt to keep bandwidth requirements down.  Patches
should be applied with the GNU patch program in something like the
following.  Let's say you're upgrading XEmacs 21.5-beta9 to XEmacs
21.5-beta10 and you have a full unmodified XEmacs 21.5-beta9 source
tree to work with.  Change to the top level directory and issue the
shell command:

     $ gunzip -c /tmp/xemacs-21.5.9-21.5.10.patch.gz | patch -p1

   After patching, check to see that no patches were missed by doing

     $ find . -name \*.rej -print

   Any rejections should be treated as serious problems to be resolved
before building XEmacs.

   After seeing that there were no rejections, issue the commands

     $ ./config.status --recheck
     $ make beta > ./beta.err 2>&1
     $ make check > ./xemacs-make-check.err 2>&1

   Redirect the output from make to those files because you'll use them
later when you send off a build report with `M-x build-report RET'


File: beta.info,  Node: Building XEmacs from a full distribution,  Prev: Building an XEmacs from patches,  Up: Compiling Beta XEmacs

Building XEmacs from a full distribution
========================================

  1. Locate a convenient place where you have at least 100MB of free
     space and issue the command

          $ gunzip -c /tmp/xemacs-21.5.10.tar.gz | tar xvf -

     (or simply `tar zxvf /tmp/xemacs-21.5.10.tar.gz' if you use GNU
     tar).

  2. cd to the top level directory and issue an appropriate configure
     command.

  3. Run `configure'.  If you are new, just consider running it with no
     options, to see if you can get a succesful build.  When you are
     more experienced, you should put various flags in.  Here is what
     we suggest:

       1. It's a good idea to use

               --enable-debug
               --enable-memory-usage-stats
               --enable-error-checking=all

          These turn on extra debugging info and checks.  The last one
          in particular will add a great deal of extra error-checking -
          which will slow your XEmacs down somewhat but is likely to
          catch bugs much sooner and make your bug reports much more
          useful.

       2. You should also strongly consider

               --enable-mule
               --enable-kkcc
               --enable-pdump
               --enable-clash-detection
               --with-wmcommand
               --with-xfs

          These turn on optional features, which can always use testing.

       3. If you have gcc, consider using

               --with-compiler=gcc
               --with-xemacs-compiler=g++

          This will compile XEmacs using g++, which will turn on a lot
          of additional error-checking.

       4. If your packages are not installed under /usr/local, you
          should add a line like

               --with-package-path=~/.xemacs::/xemacs/site-packages:/xemacs/xemacs-packages:/xemacs/mule-packages

       5. If you want to build multiple configurations from the same
          source tree, make separate build directories for each
          configuration, run `configure' from the top level of these
          (currently empty) directories and use an option like

               --srcdir=/xemacs/source-tree

          (or wherever your source tree is).  This will magically
          create symlinks and populate your build directory.

       6. Use -with-site-prefixes (or -with-site-includes and
          --with-site-libraries) if you have some packages that XEmacs
          can compile with that are located in an unusual place.  For
          example:

               --with-site-prefixes=/usr/local/pgsql:/usr/local/BerkeleyDB.4.1

       7. Depending on your build environment, consuder setting or not
          setting options for menubars, scrollbars, window systems,
          native sound, etc.  If you're not sure, leave them out and
          let configure do the auto-detection.  (If you get bugs
          compiling GTK, use `--with-gtk=no --with-gnome=no'.)

