1 \input texinfo.tex @c -*-texinfo-*-
3 @setfilename maintain.info
4 @settitle Information for Maintainers of GNU Software
5 @c For double-sided printing, uncomment:
6 @c @setchapternewpage odd
7 @c This date is automagically updated when you save this file:
8 @set lastupdate April 6, 2012
11 @dircategory GNU organization
13 * Maintaining: (maintain). Maintaining GNU software.
16 @setchapternewpage off
18 @c Put everything in one index (arbitrarily chosen to be the concept index).
23 Information for maintainers of GNU software, last updated @value{lastupdate}.
25 Copyright @copyright{} 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999,
26 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009,
27 2010, 2011, 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
30 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
31 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
32 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
33 Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
34 Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
35 ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
40 @title Information for Maintainers of GNU Software
41 @author Richard Stallman
42 @author last updated @value{lastupdate}
44 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
60 * GNU Accounts and Resources::
62 * Recruiting Developers::
70 * Ethical and Philosophical Consideration::
74 * Free Software Directory::
75 * Using the Proofreaders List::
76 * GNU Free Documentation License::
82 @chapter About This Document
84 This file contains guidelines and advice for someone who is the
85 maintainer of a GNU program on behalf of the GNU Project. Everyone is
86 entitled to change and redistribute GNU software; you need not pay
87 attention to this file to get permission. But if you want to maintain
88 a version for widespread distribution, we suggest you follow these
89 guidelines. If you are or would like to be a GNU maintainer, then it
90 is essential to follow these guidelines.
92 In addition to this document, please read and follow the GNU Coding
93 Standards (@pxref{Top, , Contents, standards, GNU Coding Standards}).
95 @cindex @code{bug-standards@@gnu.org} email address
96 @cindex Savannah repository for @code{gnustandards}
97 @cindex @code{gnustandards} project repository
98 Please send corrections or suggestions for this document to
99 @email{bug-standards@@gnu.org}. If you make a suggestion, please
100 include suggested new wording if you can. We prefer a context diff to
101 the Texinfo source, but if that's difficult for you, you can make a
102 diff for some other version of this document, or propose it in any way
103 that makes it clear. The source repository for this document can be
104 found at @url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gnustandards}.
106 @cindex @code{gnustandards-commit@@gnu.org} mailing list
107 If you want to receive diffs for every change to these GNU documents,
108 join the mailing list @code{gnustandards-commit@@gnu.org}, for
109 instance via the web interface at
110 @url{http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnustandards-commit}.
111 Archives are also available there.
113 @cindex Piercy, Marge
114 This document uses the gender-neutral third-person pronouns ``person'',
115 ``per'', ``pers'' and ``perself'' which were promoted, and perhaps
116 invented, by Marge Piercy in @cite{Woman on the Edge of Time}. They are
117 used just like ``she'', ``her'', ``hers'' and ``herself'', except that
118 they apply equally to males and females. For example, ``Person placed
119 per new program under the GNU GPL, to let the public benefit from per
120 work, and to enable per to feel person has done the right thing.''
122 This release of the GNU Maintainer Information was last updated
127 @chapter Getting Help
128 @cindex help, getting
130 @cindex @code{mentors@@gnu.org} mailing list
131 If you have any general questions or encounter a situation where it
132 isn't clear how to get something done or who to ask, you (as a GNU
133 contributor) can always write to @email{mentors@@gnu.org}, which is a
134 list of a few experienced GNU folks who have volunteered to answer
135 questions. Any GNU-related question is fair game for the
138 @cindex advisory committee
139 The GNU Advisory Committee helps to coordinate activities in the GNU
140 project on behalf of RMS (Richard Stallman, the Chief GNUisance). If
141 you have any organizational questions or concerns you can contact the
142 committee at @email{gnu-advisory@@gnu.org}. See
143 @url{http://www.gnu.org/contact/gnu-advisory.html} for the current
144 committee members. Additional information is in
145 @file{/gd/gnuorg/advisory}.
147 @cindex down, when GNU machines are
148 @cindex outage, of GNU machines
149 @cindex @url{http://identi.ca/group/fsfstatus}
150 If you find that any GNU computer systems (@code{fencepost.gnu.org},
151 @code{ftp.gnu.org}, @code{www.gnu.org}, @code{savannah.gnu.org},
152 @dots{}) seem to be down, you can check the current status at
153 @url{http://identi.ca/group/fsfstatus}. Most likely the problem, if
154 it can be alleviated at the FSF end, is already being worked on.
156 @cindex sysadmin, FSF
157 @cindex FSF system administrators
158 @cindex GNU system administrators
159 The FSF system administrators are responsible for the network and GNU
160 hardware. You can email them at @email{sysadmin@@fsf.org}, but please
161 try not to burden them unnecessarily.
164 @node GNU Accounts and Resources
165 @chapter GNU Accounts and Resources
166 @cindex shell account, on fencepost
167 @cindex @code{fencepost.gnu.org} GNU login host
168 @cindex resources for GNU developers
169 @cindex development resources
171 @c We want to repeat this text later, so define a macro.
173 The directory @file{/gd/gnuorg} mentioned throughout this document is
174 available on the general GNU server, currently
175 @code{fencepost.gnu.org}. If you are the maintainer of a GNU package,
176 you should have an account there. If you don't have one already,
177 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/README.accounts.html}. You can also
178 ask for accounts for people who significantly help you in working on
184 Other resources available to GNU maintainers are described at
185 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/devel.html}, as well as throughout
186 this document. In brief:
189 @item Login accounts (see above).
191 @item Version control (@pxref{Old Versions}).
193 @item Mailing lists (@pxref{Mail}).
195 @item Web pages (@pxref{Web Pages}).
197 @item Mirrored release areas (@pxref{Distributions}).
200 @cindex @code{platform-testers} mailing list
201 @item Pre-release portability testing, both automated (via Hydra) and
202 on request (via volunteers).
208 @chapter Stepping Down
209 @cindex stepping down as maintainer
210 @cindex resigning as maintainer
212 With good fortune, you will continue maintaining your package for many
213 decades. But sometimes for various reasons maintainers decide to step
216 If you're the official maintainer of a GNU package and you decide to
217 step down, please inform the GNU Project (@email{maintainers@@gnu.org}).
218 We need to know that the package no longer has a maintainer, so we can
219 look for and appoint a new maintainer.
221 @cindex @email{maintainers@@gnu.org}
222 If you have an idea for who should take over, please tell
223 @email{maintainers@@gnu.org} your suggestion. The appointment of a new
224 maintainer needs the GNU Project's confirmation, but your judgment that
225 a person is capable of doing the job will carry a lot of weight.
227 As your final act as maintainer, it would be helpful to set up or
228 update the package under @code{savannah.gnu.org} (@pxref{Old
229 Versions}). This will make it much easier for the new maintainer to
230 pick up where you left off and will ensure that the source tree is not
231 misplaced if it takes us a while to find a new maintainer.
234 @node Recruiting Developers
235 @chapter Recruiting Developers
237 Unless your package is a fairly small, you probably won't do all the
238 work on it yourself. Most maintainers recruit other developers to help.
240 Sometimes people will offer to help. Some of them will be capable,
241 while others will not. It's up to you to determine who provides useful
242 help, and encourage those people to participate more.
244 Some of the people who offer to help will support the GNU Project, while
245 others may be interested for other reasons. Some will support the goals
246 of the Free Software Movement, but some may not. They are all welcome
247 to help with the work---we don't ask people's views or motivations
248 before they contribute to GNU packages.
250 As a consequence, you cannot expect all contributors to support the GNU
251 Project, or to have a concern for its policies and standards. So part
252 of your job as maintainer is to exercise your authority on these points
253 when they arise. No matter how much of the work other people do, you
254 are in charge of what goes in the release. When a crucial point arises,
255 you should calmly state your decision and stick to it.
257 Sometimes a package has several co-maintainers who share the role of
258 maintainer. Unlike developers who help, co-maintainers have actually
259 been appointed jointly as the maintainers of the package, and they carry
260 out the maintainer's functions together. If you would like to propose
261 some of your developers as co-maintainers, please contact
262 @email{maintainers@@gnu.org}.
264 We're happy to acknowledge all major contributors to GNU packages on
265 the @url{http://www.gnu.org/people/people.html} web page. Please send
266 an entry for yourself to @email{webmasters@@gnu.org}, and feel free to
267 suggest it to other significant developers on your package.
271 @chapter Legal Matters
272 @cindex legal matters
274 This chapter describes procedures you should follow for legal reasons
275 as you maintain the program, to avoid legal difficulties.
279 * Legally Significant::
280 * Recording Contributors::
281 * Copying from Other Packages::
282 * Copyright Notices::
284 * External Libraries::
287 @node Copyright Papers
288 @section Copyright Papers
289 @cindex copyright papers
290 @cindex assignments, copyright
293 If you maintain an FSF-copyrighted package
294 certain legal procedures are required when incorporating legally significant
295 changes written by other people. This ensures that the FSF has the
296 legal right to distribute the package, and the standing to defend its
297 GPL-covered status in court if necessary.
299 @strong{Before} incorporating significant changes, make sure that the
300 person who wrote the changes has signed copyright papers and that the
301 Free Software Foundation has received and signed them. We may also need
302 an employer's disclaimer from the person's employer.
304 @cindex data base of GNU copyright assignments
305 To check whether papers have been received, look in
306 @file{/gd/gnuorg/copyright.list}. If you can't look there directly,
307 @email{fsf-records@@gnu.org} can check for you. Our clerk can also
308 check for papers that are waiting to be entered and inform you when
309 expected papers arrive.
311 @cindex @file{/gd/gnuorg} directory
312 @c This paragraph intentionally duplicates information given
313 @c near the beginning of the file--to make sure people don't miss it.
316 In order for the contributor to know person should sign papers, you need
317 to ask per for the necessary papers. If you don't know per well, and you
318 don't know that person is used to our ways of handling copyright papers,
319 then it might be a good idea to raise the subject with a message like
323 Would you be willing to assign the copyright to the Free Software
324 Foundation, so that we could install it in @var{package}?
331 Would you be willing to sign a copyright disclaimer to put this change
332 in the public domain, so that we can install it in @var{package}?
335 If the contributor then wants more information, you can send per the file
336 @file{/gd/gnuorg/conditions.text}, which explains per options (assign
337 vs.@: disclaim) and their consequences.