          Part of the configure output is a summary that looks something
          like the following.  (this summary is also available as the
          file 'Installation' in the top directory of your build tree,
          and via the command `M-x describe-installation RET').

               uname -a: Darwin laptop.local 7.7.0 Darwin Kernel Version 7.7.0: Sun Nov  7 16:06:51 PST 2004; root:xnu/xnu-517.9.5.obj~1/RELEASE_PPC  Power Macintosh powerpc
               
               ./configure '--with-site-prefixes=/sw' '--without-ldap' '--with-dynamic=yes' '--with-gtk=no' '--with-gnome=no' '--enable-toolbars' '--with-wmcommand' '--with-athena=3d' '--enable-menubars=lucid' '--enable-scrollbars=athena' '--enable-dialogs=athena' '--enable-widgets=athena' '--with-gif' '--enable-sound=native,noesd' '--with-site-lisp=no' '--with-site-modules' '--enable-pdump' '--enable-mule' '--with-xfs' '--enable-debug' '--enable-error-checking=all' '--enable-memory-usage-stats' '--enable-kkcc' '--enable-clash-detection'
               
               
               XEmacs 21.5-b19 "chives" (+CVS-20050226) configured for `powerpc-apple-darwin7.7.0'.
               
                 WARNING: --------------------------------------------------------------
                 WARNING: This was produced from a new autoconf-2.5 based configuration.
                 WARNING: If this configuration seems buggy then copy etc/configure-2.13
                 WARNING: to configure and try again.  Also please report the bug.
                 WARNING: --------------------------------------------------------------
               
               Compilation Environment and Installation Defaults:
                 Source code location:              /usr/local/src/xemacs
                 Installation prefix:               /usr/local
                 Additional prefixes:               /sw
                 Operating system description file: `s/darwin.h'
                 Machine description file:          `m/powerpc.h'
                 Compiler version:                  gcc (GCC) 3.3 20030304 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 1671)
                   - GCC specs file:                /usr/libexec/gcc/darwin/ppc/3.3/specs
                   - Compiler command:              gcc -Wall -Wno-switch -Wundef -Wsign-compare -Wno-char-subscripts -Wpacked -Wpointer-arith -Wunused-parameter -g
                 libc version:
                 Relocating allocator for buffers:  no
                 GNU version of malloc:             no
                   - The GNU allocators don't work with this system configuration.
               
               Window System:
                 Compiling in support for the X window system:
                   - X Windows headers location:                 /usr/X11R6/include
                   - X Windows libraries location:               /usr/X11R6/lib
                   - Handling WM_COMMAND properly.
                 Compiling in support for the Athena widget set:
                   - Athena headers location:                    X11/Xaw3d
                   - Athena library to link:                     Xaw3d
                 Using Lucid menubars.
                 Using Athena scrollbars.
                 Using Athena dialog boxes.
                 Using Athena native widgets.
               
               TTY:
                 Compiling in support for ncurses.
               
               Images:
                 Compiling in support for GIF  images (builtin).
                 Compiling in support for XPM  images.
                 Compiling in support for PNG  images.
                 Compiling in support for JPEG images.
                 Compiling in support for TIFF images.
                 Compiling in support for X-Face message headers.
               
               Sound:
               
               Databases:
                 Compiling in support for Berkeley database.
                 Compiling in support for GNU DBM.
                 Compiling in support for PostgreSQL.
                   - Using PostgreSQL header file:  postgresql/libpq-fe.h
                   - Using PostgreSQL V7 bindings.
               
               Internationalization:
                 Compiling in support for Mule (multi-lingual Emacs).
                 Compiling in support for XIM (X11R5+ I18N input method).
                   - Using raw Xlib to provide XIM support.
                   - Using XFontSet to provide bilingual menubar.
               
               Mail:
                 Compiling in support for "file" mail spool file locking method.
               
               Other Features:
                 Inhibiting IPv6 canonicalization at startup.
                 Compiling in support for dynamic shared object modules.
                 Using the new GC algorithms.
                 Using the new portable dumper.
                 Compiling in support for extra debugging code.
                 Compiling in support for runtime error checking.
                 WARNING: ---------------------------------------------------------
                 WARNING: XEmacs will run noticeably more slowly as a result.
                 WARNING: Error checking is on by default for XEmacs beta releases.
                 WARNING: ---------------------------------------------------------

  4. Then...

          $ make > ./beta.err 2>&1
          $ make check > ./xemacs-make-check.err 2>&1

     ...and you should have a working XEmacs.