339 Once the conversation is under way and the contributor is ready for
340 more details, you should send one of the templates that are found in
341 the directory @file{/gd/gnuorg/Copyright/}; they are also available
342 from the @file{doc/Copyright/} directory of the @code{gnulib} project
343 at @url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gnulib}. This section
344 explains which templates you should use in which circumstances.
345 @strong{Please don't use any of the templates except for those listed
346 here, and please don't change the wording.}
348 Once the conversation is under way, you can send the contributor the
349 precise wording and instructions by email. Before you do this, make
350 sure to get the current version of the template you will use! We change
351 these templates occasionally---don't keep using an old version.
353 For large changes, ask the contributor for an assignment. Send per a
354 copy of the file @file{request-assign.changes}. (Like all the
355 @samp{request-} files, it is in @file{/gd/gnuorg/Copyright} and in
358 For medium to small changes, request a personal disclaimer by sending
359 per the file @file{request-disclaim.changes}.
361 If the contributor is likely to keep making changes, person might want
362 to sign an assignment for all per future changes to the program. So it
363 is useful to offer per that alternative. If person wants to do it that
364 way, send per the @file{request-assign.future}.
366 When you send a @file{request-} file, you don't need to fill in anything
367 before sending it. Just send the file verbatim to the contributor. The
368 file gives per instructions for how to ask the FSF to mail per the
369 papers to sign. The @file{request-} file also raises the issue of
370 getting an employer's disclaimer from the contributor's employer.
372 When the contributor emails the form to the FSF, the FSF sends per an
373 electronic (usually PDF) copy of the assignment. This, or whatever
374 response is required, should happen within five business days of the
375 initial request. If no reply from the FSF comes after that time, it
376 is good to send a reminder.
378 After receiving the necessary form, all contributors then print it and
379 sign it. Contributors residing outside the U.S. must mail the signed
380 form to the FSF via the post. Contributors located in the U.S. can
381 then email or fax a scanned copy back to the FSF (or use postal mail,
382 if they prefer). (To emphasize, the necessary distinction is between
383 US residents and non-residents; citizenship does not matter.)
385 For less common cases, we have template files you should send to the
386 contributor. Be sure to fill in the name of the person and the name
387 of the program in these templates, where it says @samp{NAME OF PERSON}
388 and @samp{NAME OF PROGRAM}, before sending; otherwise person might
389 sign without noticing them, and the papers would be useless. Note
390 that in some templates there is more than one place to put the name of
391 the program or the name of the person; be sure to change all of them.
392 All the templates raise the issue of an employer's disclaimer as well.
394 @cindex legal papers for changes in manuals
395 You do not need to ask for separate papers for a manual that is
396 distributed only in the software package it describes. But if we
397 sometimes distribute the manual separately (for instance, if we publish
398 it as a book), then we need separate legal papers for changes in the
399 manual. For smaller changes, use
400 @file{disclaim.changes.manual}; for larger ones, use
401 @file{assign.changes.manual}. To cover both past and future
402 changes to a manual, you can use @file{assign.future.manual}.
403 For a translation of a manual, use @file{assign.translation.manual}.
405 For translations of program strings (as used by GNU Gettext, for
406 example; @pxref{Internationalization,,, standards, GNU Coding
407 Standards}), use @file{disclaim.translation}. If you make use of the
408 Translation Project (@url{http://translationproject.org}) facilities,
409 please check with the TP coordinators that they have sent the
410 contributor the papers; if they haven't, then you should send the
411 papers. In any case, you should wait for the confirmation from the
412 FSF that the signed papers have been received and accepted before
413 integrating the new contributor's material, as usual.
415 If a contributor is reluctant to sign an assignment for a large change,
416 and is willing to sign a disclaimer instead, that is acceptable, so you
417 should offer this alternative if it helps you reach agreement. We
418 prefer an assignment for a larger change, so that we can enforce the GNU
419 GPL for the new text, but a disclaimer is enough to let us use the text.
421 If you maintain a collection of programs, occasionally someone will
422 contribute an entire separate program or manual that should be added to
423 the collection. Then you can use the files
424 @file{request-assign.program}, @file{disclaim.program},
425 @file{assign.manual}, and @file{disclaim.manual}. We very much prefer
426 an assignment for a new separate program or manual, unless it is quite
427 small, but a disclaimer is acceptable if the contributor insists on
428 handling the matter that way.
430 If a contributor wants the FSF to publish only a pseudonym, that is
431 ok. The contributor should say this, and state the desired pseudonym,
432 when answering the @file{request-} form. The actual legal papers will
433 use the real name, but the FSF will publish only the pseudonym. When
434 using one of the other forms, fill in the real name but ask the
435 contributor to discuss the use of a pseudonym with
436 @email{assign@@gnu.org} before sending back the signed form.
438 @strong{Although there are other templates besides the ones listed here,
439 they are for special circumstances; please do not use them without
440 getting advice from @email{assign@@gnu.org}.}
442 If you are not sure what to do, then please ask @email{assign@@gnu.org} for
443 advice; if the contributor asks you questions about the meaning and
444 consequences of the legal papers, and you don't know the answers, you
445 can forward them to @email{assign@@gnu.org} and we will answer.
447 @strong{Please do not try changing the wording of a template yourself.
448 If you think a change is needed, please talk with @email{assign@@gnu.org},
449 and we will work with a lawyer to decide what to do.}
451 @node Legally Significant
452 @section Legally Significant Changes
454 If a person contributes more than around 15 lines of code and/or text
455 that is legally significant for copyright purposes, we
456 need copyright papers for that contribution, as described above.
458 A change of just a few lines (less than 15 or so) is not legally
459 significant for copyright. A regular series of repeated changes, such
460 as renaming a symbol, is not legally significant even if the symbol
461 has to be renamed in many places. Keep in mind, however, that a
462 series of minor changes by the same person can add up to a significant
463 contribution. What counts is the total contribution of the person; it
464 is irrelevant which parts of it were contributed when.
466 Copyright does not cover ideas. If someone contributes ideas but no
467 text, these ideas may be morally significant as contributions, and
468 worth giving credit for, but they are not significant for copyright
469 purposes. Likewise, bug reports do not count for copyright purposes.
471 When giving credit to people whose contributions are not legally
472 significant for copyright purposes, be careful to make that fact
473 clear. The credit should clearly say they did not contribute
474 significant code or text.
476 When people's contributions are not legally significant because they
477 did not write code, do this by stating clearly what their contribution
478 was. For instance, you could write this:
483 * Richard Mlynarik <mly@@adoc.xerox.com> (1997)
484 * Masatake Yamato <masata-y@@is.aist-nara.ac.jp> (1999)
489 @code{Ideas by:} makes it clear that Mlynarik and Yamato here
490 contributed only ideas, not code. Without the @code{Ideas by:} note,
491 several years from now we would find it hard to be sure whether they
492 had contributed code, and we might have to track them down and ask
495 When you record a small patch in a change log file, first search for
496 previous changes by the same person, and see if per past
497 contributions, plus the new one, add up to something legally
498 significant. If so, you should get copyright papers for all per
499 changes before you install the new change.
501 If that is not so, you can install the small patch. Write @samp{(tiny
502 change)} after the patch author's name, like this:
505 2002-11-04 Robert Fenk <Robert.Fenk@@gmx.de> (tiny change)
508 @node Recording Contributors
509 @section Recording Contributors
510 @cindex recording contributors
512 @strong{Keep correct records of which portions were written by whom.}
513 This is very important. These records should say which files or
514 parts of files were written by each person, and which files or
515 parts of files were revised by each person. This should include
516 installation scripts as well as manuals and documentation
519 These records don't need to be as detailed as a change log. They
520 don't need to distinguish work done at different times, only different
521 people. They don't need describe changes in more detail than which
522 files or parts of a file were changed. And they don't need to say
523 anything about the function or purpose of a file or change---the
524 Register of Copyrights doesn't care what the text does, just who wrote
525 or contributed to which parts.
527 The list should also mention if certain files distributed in the same
528 package are really a separate program.
530 Only the contributions that are legally significant for copyright
531 purposes (@pxref{Legally Significant}) need to be listed. Small
532 contributions, bug reports, ideas, etc., can be omitted.
534 For example, this would describe an early version of GAS:
537 Dean Elsner first version of all files except gdb-lines.c and m68k.c.
538 Jay Fenlason entire files gdb-lines.c and m68k.c, most of app.c,
539 plus extensive changes in messages.c, input-file.c, write.c
540 and revisions elsewhere.
542 Note: GAS is distributed with the files obstack.c and obstack.h, but
543 they are considered a separate package, not part of GAS proper.
546 @cindex @file{AUTHORS} file
547 Please keep these records in a file named @file{AUTHORS} in the source
548 directory for the program itself.
550 You can use the change log as the basis for these records, if you
551 wish. Just make sure to record the correct author for each change
552 (the person who wrote the change, @emph{not} the person who installed
553 it), and add @samp{(tiny change)} for those changes that are too
554 trivial to matter for copyright purposes. Later on you can update the
555 @file{AUTHORS} file from the change log. This can even be done
556 automatically, if you are careful about the formatting of the change
559 It is ok to include other email addresses, names, and program
560 information in @file{AUTHORS}, such as bug-reporting information.
561 @xref{Standard Mailing Lists}.
564 @node Copying from Other Packages
565 @section Copying from Other Packages
567 When you copy legally significant code from another free software
568 package with a GPL-compatible license, you should look in the
569 package's records to find out the authors of the part you are copying,
570 and list them as the contributors of the code that you copied. If all
571 you did was copy it, not write it, then for copyright purposes you are
572 @emph{not} one of the contributors of @emph{this} code.
574 Especially when code has been released into the public domain, authors
575 sometimes fail to write a license statement in each file. In this
576 case, please first be sure that all the authors of the code have
577 disclaimed copyright interest. Then, when copying the new files into
578 your project, add a brief note at the beginning of the files recording
579 the authors, the public domain status, and anything else relevant.
581 On the other hand, when merging some public domain code into an
582 existing file covered by the GPL (or LGPL or other free software
583 license), there is no reason to indicate the pieces which are public
584 domain. The notice saying that the whole file is under the GPL (or
585 other license) is legally sufficient.
587 Using code that is released under a GPL-compatible free license,
588 rather than being in the public domain, may require preserving
589 copyright notices or other steps. Of course, you should do what is
592 If you are maintaining an FSF-copyrighted package, please verify we
593 have papers for the code you are copying, @emph{before} copying it.