  5. After you have verified that you have a functional editor, fire up
     your favorite mail program and send a build report to
     `mailto:xemacs-buildreports@xemacs.org'.

     Preferably this is best done from XEmacs, following these simple
     steps:

          `M-x customize-group RET build-report RET' `M-x build-report
          RET'

     See also
     `http://www.xemacs.org/Releases/Public-21.2/tester.html#reporting'

     If you create the report manually by other means, here is what the
     build report should include:

       1. Your hardware configuration (OS version, etc.)

       2. Version numbers of software in use (X11 version, system
          library versions if appropriate, graphics library versions if
          appropriate).  If you're on a system like Linux, include all
          the version numbers you can because chances are it makes a
          difference.

       3. The options given to configure

       4. The configuration report illustrated above

          For convenience all of the above items are placed in a file
          called `Installation' in the top level build directory.  They
          are also available by performing `M-x describe-installation'
          inside XEmacs.

       5. Any other unusual items you feel should be brought to the
          attention of the developers.


File: beta.info,  Node: Packages,  Next: Improving XEmacs,  Prev: Compiling Beta XEmacs,  Up: Top

Packages
********

[Note: these instructions have been partly updated, but not carefully
reviewed in some time.  Caveat tester.]

   Starting with XEmacs 21.1, much of the functionality of XEmacs has
been unbundled into "the packages."  For more information about the
package system, see the Info nodes on Packages (in the XEmacs User
Manual) and on Packaging (in the Lisp Reference).

   When bootstrapping XEmacs, you may need to manually install some
packages (at least xemacs-base and efs).  These packages are available
by FTP at `ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/packages/'.

* Menu:

* Binary package installation::
* Manual procedures for package management::
* Building XEmacs and XEmacs packages from scratch::


File: beta.info,  Node: Binary package installation,  Next: Manual procedures for package management,  Prev: Packages,  Up: Packages

Binary package installation
===========================

Prerequisite:  XEmacs 21.0-b1.

   Binary packages are complete entities that can be untarred at the top
level of an XEmacs package hierarchy and work at runtime.  To install
files in this directory, run the command `M-x
package-admin-add-binary-package' and fill in appropriate values to the
prompts.


File: beta.info,  Node: Manual procedures for package management,  Next: Building XEmacs and XEmacs packages from scratch,  Prev: Binary package installation,  Up: Packages

Manual procedures for package management
========================================

Prerequisite: XEmacs 21.0

   When adding and deleting files from a lisp directory the
auto-autoloads.el (global symbols) and custom-load.el (Customization
groups) must be kept in synch.  Assuming one is manipulating a
directory called `lisp-utils', the command to rebuild the
auto-autoloads.el file is:

     xemacs -vanilla -batch \
       -eval \("setq autoload-package-name \"lisp-utils\""\) \
       -f batch-update-directory lisp-utils

   The command to rebuild the custom-load.el file is:

     xemacs -vanilla -batch -f Custom-make-dependencies lisp-utils

   To byte-compile both of these files the command is:

     xemacs -vanilla -batch -f batch-byte-compile \
     	lisp-utils/auto-autoloads.el lisp-utils/custom-load.el

   Of course, being a beta tester, you'd be aware that it is much easier
to manage your XEmacs packages with PUI.


File: beta.info,  Node: Building XEmacs and XEmacs packages from scratch,  Prev: Manual procedures for package management,  Up: Packages

Building XEmacs and XEmacs packages from scratch
================================================

To build everything completely from scratch isn't hard, just time
consuming.