594 If you are copying from another FSF-copyrighted package, then we
595 presumably have papers for that package's own code, but you must check
596 whether the code you are copying is part of an external library; if
597 that is the case, we don't have papers for it, so you should not copy
598 it. It can't hurt in any case to double-check with the developer of
601 When you are copying code for which we do not already have papers, you
602 need to get papers for it. It may be difficult to get the papers if
603 the code was not written as a contribution to your package, but that
604 doesn't mean it is ok to do without them. If you cannot get papers
605 for the code, you can only use it as an external library
606 (@pxref{External Libraries}).
609 @node Copyright Notices
610 @section Copyright Notices
611 @cindex copyright notices in program files
613 You should maintain a proper copyright notice and a license
614 notice in each nontrivial file in the package. (Any file more than ten
615 lines long is nontrivial for this purpose.) This includes header files
616 and interface definitions for
617 building or running the program, documentation files, and any supporting
618 files. If a file has been explicitly placed in the public domain, then
619 instead of a copyright notice, it should have a notice saying explicitly
620 that it is in the public domain.
622 Even image files and sound files should contain copyright notices and
623 license notices, if their format permits. Some formats do not have
624 room for textual annotations; for these files, state the copyright and
625 copying permissions in a @file{README} file in the same directory.
627 Change log files should have a copyright notice and license notice at
628 the end, since new material is added at the beginning but the end
631 When a file is automatically generated from some other file in the
632 distribution, it is useful for the automatic procedure to copy the
633 copyright notice and permission notice of the file it is generated
634 from, if possible. Alternatively, put a notice at the beginning saying
635 which file it is generated from.
637 A copyright notice looks like this:
640 Copyright (C) @var{year1}, @var{year2}, @var{year3} @var{copyright-holder}
643 The word @samp{Copyright} must always be in English, by international
646 The @var{copyright-holder} may be the Free Software Foundation, Inc., or
647 someone else; you should know who is the copyright holder for your
650 Replace the @samp{(C)} with a C-in-a-circle symbol if it is available.
651 For example, use @samp{@@copyright@{@}} in a Texinfo file. However,
652 stick with parenthesized @samp{C} unless you know that C-in-a-circle
653 will work. For example, a program's standard @option{--version}
654 message should use parenthesized @samp{C} by default, though message
655 translations may use C-in-a-circle in locales where that symbol is
656 known to work. Alternatively, the @samp{(C)} or C-in-a-circle can be
657 omitted entirely; the word @samp{Copyright} suffices.
659 To update the list of year numbers, add each year in which you have
660 made nontrivial changes to the package. (Here we assume you're using
661 a publicly accessible revision control server, so that every revision
662 installed is also immediately and automatically published.) When you
663 add the new year, it is not required to keep track of which files have
664 seen significant changes in the new year and which have not. It is
665 recommended and simpler to add the new year to all files in the
666 package, and be done with it for the rest of the year.
668 Don't delete old year numbers, though; they are significant since they
669 indicate when older versions might theoretically go into the public
670 domain, if the movie companies don't continue buying laws to further
671 extend copyright. If you copy a file into the package from some other
672 program, keep the copyright years that come with the file.
674 You can use a range (@samp{2008-2010}) instead of listing individual
675 years (@samp{2008, 2009, 2010}) if and only if: 1)@tie{}every year in
676 the range, inclusive, really is a ``copyrightable'' year that would be
677 listed individually; @emph{and} 2)@tie{}you make an explicit statement
678 in a @file{README} file about this usage.
680 For files which are regularly copied from another project (such as
681 @samp{gnulib}), leave the copyright notice as it is in the original.
683 The copyright statement may be split across multiple lines, both in
684 source files and in any generated output. This often happens for
685 files with a long history, having many different years of
688 For an FSF-copyrighted package, if you have followed the procedures to
689 obtain legal papers, each file should have just one copyright holder:
690 the Free Software Foundation, Inc. You should edit the file's
691 copyright notice to list that name and only that name.
693 But if contributors are not all assigning their copyrights to a single
694 copyright holder, it can easily happen that one file has several
695 copyright holders. Each contributor of nontrivial text is a copyright
698 In that case, you should always include a copyright notice in the name
699 of main copyright holder of the file. You can also include copyright
700 notices for other copyright holders as well, and this is a good idea
701 for those who have contributed a large amount and for those who
702 specifically ask for notices in their names. (Sometimes the license
703 on code that you copy in may require preserving certain copyright
704 notices.) But you don't have to include a notice for everyone who
705 contributed to the file (which would be rather inconvenient).
707 Sometimes a program has an overall copyright notice that refers to the
708 whole program. It might be in the @file{README} file, or it might be
709 displayed when the program starts up. This copyright notice should
710 mention the year of completion of the most recent major version; it
711 can mention years of completion of previous major versions, but that
715 @node License Notices
716 @section License Notices
717 @cindex license notices in program files
719 Every nontrivial file needs a license notice as well as the copyright
720 notice. (Without a license notice giving permission to copy and
721 change the file, the file is non-free.)
723 The package itself should contain a full copy of GPL in plain text
724 (conventionally in a file named @file{COPYING}) and the GNU Free
725 Documentation License (included within your documentation, so there is
726 no need for a separate plain text version). If the package contains
727 any files distributed under the Lesser GPL, it should contain a full
728 copy of its plain text version also (conventionally in a file named
729 @file{COPYING.LESSER}).
731 If you have questions about licensing issues for your GNU package,
732 please write @email{licensing@@gnu.org}.
735 * Which: Licensing of GNU Packages.
736 * Canonical: Canonical License Sources.
737 * Code: License Notices for Code.
738 * Documentation: License Notices for Documentation.
739 * Other: License Notices for Other Files.
743 @node Licensing of GNU Packages
744 @subsection Licensing of GNU Packages
746 Normally, GNU packages should use the latest version of the GNU GPL,
747 with the ``or any later version'' formulation. @xref{License Notices
748 for Code}, for the exact wording of the license notice.
750 Occasionally, a GNU library may provide functionality which is already
751 widely available to proprietary programs through alternative
752 implementations; for example, the GNU C Library. In such cases, the
753 Lesser GPL should be used (again, for the notice wording,
754 @pxref{License Notices for Code}). If a GNU library provides unique
755 functionality, however, the GNU GPL should be used.
756 @url{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-not-lgpl.html} discusses this
759 Some of these libraries need to work with programs released under
760 GPLv2-only; that is, which allow the GNU GPL version 2 but not later
761 versions. In this case, the GNU package should be released under a
762 dual license: GNU GPL version 2 (or any later version) and the GNU
763 Lesser GPL version 3 (or any later version). Here is the notice for
767 This file is part of GNU @var{package}.
769 GNU @var{package} is free software: you can redistribute it and/or
770 modify it under the terms of either:
772 * the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
773 Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your
774 option) any later version.
778 * the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
779 Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
780 option) any later version.
782 or both in parallel, as here.
784 GNU @var{package} is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
785 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
786 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
787 General Public License for more details.
789 You should have received copies of the GNU General Public License and
790 the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this program. If
791 not, see @url{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/}.
794 For small packages, you can use ``This program'' instead of ``GNU
798 @node Canonical License Sources
799 @subsection Canonical License Sources
801 You can get the official versions of these files from several places.
802 You can use whichever is the most convenient for you.
806 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/}.
809 The @code{gnulib} project on @code{savannah.gnu.org}, which you
810 can access via anonymous Git or CVS. See
811 @uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gnulib}.
815 The official Texinfo sources for the licenses are also available in
816 those same places, so you can include them in your documentation. A
817 GFDL-covered manual should include the GFDL in this way. @xref{GNU
818 Sample Texts,,, texinfo, Texinfo}, for a full example in a Texinfo
822 @node License Notices for Code
823 @subsection License Notices for Code
825 Typically the license notice for program files (including build scripts,
826 configure files and makefiles) should cite the GPL, like this:
829 This file is part of GNU @var{package}.
831 GNU @var{package} is free software: you can redistribute it and/or
832 modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
833 published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
834 License, or (at your option) any later version.
836 GNU @var{package} is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
837 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
838 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
839 GNU General Public License for more details.
841 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
842 along with this program. If not, see @url{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/}.
845 But in a small program which is just a few files, you can use
849 This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
850 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
851 the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
852 (at your option) any later version.
854 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
855 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
856 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
857 GNU General Public License for more details.
859 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
860 along with this program. If not, see @url{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/}.
863 In either case, for those few packages which use the Lesser GPL
864 (@pxref{Licensing of GNU Packages}), insert the word ``Lesser'' before
865 ``General'' in @emph{all three} places.
866 @url{http://@/www.gnu.org/@/licenses/@/gpl-howto.html} discusses application
867 the GPL in more detail.
870 @node License Notices for Documentation
871 @subsection License Notices for Documentation
873 Documentation files should have license notices also. Manuals should
874 use the GNU Free Documentation License. Following is an example of the
875 license notice to use after the copyright line(s) using all the
876 features of the GFDL.
879 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
880 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
881 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
882 Invariant Sections being ``GNU General Public License'', with the
883 Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts
884 as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section
885 entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
887 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to
888 copy and modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF
889 supports it in developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
892 If the FSF does not publish this manual on paper, then omit the last
893 sentence in (a) that talks about copies from GNU Press. If the FSF is
894 not the copyright holder, then replace @samp{FSF} with the appropriate
897 Please adjust the list of invariant sections as appropriate for your
898 manual. If there are none, then say ``with no Invariant Sections''.
899 If your manual is not published by the FSF, and under 400 pages, you
900 can omit both cover texts.
902 @xref{GNU Sample Texts,,, texinfo, Texinfo}, for a full example in a
903 Texinfo manual, and see
904 @url{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-howto.html} for more advice about
905 how to use the GNU FDL.
907 If you write a manual that people might want to buy on paper, please
908 write to @email{maintainers@@gnu.org} to tell the FSF about it. We
909 might want to publish it.
911 If the manual is over 400 pages, or if the FSF thinks it might be a
912 good choice for publishing on paper, then please include the GNU GPL,
913 as in the notice above. Please also include our standard invariant
914 section which explains the importance of free documentation. Write to
915 @email{assign@@gnu.org} to get a copy of this section.
917 When you distribute several manuals together in one software package,
918 their on-line forms can share a single copy of the GFDL (see
919 section@tie{}6). However, the printed (@samp{.dvi}, @samp{.pdf},
920 @dots{}) forms should each contain a copy of the GFDL, unless they are
921 set up to be printed and published only together. Therefore, it is
922 usually simplest to include the GFDL in each manual.