Step 1 - grab the sources (core and packages)
---------------------------------------------

     $ cvs -d :pserver:cvs@cvs.xemacs.org:/pack/xemacscvs login
      [password: "cvs" (sans quotes)]
     
     $ cvs -d :pserver:cvs@cvs.xemacs.org:/pack/xemacscvs co -d xemacs-21.5 xemacs
     
     $ cvs -d :pserver:cvs@cvs.xemacs.org:/pack/xemacscvs co packages

Step 2 - build XEmacs
---------------------

     $ cd xemacs-21.5
     $ ./configure [options...]
     $ make > ./beta.err 2>&1
     $ make check > ./xemacs-make-check.err 2>&1

   And optionally:

     $ make install > ./xemacs-make-install.err 2>&1

Step 3 - build and install the packages
---------------------------------------

     $ cd packages
     $ cp Local.rules.template Local.rules

   Then edit Local.rules to suit your needs/environment (*note
Local.rules file: (xemacs)Local.rules file.) for details about this
file.

   And then:

     $ make install


File: beta.info,  Node: Improving XEmacs,  Next: Index,  Prev: Packages,  Up: Top

Improving XEmacs
****************

* Menu:

* Creating patches for submission::
* Large contributions::


File: beta.info,  Node: Creating patches for submission,  Next: Large contributions,  Prev: Improving XEmacs,  Up: Improving XEmacs

Creating patches for submission
===============================

All patches to XEmacs that are seriously proposed for inclusion (eg,
bug fixes) should be mailed to `mailto:xemacs-patches@xemacs.org'.  Each
patch will be reviewed by the patches review board, and will be
acknowledged and added to the distribution, or rejected with an
explanation.  Progress of the patch is tracked on the XEmacs Patches
mailing list, which is open subscription.  (If a patch is simply
intended to facilitate discussion, "I mean something that works like
this but this is really rough", a Cc to XEmacs Patches is optional, but
doesn't hurt.)

   Patches to XEmacs Lisp packages should be sent to the maintainer of
the package.  If the maintainer is listed as `XEmacs Development Team'
patches should be sent to `mailto:xemacs-patches@xemacs.org'.

   Emailed patches should preferably be sent in MIME format and quoted
printable encoding (if necessary).

   The simplest way to create well-formed patches is to use CVS and
Didier Verna's Patcher library (available as patcher.el in the
xemacs-devel package).  Patcher is new and requires some setup, but
most of the core developers are now using it for their own patches.
Patcher also can be configured to create patches for several projects,
and recognize the project from the directory it is invoked in.  This
makes it a useful general tool (as long as XEmacs-style patches are
accepted at your other projects, which is likely since they conform to
the GNU standards).

   When making patches by hand, please use the `-u' option, or if your
diff doesn't support it, `-c'.  Using ordinary (context-free) diffs are
notoriously prone to error, since line numbers tend to change when
others make changes to the same source file.

   An example of the `diff' usage:

     $ diff -u OLDFILE NEWFILE

   -or-

     $ diff -c OLDFILE NEWFILE

   Also, it is helpful if you create the patch in the top level of the
XEmacs source directory:

     $ cp -p lwlib/xlwmenu.c lwlib/xlwmenu.c.orig
       hack, hack, hack....
     $ diff -u lwlib/xlwmenu.c.orig lwlib/xlwmenu.c

   Also note that if you cut & paste from an xterm to an XEmacs mail
buffer you will probably lose due to tab expansion.  The best thing to
do is to use an XEmacs shell buffer to run the diff commands, or ...
`M-x cd' to the appropriate directory, and issue the command `C-u M-!'
from within XEmacs.

   Patches should be as single-minded as possible.  Mammoth patches can
be very difficult to place into the right slot.  They are much easier
to deal with when broken down into functional or conceptual chunks.
The patches submitted by Kyle Jones and Hrvoje Niksic are stellar
examples of how to "Do The Right Thing".

   Each patch should be accompanied by an update to the appropriate
ChangeLog file.  Guidelines for writing ChangeLog entries is governed
by the GNU coding standards.  Please see
`http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards_toc.html'   [Change Logs section]
for details.