925 @node License Notices for Other Files
926 @subsection License Notices for Other Files
928 Small supporting files, short manuals (under 300 lines long) and rough
929 documentation (@file{README} files, @file{INSTALL} files, etc.)@: can
930 use a simple all-permissive license like this one:
933 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
934 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
935 notice and this notice are preserved. This file is offered as-is,
936 without any warranty.
939 Older versions of this license did not have the second sentence with
940 the express warranty disclaimer. There is no urgent need to update
941 existing files, but new files should use the new text.
943 If your package distributes Autoconf macros that are intended to be
944 used (hence distributed) by third-party packages under possibly
945 incompatible licenses, you may also use the above all-permissive
946 license for these macros.
949 @node External Libraries
950 @section External Libraries
952 When maintaining an FSF-copyrighted GNU package, you may occasionally
953 want to use a general-purpose free software module which offers a
954 useful functionality, as a ``library'' facility (though the module is
955 not always packaged technically as a library).
957 In a case like this, it would be unreasonable to ask the author of that
958 module to assign the copyright to the FSF. After all, person did not
959 write it specifically as a contribution to your package, so it would be
960 impertinent to ask per, out of the blue, ``Please give the FSF your
963 So the thing to do in this case is to make your program use the module,
964 but not consider it a part of your program. There are two reasonable
965 methods of doing this:
969 Assume the module is already installed on the system, and use it when
970 linking your program. This is only reasonable if the module really has
971 the form of a library.
974 Include the module in your package, putting the source in a separate
975 subdirectory whose @file{README} file says, ``This is not part of the
976 GNU FOO program, but is used with GNU FOO.'' Then set up your makefiles
977 to build this module and link it into the executable.
979 For this method, it is not necessary to treat the module as a library
980 and make a @samp{.a} file from it. You can link with the @samp{.o}
981 files directly in the usual manner.
984 Both of these methods create an irregularity, and our lawyers have told
985 us to minimize the amount of such irregularity. So consider using these
986 methods only for general-purpose modules that were written for other
987 programs and released separately for general use. For anything that was
988 written as a contribution to your package, please get papers signed.
992 @chapter Cleaning Up Changes
993 @cindex contributions, accepting
994 @cindex quality of changes suggested by others
996 Don't feel obligated to include every change that someone asks you to
997 include. You must judge which changes are improvements---partly based
998 on what you think the users will like, and partly based on your own
999 judgment of what is better. If you think a change is not good, you
1002 If someone sends you changes which are useful, but written in an ugly
1003 way or hard to understand and maintain in the future, don't hesitate to
1004 ask per to clean up their changes before you merge them. Since the
1005 amount of work we can do is limited, the more we convince others to help
1006 us work efficiently, the faster GNU will advance.
1008 If the contributor will not or can not make the changes clean enough,
1009 then it is legitimate to say ``I can't install this in its present form;
1010 I can only do so if you clean it up.'' Invite per to distribute per
1011 changes another way, or to find other people to make them clean enough
1012 for you to install and maintain.
1014 The only reason to do these cleanups yourself is if (1) it is easy, less
1015 work than telling the author what to clean up, or (2) the change is an
1016 important one, important enough to be worth the work of cleaning it up.
1018 The GNU Coding Standards are a good thing to send people when you ask
1019 them to clean up changes (@pxref{Top, , Contents, standards, GNU Coding
1020 Standards}). The Emacs Lisp manual contains an appendix that gives
1021 coding standards for Emacs Lisp programs; it is good to urge Lisp authors to
1022 read it (@pxref{Tips, , Tips and Conventions, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
1027 @chapter Platforms to Support
1029 Most GNU packages run on a wide range of platforms. These platforms are
1030 not equally important.
1032 The most important platforms for a GNU package to support are GNU and
1033 GNU/Linux. Developing the GNU operating system is the whole point of
1034 the GNU Project; a GNU package exists to make the whole GNU system more
1035 powerful. So please keep that goal in mind and let it shape your work.
1036 For instance, every new feature you add should work on GNU, and
1037 GNU/Linux if possible too. If a new feature only runs on GNU and
1038 GNU/Linux, it could still be acceptable. However, a feature that runs
1039 only on other systems and not on GNU or GNU/Linux makes no sense in a
1042 You will naturally want to keep the program running on all the platforms
1043 it supports. But you personally will not have access to most of these
1044 platforms---so how should you do it?
1046 Don't worry about trying to get access to all of these platforms. Even
1047 if you did have access to all the platforms, it would be inefficient for
1048 you to test the program on each platform yourself. Instead, you should
1049 test the program on a few platforms, including GNU or GNU/Linux, and let
1050 the users test it on the other platforms. You can do this through a
1051 pretest phase before the real release; when there is no reason to expect
1052 problems, in a package that is mostly portable, you can just make a
1053 release and let the users tell you if anything unportable was
1056 It is important to test the program personally on GNU or GNU/Linux,
1057 because these are the most important platforms for a GNU package. If
1058 you don't have access to one of these platforms, as a GNU maintainer
1059 you can get access to the general GNU login machine; see
1060 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/README.accounts.html}.
1062 Supporting other platforms is optional---we do it when that seems like
1063 a good idea, but we don't consider it obligatory. If the users don't
1064 take care of a certain platform, you may have to desupport it unless
1065 and until users come forward to help. Conversely, if a user offers
1066 changes to support an additional platform, you will probably want to
1067 install them, but you don't have to. If you feel the changes are
1068 complex and ugly, if you think that they will increase the burden of
1069 future maintenance, you can and should reject them. This includes
1070 both free or mainly-free platforms such as OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and
1071 NetBSD, and non-free platforms such as Windows.
1075 @chapter Dealing With Mail
1078 This chapter describes setting up mailing lists for your package, and
1079 gives advice on how to handle bug reports and random requests once you
1083 * Standard Mailing Lists:: @samp{bug-pkg@@gnu.org} and other standard names.
1084 * Creating Mailing Lists:: The best way is to use Savannah.
1085 * Replying to Mail:: Advice on replying to incoming mail.
1089 @node Standard Mailing Lists
1090 @section Standard Mailing Lists
1092 @cindex standard mailing lists
1093 @cindex mailing lists, standard names of
1095 @cindex mailing list for bug reports
1096 Once a program is in use, you will get bug reports for it. Most GNU
1097 programs have their own special lists for sending bug reports. The
1098 advertised bug-reporting email address should always be
1099 @samp{bug-@var{package}@@gnu.org}, to help show users that the program
1100 is a GNU package, but it is ok to set up that list to forward to another
1103 @cindex @email{bug-gnu-utils@@gnu.org}
1104 We also have a catch-all list, @email{bug-gnu-utils@@gnu.org}, which is
1105 used for all GNU programs that don't have their own specific lists. But
1106 nowadays we want to give each program its own bug-reporting list and
1107 move away from using @email{bug-gnu-utils}.
1109 @xref{Replying to Mail}, for more about handling and tracking bug
1112 @cindex help for users, mailing list for
1113 Some GNU programs with many users have another mailing list,
1114 @samp{help-@var{package}.org}, for people to ask other users for help.
1115 If your program has many users, you should create such a list for it.
1116 For a fairly new program, which doesn't have a large user base yet, it
1117 is better not to bother with this.
1119 @cindex announcements, mailing list for
1120 If you wish, you can also have a mailing list
1121 @samp{info-@var{package}} for announcements (@pxref{Announcements}).
1122 Any other mailing lists you find useful can also be created.
1124 The package distribution should state the name of all the package's
1125 mailing lists in a prominent place, and ask users to help us by
1126 reporting bugs appropriately. The top-level @file{README} file and/or
1127 @file{AUTHORS} file are good places. Mailing list information should
1128 also be included in the manual and the package web pages (@pxref{Web
1133 @node Creating Mailing Lists
1134 @section Creating Mailing Lists
1136 @cindex creating mailing lists
1137 @cindex mailing lists, creating
1139 Using the web interface on @code{savannah.gnu.org} is by far the
1140 easiest way to create normal mailing lists, managed through Mailman on
1141 the GNU mail server. Once you register your package on Savannah, you
1142 can create (and remove) lists yourself through the `Mailing Lists'
1143 menu, without needing to wait for intervention by anyone else.
1144 Furthermore, lists created through Savannah will have a reasonable
1145 default configuration for antispam purposes (see below).
1147 To create and maintain simple aliases and unmanaged lists, you can
1148 edit @file{/com/mailer/aliases} on the main GNU server. If you don't
1149 have an account there, please read
1150 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/README.accounts.html} (@pxref{GNU
1151 Accounts and Resources}).
1153 But if you don't want to learn how to do those things, you can
1154 alternatively ask @email{alias-file@@gnu.org} to add you to the
1155 bug-reporting list for your program. To set up a new list, contact
1156 @email{new-mailing-list@@gnu.org}. You can subscribe to a list managed
1157 by Mailman by sending mail to the corresponding @samp{-request} address.
1159 @cindex spam prevention
1160 You should moderate postings from non-subscribed addresses on your
1161 mailing lists, to prevent propagation of unwanted messages (``spam'')
1162 to subscribers and to the list archives. For lists controlled by
1163 Mailman, you can do this by setting @code{Privacy Options - Sender
1164 Filter - generic_nonmember_action} to @code{Hold}, and then
1165 periodically (daily is best) reviewing the held messages, accepting
1166 the real ones and discarding the junk.
1168 Lists created through Savannah will have this setting, and a number of
1169 others, such that spam will be automatically deleted (after a short
1170 delay). The Savannah mailing list page describes all the details.
1171 You should still review the held messages in order to approve any that
1175 @node Replying to Mail
1176 @section Replying to Mail
1178 @cindex responding to bug reports
1179 @cindex bug reports, handling
1180 @cindex help requests, handling
1182 When you receive bug reports, keep in mind that bug reports are crucial
1183 for your work. If you don't know about problems, you cannot fix them.
1184 So always thank each person who sends a bug report.
1186 You don't have an obligation to give more response than that, though.
1187 The main purpose of bug reports is to help you contribute to the
1188 community by improving the next version of the program. Many of the
1189 people who report bugs don't realize this---they think that the point is
1190 for you to help them individually. Some will ask you to focus on that
1191 @emph{instead of} on making the program better. If you comply with
1192 their wishes, you will have been distracted from the job of maintaining
1195 For example, people sometimes report a bug in a vague (and therefore
1196 useless) way, and when you ask for more information, they say, ``I just
1197 wanted to see if you already knew the solution'' (in which case the bug
1198 report would do nothing to help improve the program). When this
1199 happens, you should explain to them the real purpose of bug reports. (A
1200 canned explanation will make this more efficient.)
1202 When people ask you to put your time into helping them use the program,
1203 it may seem ``helpful'' to do what they ask. But it is much @emph{less}
1204 helpful than improving the program, which is the maintainer's real job.
1206 By all means help individual users when you feel like it, if you feel
1207 you have the time available. But be careful to limit the amount of time
1208 you spend doing this---don't let it eat away the time you need to
1209 maintain the program! Know how to say no; when you are pressed for
1210 time, just ``thanks for the bug report---I will fix it'' is enough
1213 Some GNU packages, such as Emacs and GCC, come with advice about how
1214 to make bug reports useful. Copying and adapting that could be very
1215 useful for your package.
1217 @cindex @url{http://bugs.gnu.org}
1218 @cindex bug reports, email tracker for
1219 @cindex bug reports, web tracker for
1220 If you would like to use an email-based bug tracking system, see
1221 @url{http://bugs.gnu.org}; this can be connected with the regular
1222 bug-reporting address. Alternatively, if you would like to use a
1223 web-based bug tracking system, Savannah supports this (@pxref{Old
1224 Versions}), but please don't fail to accept bugs by regular email as
1225 well---we don't want to put up unnecessary barriers against users
1230 @chapter Recording Old Versions
1231 @cindex version control
1233 It is very important to keep backup files of all source files of GNU.
1234 You can do this using a source control system (such as Bazaar, RCS,
1235 CVS, Git, Subversion, @dots{}) if you like. An easy way to use
1236 many such systems is via the Version Control library in Emacs
1237 (@pxref{Introduction to VC,, Introduction to Version Control, emacs,
1238 The GNU Emacs Manual}).
1240 The history of previous revisions and log entries is very important for
1241 future maintainers of the package, so even if you do not make it
1242 publicly accessible, be careful not to put anything in the repository or
1243 change log that you would not want to hand over to another maintainer
1246 @cindex @code{savannah-hackers@@gnu.org}
1247 The GNU Project provides a server that GNU packages can use
1248 for source control and other package needs: @code{savannah.gnu.org}.
1249 Savannah is managed by @email{savannah-hackers@@gnu.org}. For more
1250 details on using and contributing to Savannah, see
1251 @url{http://savannah.gnu.org/maintenance}.
1253 It's not an absolute requirement, but all GNU maintainers are strongly
1254 encouraged to take advantage of Savannah, as sharing such a central
1255 point can serve to foster a sense of community among GNU developers as
1256 well as help in keeping up with project management. Please don't mark
1257 Savannah projects for GNU packages as private; that defeats a large
1258 part of the purpose of using Savannah in the first place.
1260 @cindex @code{savannah-announce@@gnu.org} mailing list
1261 If you do use Savannah, please subscribe to the
1262 @email{savannah-announce@@gnu.org} mailing list
1263 (@url{http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/savannah-announce}). This
1264 is a very low-volume list to keep Savannah users informed of system
1265 upgrades, problems, and the like.
1269 @chapter Distributions
1271 Please follow the GNU conventions when making GNU software
1275 * Distribution tar Files::
1276 * Distribution Patches::
1277 * Distribution on ftp.gnu.org::
1279 * Automated FTP Uploads::
1283 @node Distribution tar Files
1284 @section Distribution tar Files
1285 @cindex distribution, tar files
1287 The tar file for version @var{m}.@var{n} of program @code{foo} should be
1288 named @file{foo-@var{m}.@var{n}.tar}. It should unpack into a
1289 subdirectory named @file{foo-@var{m}.@var{n}}. Tar files should not
1290 unpack into files in the current directory, because this is inconvenient
1291 if the user happens to unpack into a directory with other files in it.
1293 Here is how the @file{Makefile} for Bison creates the tar file.
1294 This method is good for other programs.
1298 echo bison-`sed -e '/version_string/!d' \
1299 -e 's/[^0-9.]*\([0-9.]*\).*/\1/' -e q version.c` > .fname
1300 -rm -rf `cat .fname`
1302 dst=`cat .fname`; for f in $(DISTFILES); do \
1303 ln $(srcdir)/$$f $$dst/$$f || @{ echo copying $$f; \
1304 cp -p $(srcdir)/$$f $$dst/$$f ; @} \
1306 tar --gzip -chf `cat .fname`.tar.gz `cat .fname`
1307 -rm -rf `cat .fname` .fname
1310 Source files that are symbolic links to other file systems cannot be
1311 installed in the temporary directory using @code{ln}, so use @code{cp}
1315 Using Automake is a good way to take care of writing the @code{dist}
1318 @node Distribution Patches
1319 @section Distribution Patches
1320 @cindex patches, against previous releases
1322 If the program is large, it is useful to make a set of diffs for each
1323 release, against the previous important release.
1325 At the front of the set of diffs, put a short explanation of which
1326 version this is for and which previous version it is relative to.
1327 Also explain what else people need to do to update the sources
1328 properly (for example, delete or rename certain files before
1329 installing the diffs).
1331 The purpose of having diffs is that they are small. To keep them
1332 small, exclude files that the user can easily update. For example,
1333 exclude info files, DVI files, tags tables, output files of Bison or
1334 Flex. In Emacs diffs, we exclude compiled Lisp files, leaving it up
1335 to the installer to recompile the patched sources.
1337 When you make the diffs, each version should be in a directory suitably
1338 named---for example, @file{gcc-2.3.2} and @file{gcc-2.3.3}. This way,
1339 it will be very clear from the diffs themselves which version is which.
1343 @cindex time stamp in diffs
1344 If you use GNU @code{diff} to make the patch, use the options
1345 @samp{-rc2P}. That will put any new files into the output as ``entirely
1346 different''. Also, the patch's context diff headers should have dates
1347 and times in Universal Time using traditional Unix format, so that patch
1348 recipients can use GNU @code{patch}'s @samp{-Z} option. For example,
1349 you could use the following Bourne shell command to create the patch:
1352 LC_ALL=C TZ=UTC0 diff -rc2P gcc-2.3.2 gcc-2.3.3 | \
1353 gzip -9 >gcc-2.3.2-2.3.3.patch.gz
1356 If the distribution has subdirectories in it, then the diffs probably
1357 include some files in the subdirectories. To help users install such
1358 patches reliably, give them precise directions for how to run patch.
1359 For example, say this:
1362 To apply these patches, cd to the main directory of the program
1363 and then use `patch -p1'. `-p1' avoids guesswork in choosing
1364 which subdirectory to find each file in.
1367 It's wise to test your patch by applying it to a copy of the old
1368 version, and checking that the result exactly matches the new version.
1371 @node Distribution on ftp.gnu.org
1372 @section Distribution on @code{ftp.gnu.org}
1373 @cindex GNU ftp site
1374 @cindex @code{ftp.gnu.org}, the GNU release site
1376 We strongly recommend using @code{ftp.gnu.org} to distribute official
1377 releases. If you want to also distribute the package from a site of
1378 your own, that is fine. To use some other site instead of
1379 @code{ftp.gnu.org} is acceptable, provided it allows connections from
1382 @xref{Automated FTP Uploads}, for the procedural details of putting
1383 new versions on @code{ftp.gnu.org}.
1387 @section Test Releases
1388 @cindex test releases
1389 @cindex beta releases
1390 @cindex pretest releases
1392 @cindex @code{alpha.gnu.org}, test release site
1393 When you release a greatly changed new major version of a program, you
1394 might want to do so as a pretest. This means that you make a tar file,
1395 but send it only to a group of volunteers that you have recruited. (Use
1396 a suitable GNU mailing list/newsgroup to recruit them.)
1398 We normally use the server @code{alpha.gnu.org} for pretests and
1399 prerelease versions. @xref{Automated FTP Uploads}, for the procedural
1400 details of putting new versions on @code{alpha.gnu.org}.
1402 Once a program gets to be widely used and people expect it to work
1403 solidly, it is a good idea to do pretest releases before each ``real''
1406 There are two ways of handling version numbers for pretest versions.
1407 One method is to treat them as versions preceding the release you are going
1410 In this method, if you are about to release version 4.6 but you want
1411 to do a pretest first, call it 4.5.90. If you need a second pretest,
1412 call it 4.5.91, and so on. If you are really unlucky and ten pretests
1413 are not enough, after 4.5.99 you could advance to 4.5.990 and so on.
1414 (You could also use 4.5.100, but 990 has the advantage of sorting in
1417 The other method is to attach a date to the release number that is
1418 coming. For a pretest for version 4.6, made on Dec 10, 2002, this
1419 would be 4.6.20021210. A second pretest made the same day could be
1422 For development snapshots that are not formal pretests, using just
1423 the date without the version numbers is ok too.
1425 One thing that you should never do is to release a pretest with the same
1426 version number as the planned real release. Many people will look only
1427 at the version number (in the tar file name, in the directory name that
1428 it unpacks into, or wherever they can find it) to determine whether a
1429 tar file is the latest version. People might look at the test release
1430 in this way and mistake it for the real release. Therefore, always
1431 change the number when you release changed code.
1434 @node Automated FTP Uploads
1435 @section Automated FTP Uploads
1437 @cindex ftp uploads, automated
1438 In order to upload new releases to @code{ftp.gnu.org} or
1439 @code{alpha.gnu.org}, you first need to register the necessary
1440 information. Then, you can perform uploads yourself, with no
1441 intervention needed by the system administrators.
1443 The general idea is that releases should be cryptographically signed
1444 before they are made publicly available.
1447 * Automated Upload Registration::
1448 * Automated Upload Procedure::
1449 * FTP Upload Directive File - v1.1::
1450 * FTP Upload Directive File - v1.0::
1454 @node Automated Upload Registration
1455 @subsection Automated Upload Registration
1457 @cindex registration for uploads
1458 @cindex uploads, registration for
1460 Here is how to register your information so you can perform uploads
1461 for your GNU package:
1466 Create an account for yourself at @url{http://savannah.gnu.org}, if
1467 you don't already have one. By the way, this is also needed to
1468 maintain the web pages at @url{http://www.gnu.org} for your project
1469 (@pxref{Web Pages}).