   Do not submit context diffs (either -c or -u) of ChangeLogs.  Because
of the "stack" nature of ChangeLogs (new entries are always pushed on
the top), context diffs will fail to apply more often than they
succeed.  Simply cutting and pasting the entry from an Emacs buffer to
the mail buffer (beware of tab expansion!) is probably easiest.  The
Patcher library also will set up your ChangeLogs for you, and copy them
to the mail.  Context-less unified diffs (-U 0) are also acceptable.

* Menu:

* Patch discussion etiquette::


File: beta.info,  Node: Patch discussion etiquette,  Prev: Creating patches for submission,  Up: Creating patches for submission

Patch discussion etiquette
--------------------------

If you intend a patch for _application_ to the sources as is, _always_
post it to xemacs-patches, even if there are minor points you would
like to have discussed by others.  Not doing so will resulting in
patches getting "lost".  If you expect that the patch will not be
acceptable, but are using it to stimulate discussion, then don't post
to xemacs-patches.  Intermediate cases are up to your judgment; unless
you're sure you'll follow up with a "real" patch, better to err on the
side of posting to xemacs-patches.

   Discussion of the _content_ of the patch (ie responses to reviewer
comments beyond "that's right, ok, I'll do it your way") should _always_
be posted to xemacs-beta or to xemacs-design.  If you're not sure which
is more appropriate, send it to xemacs-beta.  That is the most widely
read channel.

   If discussion results in a bright idea and you come up with a new
patch, normally you should post it to both mailing lists.  The people
discussing on XEmacs Beta will want to know the outcome of the thread,
and you need to submit to XEmacs Patches as the "list of record."

   If the old patch has been applied to CVS, then just submit the new
one as usual.  If it has not been applied, then it is best to submit a
new patch against CVS.  If possible do this as a reply to the original
patch post, or something following it in the thread.  (The point is to
get the original patch post's Message-ID in your References header.)
In this case, also use the keyword SUPERSEDES in the Subject header to
indicate that the old patch is no longer valid, and that this one
replaces it.

   These rules will result in a fair number of cross posts, but we don't
yet have a better way to handle that.

   Note: Developers should never post to xemacs-patches unless there is
a patch in the post.  We plan to enforce this with an automatic filter.

   The exceptions are administrative.  If you have commit authorization,
then post a short COMMIT notice to xemacs-patches when you commit to
CVS.  Members of the Review Board will also post short notices of
administrative action (APPROVE, VETO, QUERY, etc) to xemacs-patches.


File: beta.info,  Node: Large contributions,  Prev: Creating patches for submission,  Up: Improving XEmacs

Large contributions
===================

Perhaps you have a whole new mode, or a major synchronization with
upstream for a neglected package, or a synchronization with GNU Emacs
you would like to contribute.  We welcome such contributions, but they
are likely to be relatively controversial, generate more comments and
requests for revision, and take longer to integrate.  Please be patient
with the process.

* Menu:

* Updates to existing packages::
* New packages::
* Syncing with GNU Emacs::


File: beta.info,  Node: Updates to existing packages,  Next: New packages,  Prev: Large contributions,  Up: Large contributions

Updates to existing packages
----------------------------

If a package has gotten a bit out of date, or even started to bitrot,
we welcome patches to synchronize it with upstream/GNU Emacs versions.
Most packages end up varying somewhat from their GNU origins.  See
"Syncing with GNU Emacs" for hints.  Note that if you do a reasonably
large amount of syncing with GNU Emacs, you should log this in the file
itself as well as in the ChangeLog.

   If the package is important to you, please consider becoming the
maintainer.  (See "New packages", below.)


File: beta.info,  Node: New packages,  Next: Syncing with GNU Emacs,  Prev: Updates to existing packages,  Up: Large contributions

New packages
------------

If you have a new mode or other large addition that does not require
changes to the core, please consider submitting it as a package, and
becoming the maintainer.  You get direct commit privileges to the
repository for your package, "approval" privileges for your own patches
as well as third party patches to your package, and some degree of veto
power over patches you don't like.  In return, you are expected to
maintain friendly liaison with the upstream developer (if you aren't
the upstream developer), keep watch on the XEmacs Patches list for
relevant patches, and be available by email to other developers for
discussion of changes that impact your package.  It's also a pretty
standard route to the "core" development group, where we have plenty of
extra work waiting for volunteers.