1472 In the @samp{My Account Conf} page on @code{savannah}, upload the GPG
1473 key you will use to sign your packages. If you haven't created one
1474 before, you can do so with the command @code{gpg --gen-key} (you can
1475 accept all the default answers to its questions).
1477 Optional but recommended: Send your key to a GPG public key server:
1478 @code{gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --send-keys @var{keyid}}, where
1479 @var{keyid} is the eight hex digits reported by @code{gpg
1480 --list-public-keys} on the @code{pub} line before the date. For full
1481 information about GPG, see @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/gpg}.
1484 Compose a message with the following items in some @var{msgfile}.
1485 Then GPG-sign it by running @code{gpg --clearsign @var{msgfile}}, and
1486 finally email the resulting @file{@var{msgfile}.asc} to
1487 @email{ftp-upload@@gnu.org}.
1491 Name of package(s) that you are the maintainer for, your
1492 preferred email address, and your Savannah username.
1495 An ASCII armored copy of your GPG key, as an attachment. (@samp{gpg
1496 --export -a @var{your_key_id} >mykey.asc} should give you this.)
1499 A list of names and preferred email addresses of other individuals you
1500 authorize to make releases for which packages, if any (in the case that you
1501 don't make all releases yourself).
1504 ASCII armored copies of GPG keys for any individuals listed in (3).
1508 The administrators will acknowledge your message when they have added
1509 the proper GPG keys as authorized to upload files for the
1510 corresponding packages.
1512 The upload system will email receipts to the given email addresses
1513 when an upload is made, either successfully or unsuccessfully.
1516 @node Automated Upload Procedure
1517 @subsection Automated Upload Procedure
1521 Once you have registered your information as described in the previous
1522 section, you will be able to do ftp uploads for yourself using the
1523 following procedure.
1525 For each upload destined for @code{ftp.gnu.org} or
1526 @code{alpha.gnu.org}, three files (a @dfn{triplet}) need to be
1527 uploaded via ftp to the host @code{ftp-upload.gnu.org}.
1531 The file to be distributed; for example, @file{foo.tar.gz}.
1534 Detached GPG binary signature file for (1); for example,
1535 @file{foo.tar.gz.sig}. Make this with @samp{gpg -b foo.tar.gz}.
1538 A clearsigned @dfn{directive file}; for example,
1539 @file{foo.tar.gz.directive.asc}. Make this by preparing the plain
1540 text file @file{foo.tar.gz.directive} and then run @samp{gpg
1541 --clearsign foo.tar.gz.directive}. @xref{FTP Upload Directive File -
1542 v1.1}, for the contents of the directive file.
1545 The names of the files are important. The signature file must have the
1546 same name as the file to be distributed, with an additional
1547 @file{.sig} extension. The directive file must have the same name as
1548 the file to be distributed, with an additional @file{.directive.asc}
1549 extension. If you do not follow this naming convention, the upload
1550 @emph{will not be processed}.
1552 Since v1.1 of the upload script, it is also possible to upload a
1553 clearsigned directive file on its own (no accompanying @file{.sig} or
1554 any other file) to perform certain operations on the server.
1555 @xref{FTP Upload Directive File - v1.1}, for more information.
1557 Upload the file(s) via anonymous ftp to @code{ftp-upload.gnu.org}. If
1558 the upload is destined for @code{ftp.gnu.org}, place the file(s) in
1559 the @file{/incoming/ftp} directory. If the upload is destined for
1560 @code{alpha.gnu.org}, place the file(s) in the @file{/incoming/alpha}
1563 Uploads are processed every five minutes. Uploads that are in
1564 progress while the upload processing script is running are handled
1565 properly, so do not worry about the timing of your upload. Uploaded
1566 files that belong to an incomplete triplet are deleted automatically
1569 Your designated upload email addresses (@pxref{Automated Upload Registration})
1570 are sent a message if there are any problems processing an upload for your
1571 package. You also receive a message when your upload has been successfully
1574 One automated way to create and transfer the necessary files is to use
1575 the @code{gnupload} script, which is available from the
1576 @file{build-aux/} directory of the @code{gnulib} project at
1577 @url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gnulib}. @code{gnupload} can
1578 also remove uploaded files. Run @code{gnupload --help} for a
1579 description and examples.
1581 @code{gnupload} uses the @code{ncftpput} program to do the actual
1582 transfers; if you don't happen to have the @code{ncftp} package
1583 installed, the @code{ncftpput-ftp} script in the @file{build-aux/}
1584 directory of @code{gnulib} serves as a replacement which uses plain
1585 command line @code{ftp}.
1587 If you have difficulties with an upload, email
1588 @email{ftp-upload@@gnu.org}. You can check the archive of uploads
1590 @url{https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/ftp-upload-report}.
1593 @node FTP Upload Directive File - v1.1
1594 @subsection FTP Upload Directive File - v1.1
1596 The directive file name must end in @file{directive.asc}.
1598 When part of a triplet, the directive file must always contain the
1599 directives @code{version}, @code{directory} and @code{filename}, as
1600 described. In addition, a 'comment' directive is allowed.
1602 The @code{version} directive must always have the value @samp{1.1}.
1604 The @code{directory} directive specifies the final destination
1605 directory where the uploaded file and its @file{.sig} companion are to
1608 The @code{filename} directive must contain the name of the file to be
1609 distributed (item@tie{}(1) above).
1611 For example, as part of an uploaded triplet, a
1612 @file{foo.tar.gz.directive.asc} file might contain these lines (before
1613 being gpg clearsigned):
1618 filename: foo.tar.gz
1619 comment: hello world!
1622 This directory line indicates that @file{foo.tar.gz} and
1623 @file{foo.tar.gz.sig} are part of package @code{bar}. If you uploaded
1624 this triplet to @file{/incoming/ftp} and the system positively
1625 authenticates the signatures, the files @file{foo.tar.gz} and
1626 @file{foo.tar.gz.sig} will be placed in the directory
1627 @file{gnu/bar/v1} of the @code{ftp.gnu.org} site.
1629 The directive file can be used to create currently non-existent
1630 directory trees, as long as they are under the package directory for
1631 your package (in the example above, that is @code{bar}).
1633 If you upload a file that already exists in the FTP directory, the
1634 original will simply be archived and replaced with the new upload.
1636 @subheading Standalone directives
1638 When uploaded by itself, the directive file must contain one or more
1639 of the directives @code{symlink}, @code{rmsymlink} or @code{archive},
1640 in addition to the obligatory @code{directory} and @code{version}
1641 directives. A @code{filename} directive is not allowed, and a
1642 @code{comment} directive remains optional.
1644 If you use more than one directive, the directives are executed in the
1645 sequence they are specified in. If a directive results in an error,
1646 further execution of the upload is aborted.
1648 Removing a symbolic link (with @code{rmsymlink}) which does not exist
1649 results in an error. However, attempting to create a symbolic link
1650 that already exists (with @code{symlink}) is not an error. In this
1651 case @code{symlink} behaves like the command @command{ln -s -f}: any
1652 existing symlink is removed before creating the link. (But an
1653 existing regular file or directory is not removed.)
1655 Here are a few examples. The first removes a symlink:
1660 rmsymlink: foo-latest.tgz
1661 comment: remove a symlink
1665 Archive an old file, taking it offline:
1670 archive: foo-1.1.tar.gz
1671 comment: archive an old file; it will not be
1672 comment: available through FTP any more.
1676 Archive an old directory (with all contents), taking it offline:
1682 comment: archive an old directory; it and its entire
1683 comment: contents will not be available through FTP anymore
1687 Create a new symlink:
1692 symlink: foo-1.2.tar.gz foo-latest.tgz
1693 comment: create a new symlink
1697 Do everything at once:
1702 rmsymlink: foo-latest.tgz
1703 symlink: foo-1.2.tar.gz foo-latest.tgz
1704 archive: foo-1.1.tar.gz
1705 comment: now do everything at once
1709 @node FTP Upload Directive File - v1.0
1710 @subsection FTP Upload Directive File - v1.0
1712 @dfn{As of June 2006, the upload script is running in compatibility
1713 mode, allowing uploads with either version@tie{}1.1 or
1714 version@tie{}1.0 of the directive file syntax. Support for v1.0
1715 uploads will be phased out by the end of 2006, so please upgrade
1718 The directive file should contain one line, excluding the clearsigned
1719 data GPG that inserts, which specifies the final destination directory
1720 where items (1) and (2) are to be placed.
1722 For example, the @file{foo.tar.gz.directive.asc} file might contain the
1729 This directory line indicates that @file{foo.tar.gz} and
1730 @file{foo.tar.gz.sig} are part of package @code{bar}. If you were to
1731 upload the triplet to @file{/incoming/ftp}, and the system can
1732 positively authenticate the signatures, then the files
1733 @file{foo.tar.gz} and @file{foo.tar.gz.sig} will be placed in the
1734 directory @file{gnu/bar/v1} of the @code{ftp.gnu.org} site.
1736 The directive file can be used to create currently non-existent
1737 directory trees, as long as they are under the package directory for
1738 your package (in the example above, that is @code{bar}).
1742 @section Announcing Releases
1743 @cindex announcements
1745 @cindex @code{info-gnu} mailing list
1746 When you have a new release, please make an announcement. For
1747 official new releases, including those made just to fix bugs, we
1748 strongly recommend using the (moderated) general GNU announcements
1749 list, @email{info-gnu@@gnu.org}. Doing so makes it easier for users
1750 and developers to find the latest GNU releases. On the other hand,
1751 please do not announce test releases on @code{info-gnu} unless it's a
1752 highly unusual situation.
1754 @cindex @url{http://planet.gnu.org}
1755 @cindex Savannah, news area
1756 Please also post release announcements in the news section of your
1757 Savannah project site. Here, it is fine to also write news entries
1758 for test releases and any other newsworthy events. The news feeds
1759 from all GNU projects at savannah are aggregated at
1760 @url{http://planet.gnu.org} (GNU Planet). You can also post items
1761 directly, or arrange for feeds from other locations; see information
1762 on the GNU Planet web page.
1764 @cindex announcement mailing list, project-specific
1765 You can maintain your own mailing list (typically
1766 @indicateurl{info-@var{package}@@gnu.org}) for announcements as well if you
1767 like. For your own list, of course you decide as you see fit what
1768 events are worth announcing. (@xref{Mail}, for setting this up, and
1769 more suggestions on handling mail for your package.)
1771 @cindex contents of announcements
1772 When writing an announcement, please include the following:
1776 A very brief description (a few sentences at most) of the general
1777 purpose of your package.
1780 Your package's web page (normally
1781 @indicateurl{http://www.gnu.org/software/@var{package}/}).
1784 Your package's download location (normally
1785 @indicateurl{http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/@var{package}/}). It is also
1786 useful to mention the mirror list at
1787 @url{http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html}, and that
1788 @indicateurl{http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/@var{package/}} will automatically
1789 redirect to a nearby mirror.
1792 The @t{NEWS} (@pxref{NEWS File,,, standards, GNU Coding Standards}) for
1793 the present release.
1801 Please write web pages about your package, and install them on
1802 @code{www.gnu.org}. They should follow our usual standards for web
1803 pages (see @url{http://www.gnu.org/server/@/fsf-html-style-sheet.html}).
1804 The overall goals are to support a wide variety of browsers, to focus
1805 on information rather than flashy eye candy, and to keep the site
1808 We encourage you to use the standard @code{www.gnu.org} template as
1809 the basis for your pages:
1810 @url{http://www.gnu.org/server/@/standards/@/boilerplate-source.html}.
1812 Some GNU packages have just simple web pages, but the more information
1813 you provide, the better. So please write as much as you usefully can,
1814 and put all of it on @code{www.gnu.org}. However, pages that access
1815 databases (including mail archives and bug tracking) are an exception;
1816 set them up on whatever site is convenient for you, and make the pages
1817 on @code{www.gnu.org} link to that site.
1820 * Hosting for Web Pages::
1821 * Freedom for Web Pages::
1822 * Manuals on Web Pages::
1823 * CVS Keywords in Web Pages::
1827 @node Hosting for Web Pages
1828 @section Hosting for Web Pages
1830 The best way to maintain the web pages for your project is to register
1831 the project on @code{savannah.gnu.org}. Then you can edit the pages
1832 using CVS, using the separate ``web repository'' available on
1833 Savannah, which corresponds to
1834 @indicateurl{http://www.gnu.org/software/@var{package}/}. You can
1835 keep your source files there too (using any of a variety of version
1836 control systems), but you can use @code{savannah.gnu.org} only for
1837 your gnu.org web pages if you wish; simply register a ``web-only''
1840 If you don't want to use that method, please talk with
1841 @email{webmasters@@gnu.org} about other possible methods. For
1842 instance, you can mail them pages to install, if necessary. But that
1843 is more work for them, so please use Savannah if you can.
1845 If you use Savannah, you can use a special file named @file{.symlinks}
1846 in order to create symbolic links, which are not supported in CVS.
1848 @url{http://www.gnu.org/server/standards/README.webmastering.html#symlinks}.
1851 @node Freedom for Web Pages
1852 @section Freedom for Web Pages
1854 If you use a site other than @code{www.gnu.org}, please make sure that
1855 the site runs on free software alone. (It is ok if the site uses
1856 unreleased custom software, since that is free in a trivial sense:
1857 there's only one user and it has the four freedoms.) If the web site
1858 for a GNU package runs on non-free software, the public will see this,
1859 and it will have the effect of granting legitimacy to the non-free
1862 If you use multiple sites, they should all follow that criterion.
1863 Please don't link to a site that is about your package, which the
1864 public might perceive as connected with it and reflecting the position
1865 of its developers, unless it follows that criterion.
1867 Historically, web pages for GNU packages did not include GIF images,
1868 because of patent problems (@pxref{Ethical and Philosophical
1869 Consideration}). Although the GIF patents expired in 2006, using GIF
1870 images is still not recommended, as the PNG and JPEG formats are
1871 generally superior. See @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/gif.html}.
1874 @node Manuals on Web Pages
1875 @section Manuals on Web Pages
1877 The web pages for the package should include its manuals, in HTML,
1878 DVI, Info, PostScript, PDF, plain ASCII, and Texinfo format (source).
1879 All of these can be generated automatically from the Texinfo source
1880 using Makeinfo and other programs.
1882 When there is only one manual, put it in a subdirectory called
1883 @file{manual}; the file @file{manual/index.html} should have a link to
1884 the manual in each of its forms.
1886 If the package has more than one manual, put each one in a
1887 subdirectory of @file{manual}, set up @file{index.html} in each
1888 subdirectory to link to that manual in all its forms, and make
1889 @file{manual/index.html} link to each manual through its subdirectory.
1891 See the section below for details on a script to make the job of
1892 creating all these different formats and index pages easier.
1894 We would like to list all GNU manuals on the page
1895 @url{http://www.gnu.org/manual}, so if yours isn't there, please send
1896 mail to @code{webmasters@@gnu.org}, asking them to add yours, and they
1897 will do so based on the contents of your @file{manual} directory.
1900 * Invoking gendocs.sh::
1904 @node Invoking gendocs.sh
1905 @subsection Invoking @command{gendocs.sh}
1907 @cindex generating documentation output
1909 The script @command{gendocs.sh} eases the task of generating the
1910 Texinfo documentation output for your web pages
1911 section above. It has a companion template file, used as the basis
1912 for the HTML index pages. Both are available from the Texinfo CVS
1916 @uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs.sh}
1917 @uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs_template}
1920 There is also a minimalistic template, available from:
1923 @uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs_template_min}
1926 Invoke the script like this, in the directory containing the Texinfo
1930 gendocs.sh --email @var{yourbuglist} @var{yourmanual} "GNU @var{yourmanual} manual"
1933 @noindent where @var{yourmanual} is the short name for your package
1934 and @var{yourbuglist} is the email address for bug reports (which
1935 should be @code{bug-@var{package}@@gnu.org}). The script processes
1936 the file @file{@var{yourmanual}.texinfo} (or @file{.texi} or
1937 @file{.txi}). For example:
1941 # download gendocs.sh and gendocs_template
1942 gendocs.sh --email bug-texinfo@@gnu.org texinfo "GNU Texinfo manual"
1945 @command{gendocs.sh} creates a subdirectory @file{manual/} containing
1946 the manual generated in all the standard output formats: Info, HTML,
1947 DVI, and so on, as well as the Texinfo source. You then need to move
1948 all those files, retaining the subdirectories, into the web pages for
1951 You can specify the option @option{-o @var{outdir}} to override the
1952 name @file{manual}. Any previous contents of @var{outdir} will be deleted.
1954 The second argument, with the description, is included as part of the
1955 HTML @code{<title>} of the overall @file{manual/index.html} file. It
1956 should include the name of the package being documented, as shown.
1957 @file{manual/index.html} is created by substitution from the file
1958 @file{gendocs_template}. (Feel free to modify the generic template
1959 for your own purposes.)
1961 If you have several manuals, you'll need to run this script several
1962 times with different arguments, specifying a different output
1963 directory with @option{-o} each time, and moving all the output to
1964 your web page. Then write (by hand) an overall index.html with links
1965 to them all. For example:
1969 gendocs.sh --email bug-texinfo@@gnu.org -o texinfo texinfo "GNU Texinfo manual"
1970 gendocs.sh --email bug-texinfo@@gnu.org -o info info "GNU Info manual"
1971 gendocs.sh --email bug-texinfo@@gnu.org -o info-stnd info-stnd "GNU info-stnd manual"
1974 By default, the script uses @command{makeinfo} for generating
1975 @acronym{HTML} output. If you prefer to use @command{texi2html}, use
1976 the @option{--texi2html} command line option, e.g.:
1979 gendocs --texi2html -o texinfo texinfo "GNU Texinfo manual"
1982 The template files will automatically produce entries for additional
1983 HTML output generated by @command{texi2html} (i.e., split by sections
1986 You can set the environment variables @env{MAKEINFO}, @env{TEXI2DVI},
1987 @env{TEXI2HTML} and @env{DVIPS} to control the programs that get
1988 executed, and @env{GENDOCS_TEMPLATE_DIR} to control where the
1989 @file{gendocs_template} file is found.
1991 As usual, run @samp{gendocs.sh --help} for a description of all the
1992 options, environment variables, and more information.
1994 Please email bug reports, enhancement requests, or other
1995 correspondence to @email{bug-texinfo@@gnu.org}.
1998 @node CVS Keywords in Web Pages
1999 @section CVS Keywords in Web Pages
2000 @cindex CVS keywords in web pages
2001 @cindex RCS keywords in web pages
2002 @cindex $ keywords in web pages
2003 @cindex web pages, and CVS keywords
2005 Since @code{www.gnu.org} works through CVS, CVS keywords in your
2006 manual, such as @code{@w{$}Log$}, need special treatment (even if you
2007 don't happen to maintain your manual in CVS).
2009 If these keywords end up in the generated output as literal strings,
2010 they will be expanded. The most robust way to handle this is to turn
2011 off keyword expansion for such generated files. For existing files,
2015 cvs admin -ko @var{file1} @var{file2} ...
2022 cvs add -ko @var{file1} @var{file2} ...
2025 @c The CVS manual is now built with numeric references and no nonsplit
2026 @c form, so it's not worth trying to give a direct link.
2027 See the ``Keyword Substitution'' section in the CVS manual, available
2028 at @url{http://ximbiot.com/cvs/manual}.
2030 In Texinfo source, the recommended way to literally specify a
2031 ``dollar'' keyword is:
2037 The @code{@@w} prevents keyword expansion in the Texinfo source
2038 itself. Also, @code{makeinfo} notices the @code{@@w} and generates
2039 output avoiding the literal keyword string.
2042 @node Ethical and Philosophical Consideration
2043 @chapter Ethical and Philosophical Consideration
2047 The GNU project takes a strong stand for software freedom. Many
2048 times, this means you'll need to avoid certain technologies when their
2049 use would conflict with our long-term goals.
2051 Software patents threaten the advancement of free software and freedom
2052 to program. There are so many software patents in the US that any
2053 large program probably implements hundreds of patented techniques,
2054 unknown to the program's developers. It would be futile and
2055 self-defeating to try to find and avoid all these patents. But there
2056 are some patents which we know are likely to be used to threaten free
2057 software, so we make an effort to avoid the patented techniques. If
2058 you are concerned about the danger of a patent and would like advice,
2059 write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}, and we will try to help you get
2060 advice from a lawyer.
2062 Sometimes the GNU project takes a strong stand against a particular
2063 patented technology in order to encourage society to reject it.