   You don't have to become the maintainer, but it virtually ensures
rapid acceptance of the package.

   For help in creating new packages, see the (rather sparse)
discussions in the XEmacs User's Guide and the Lisp Reference Manual.
The participants in the XEmacs Beta mailing list
`mailto:xemacs-beta@xemacs.org' and the XEmacs Package Release Engineer
are the most likely sources of advice.  See jobs.html
(http://www.xemacs.org/Develop/jobs.html#package) for current
information about package release engineers.


File: beta.info,  Node: Syncing with GNU Emacs,  Prev: New packages,  Up: Large contributions

Syncing with GNU Emacs
----------------------

Syncing with GNU Emacs is an important activity.  Although each version
has its advantages and areas of concentration, it is very desirable
that common functionality share specifications and APIs.  When porting
GNU code to XEmacs, the following points should be given special
attention:

   * Recent GNU Emacsen cannot be built without Mule, but XEmacs can.
     Make sure that changes that depend on the presence of Mule are
     appropriately conditionalized, with `#ifdef MULE' in C code and
     with `(featurep 'mule)' in Lisp.

   * GNU Emacs nomenclature often differs from that of XEmacs.
     Sometimes syncing the names is desirable, other times not.

   * GNU Emacs functionality often differs from that of XEmacs.
     Syncing functionality is often controversial.

   It is important that you let other developers know that
synchronization has taken place, to what degree, and when.  For this
purpose, we use comments of the form

     /* Synched up with: GNU 21.3 by Stephen Turnbull */

   in the source file itself, as the last element of the prefatory
material (copyright notice and commentary).  Obviously the comment
marker needs to be changed to leading semicolons for Lisp, but
otherwise the format is the same.  (Older sync comments may have "FSF"
in place of "GNU".  They're equally accurate in our opinion, but
Richard Stallman and other GNU developers consider the term "FSF Emacs"
"insulting".  Please use "GNU" in new sync comments.)

   Of course you should note syncing as the purpose in the ChangeLog,
too.  But entries get buried deep in the ChangeLog file, and may even
get moved to a separate ChangeLog.OLD file for rarely synched files.

   Rather than dates we use the version of GNU Emacs to sync to.  If the
synchronization is partial, add a new comment describing what has
actually been synched, leaving the description of the last full sync in
place.  At each full sync, remove all previous synchronization comments.

   This applies to Lisp that we have broken out into packages, but
remains in the GNU Emacs core, as well to core Lisp in XEmacs.


File: beta.info,  Node: Index,  Prev: Improving XEmacs,  Up: Top

Index
*****

* Menu:


Tag Table:
Node: Top1032
Node: Introduction2136
Node: Mailing Lists2578
Node: XEmacs Beta Mailing List2940
Node: XEmacs Patches Mailing List3432
Node: XEmacs Design Mailing List4091
Node: List Administrivia4426
Node: Managing your subscription via the Web5595
Node: Subscribing by e-mail6003
Node: Unsubscribing by e-mail6328
Node: Beta Release Schedule6612
Node: Reporting Problems7612
Node: Getting the Source9740
Node: Compiling Beta XEmacs10024
Node: Building an XEmacs from patches10257
Node: Building XEmacs from a full distribution11506
Node: Packages21392
Node: Binary package installation22214
Node: Manual procedures for package management22710
Node: Building XEmacs and XEmacs packages from scratch23820
Node: Improving XEmacs25068
Node: Creating patches for submission25258
Node: Patch discussion etiquette28902
Node: Large contributions31223
Node: Updates to existing packages31830
Node: New packages32518
Node: Syncing with GNU Emacs33992
Node: Index36224

End Tag Table