2065 For example, the MP3 audio format is covered by a software patent in
2066 the USA and some other countries. A patent holder has threatened
2067 lawsuits against the developers of free programs (these are not GNU
2068 programs) to produce and play MP3, and some GNU/Linux distributors are
2069 afraid to include them. Development of the programs continues, but we
2070 campaign for the rejection of MP3 format in favor of Ogg Vorbis format.
2072 A GNU package should not recommend use of any non-free program, nor
2073 should it require a non-free program (such as a non-free compiler or
2074 IDE) to build. Thus, a GNU package cannot be written in a programming
2075 language that does not have a free software implementation. Now that
2076 GNU/Linux systems are widely available, all GNU packages should
2077 provide full functionality on a 100% free GNU/Linux system, and should
2078 not require any non-free software to build or function.
2079 The GNU Coding Standards say a lot more about this issue.
2081 A GNU package should not refer the user to any non-free documentation
2082 for free software. The need for free documentation to come with free
2083 software is now a major focus of the GNU project; to show that we are
2084 serious about the need for free documentation, we must not contradict
2085 our position by recommending use of documentation that isn't free.
2087 Finally, new issues concerning the ethics of software freedom come up
2088 frequently. We ask that GNU maintainers, at least on matters that
2089 pertain specifically to their package, stand with the rest of the GNU
2090 project when such issues come up.
2094 @chapter Terminology Issues
2097 This chapter explains a couple of issues of terminology which are
2098 important for correcting two widespread and important misunderstandings
2102 * Free Software and Open Source::
2106 @node Free Software and Open Source
2107 @section Free Software and Open Source
2108 @cindex free software movement
2110 @cindex movement, free software
2111 @cindex development method, open source
2113 The terms ``free software'' and ``open source'', while describing
2114 almost the same category of software, stand for views based on
2115 fundamentally different values. The free software movement is
2116 idealistic, and raises issues of freedom, ethics, principle and what
2117 makes for a good society. The term open source, initiated in 1998, is
2118 associated with a philosophy which studiously avoids such questions.
2119 For a detailed explanation, see
2120 @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html}.
2122 The GNU Project is aligned with the free software movement. This
2123 doesn't mean that all GNU contributors and maintainers have to agree;
2124 your views on these issues are up to you, and you're entitled to express
2125 them when speaking for yourself.
2127 However, due to the much greater publicity that the term ``open source''
2128 receives, the GNU Project needs to overcome a widespread
2129 mistaken impression that GNU is @emph{and always was} an ``open
2130 source'' activity. For this reason, please use the term ``free
2131 software'', not ``open source'', in GNU software releases, GNU
2132 documentation, and announcements and articles that you publish in your
2133 role as the maintainer of a GNU package. A reference to the URL given
2134 above, to explain the difference, is a useful thing to include as
2139 @section GNU and Linux
2143 The GNU Project was formed to develop a free Unix-like operating system,
2144 GNU. The existence of this system is our major accomplishment.
2145 However, the widely used version of the GNU system, in which Linux is
2146 used as the kernel, is often called simply ``Linux''. As a result, most
2147 users don't know about the GNU Project's major accomplishment---or more
2148 precisely, they know about it, but don't realize it is the GNU Project's
2149 accomplishment and reason for existence. Even people who believe they
2150 know the real history often believe that the goal of GNU was to develop
2151 ``tools'' or ``utilities''.
2153 To correct this confusion, we have made a years-long effort to
2154 distinguish between Linux, the kernel that Linus Torvalds wrote, and
2155 GNU/Linux, the operating system that is the combination of GNU and
2156 Linux. The resulting increased awareness of what the GNU Project has
2157 already done helps every activity of the GNU Project recruit more
2158 support and contributors.
2160 Please make this distinction consistently in GNU software releases, GNU
2161 documentation, and announcements and articles that you publish in your
2162 role as the maintainer of a GNU package. If you want to explain the
2163 terminology and its reasons, you can refer to the URL
2164 @url{http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html}.
2166 To make it clear that Linux is a kernel, not an operating system,
2167 please take care to avoid using the term ``Linux system'' in those
2168 materials. If you want to have occasion to make a statement about
2169 systems in which the kernel is Linux, write ``systems in which the
2170 kernel is Linux'' or ``systems with Linux as the kernel.'' That
2171 explicitly contrasts the system and the kernel, and will help readers
2172 understand the difference between the two. Please avoid simplified
2173 forms such as ``Linux-based systems'' because those fail to highlight
2174 the difference between the kernel and the system, and could encourage
2175 readers to overlook the distinction.
2177 To contrast the GNU system properly with respect to GNU/Linux, you can
2178 call it ``GNU/Hurd'' or ``the GNU/Hurd system''. However, when that
2179 contrast is not specifically the focus, please call it just ``GNU'' or
2182 When referring to the collection of servers that is the higher level
2183 of the GNU kernel, please call it ``the Hurd'' or ``the GNU Hurd''.
2184 Note that this uses a space, not a slash.
2189 @cindex CVS repository
2191 @cindex source repository
2192 @cindex version control system
2194 @cindex release site
2197 We recommend using @code{savannah.gnu.org} for the source code
2198 repository for your package, but that's not required. @xref{Old
2199 Versions}, for more information about Savannah.
2201 We strongly urge you to use @code{ftp.gnu.org} as the standard
2202 distribution site for releases. Doing so makes it easier for
2203 developers and users to find the latest GNU releases. However, it is
2204 ok to use another server if you wish, provided it allows access from
2205 the general public without limitation (for instance, without excluding
2208 If you use a company's machine to hold the repository for your
2209 program, or as its release distribution site, please put this
2210 statement in a prominent place on the site, so as to prevent people
2211 from getting the wrong idea about the relationship between the package
2215 The programs <list of them> hosted here are free software packages
2216 of the GNU Project, not products of <company name>. We call them
2217 "free software" because you are free to copy and redistribute them,
2218 following the rules stated in the license of each package. For more
2219 information, see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html.
2221 If you are looking for service or support for GNU software, see
2222 http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/ for suggestions of where to ask.
2224 If you would like to contribute to the development of one of these
2225 packages, contact the package maintainer or the bug-reporting address
2226 of the package (which should be listed in the package itself), or look
2227 on www.gnu.org for more information on how to contribute.
2233 @cindex Donations, for packages
2234 @cindex Money, donated to packages
2236 As a maintainer, you might want to accept donations for your work,
2237 especially if you pay for any of your own hosting/development
2238 infrastructure. Following is some text you can adapt to your own
2239 situation, and use on your package's web site, @file{README}, or
2240 in wherever way you find it useful:
2243 We appreciate contributions of any size -- donations enable us to spend
2244 more time working on the project, and help cover our infrastructure
2247 If you'd like to make a small donation, please visit @var{url1} and do
2248 it through @var{payment-service}. Since our project isn't a
2249 tax-exempt organization, we can't offer you a tax deduction, but for
2250 all donations over @var{amount1}, we'd be happy to recognize your
2251 contribution on @var{url2}.
2253 We are also happy to consider making particular improvements or
2254 changes, or giving specific technical assistance, in return for a
2255 substantial donation over @var{amount2}. If you would like to discuss
2256 this possibility, write to us at @var{address}.
2258 Another possibility is to pay a software maintenance fee. Again,
2259 write to us about this at @var{address} to discuss how much you want
2260 to pay and how much maintenance we can offer in return. If you pay
2261 more than @var{amount1}, we can give you a document for your records.
2263 Thanks for your support!
2266 We don't recommend any specific payment service. However, GNU
2267 developers should not use a service that requires them to sign a
2268 proprietary software license, such as Google's payment service.
2270 Of course, it is also good to encourage people to join or contribute
2271 to the FSF (@url{http://www.fsf.org}), either instead of or as well as
2272 package-specific donations.
2275 @node Free Software Directory
2276 @chapter Free Software Directory
2277 @cindex Free Software Directory
2278 @cindex Directory, Free Software
2280 The Free Software Directory aims to be a complete list of free
2281 software packages, within certain criteria. Every GNU package should
2282 be listed there, so please see
2283 @url{http://www.gnu.org/help/directory.html#adding-entries} for
2284 information on how to write an entry for your package. Contact
2285 @email{bug-directory@@gnu.org} with any questions or suggestions for
2286 the Free Software Directory.
2289 @node Using the Proofreaders List
2290 @chapter Using the Proofreaders List
2291 @cindex proofreading
2293 If you want help finding errors in documentation,
2294 or help improving the quality of writing,
2295 or if you are not a native speaker of English
2296 and want help producing good English documentation,
2297 you can use the GNU proofreaders mailing list:
2298 @email{proofreaders@@gnu.org}.
2300 But be careful when you use the list,
2301 because there are over 200 people on it.
2302 If you simply ask everyone on the list to read your work,
2303 there will probably be tremendous duplication of effort
2304 by the proofreaders,
2305 and you will probably get the same errors reported 100 times.
2306 This must be avoided.
2308 Also, the people on the list do not want to get
2309 a large amount of mail from it.
2310 So do not ever ask people on the list to send mail to the list!
2312 Here are a few methods that seem reasonable to use:
2316 For something small, mail it to the list,
2317 and ask people to pick a random number from 1 to 20,
2318 and read it if the number comes out as 10.
2319 This way, assuming 50% response, some 5 people will read the piece.
2322 For a larger work, divide your work into around 20 equal-sized parts,
2323 tell people where to get it,
2324 and ask each person to pick randomly which part to read.
2326 Be sure to specify the random choice procedure;
2327 otherwise people will probably use a mental procedure
2328 that is not really random,
2329 such as ``pick a part near the middle'',
2330 and you will not get even coverage.
2332 You can either divide up the work physically, into 20 separate files,
2333 or describe a virtual division, such as by sections
2334 (if your work has approximately 20 sections).
2335 If you do the latter, be sure to be precise about it---for example,
2336 do you want the material before the first section heading
2337 to count as a section, or not?
2340 For a job needing special skills, send an explanation of it,
2341 and ask people to send you mail if they volunteer for the job.
2342 When you get enough volunteers, send another message to the list saying
2343 ``I have enough volunteers, no more please.''
2347 @node GNU Free Documentation License
2348 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
2350 @cindex FDL, GNU Free Documentation License
2361 eval: (add-hook 'write-file-hooks 'time-stamp)
2362 time-stamp-start: "@set lastupdate "
2363 time-stamp-start: "@set lastupdate "
2365 time-stamp-format: "%:b %:d, %:y"
2366 compile-command: "make -C work.m"