@c For double-sided printing, uncomment:
@c @setchapternewpage odd
@c This date is automagically updated when you save this file:
-@set lastupdate March 10, 2008
+@set lastupdate January 1, 2009
@c %**end of header
@dircategory GNU organization
Information for maintainers of GNU software, last updated @value{lastupdate}.
Copyright @copyright{} 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999,
-2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software
+2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Free Software
Foundation, Inc.
@quotation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
-under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
guidelines; if you would like to be a GNU maintainer, then it is
essential to follow these guidelines.
+In addition to this document, please read and follow the GNU Coding
+Standards (@pxref{Top, , Contents, standards, GNU Coding Standards}).
+
Please send corrections or suggestions for this document to
@email{maintainers@@gnu.org}. If you make a suggestion, please include
a suggested new wording for it, to help us consider the suggestion
other version of this document, or propose it in any way that makes it
clear.
+If you have general questions or encounter a situation where it isn't
+clear what to do, you can ask @email{mentors@@gnu.org}, which is a
+list of a few other GNU contributor who have offered to answer
+questions for new maintainers.
+
This document uses the gender-neutral third-person pronouns ``person'',
``per'', ``pers'' and ``perself'' which were promoted, and perhaps
invented, by Marge Piercy in @cite{Woman on the Edge of Time}. They are
The directory @file{/gd/gnuorg} is found on the GNU file server,
currently @code{fencepost.gnu.org}; if you are the maintainer of a GNU
-package, you should have an account there. Contact
-@email{accounts@@gnu.org} if you don't have one. (You can also ask
-for accounts for people who help you a large amount in working on the
-package.)
+package, you should have an account there. See
+@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/README.accounts.html} if you don't
+have one. (You can also ask for accounts for people who help you a
+large amount in working on the package.)
This release of the GNU Maintenance Instructions was last updated
@value{lastupdate}.
some of your developers as co-maintainers, please contact
@email{maintainers@@gnu.org}.
+We're happy to acknowledge all major contributors to GNU packages on
+the @url{http://www.gnu.org/people/people.html} web page. Please send
+an entry for yourself to @email{webmasters@@gnu.org}, and feel free to
+suggest it to other significant developers on your package.
+
@node Legal Matters
@chapter Legal Matters
changes to a manual, you can use @file{assign.future.manual}.
For a translation of a manual, use @file{assign.translation.manual}.
+For translations of program strings (as used by GNU Gettext, for
+example; @pxref{Internationalization,,,standards,GNU Coding
+Standards}), use @file{disclaim.translation}. If you make use of the
+Translation Project (@url{http://translationproject.org}) facilities,
+please check with the TP coordinators that they have sent the
+contributor the papers; if they haven't, then you should send the
+papers. In any case, you should wait for the confirmation from the
+FSF that the signed papers have been received and accepted before
+integrating the new contributor's material, as usual.
+
If a contributor is reluctant to sign an assignment for a large change,
and is willing to sign a disclaimer instead, that is acceptable, so you
should offer this alternative if it helps you reach agreement. We
made nontrivial changes to the package. (Here we assume you're using
a publicly accessible revision control server, so that every revision
installed is also immediately and automatically published.) When you
-add the new year, it is not required to keep track which files have
+add the new year, it is not required to keep track of which files have
seen significant changes in the new year and which have not. It is
recommended and simpler to add the new year to all files in the
package, and be done with it for the rest of the year.
notice. (Without a license notice giving permission to copy and
change the file, the file is non-free.)
-The package itself should contain a full copy of GPL (conventionally
-in a file named @file{COPYING}) and the GNU Free Documentation License
-(included within your documentation). If the package contains any
-files distributed under the Lesser GPL, it should contain a full copy
-of that as well (conventionally in a file named
+The package itself should contain a full copy of GPL in plain text
+(conventionally in a file named @file{COPYING}) and the GNU Free
+Documentation License (included within your documentation, so there is
+no need for a separate plain text version). If the package contains
+any files distributed under the Lesser GPL, it should contain a full
+copy of its plain text version also (conventionally in a file named
@file{COPYING.LESSER}).
If you have questions about license issues for your GNU package,
@smallexample
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
-under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
Invariant Sections being ``GNU General Public License'', with the
Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts
Please adjust the list of invariant sections as appropriate for your
manual. If there are none, then say ``with no Invariant Sections''.
If your manual is not published by the FSF, and under 400 pages, you
-can omit both cover texts and the inclusion of the GPL.
+can omit both cover texts.
@xref{GNU Sample Texts,,,texinfo,Texinfo}, for a full example in a
Texinfo manual, and see
@url{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-howto.html} for more advice about
how to use the GNU FDL.
-If the manual is over 400 pages, or if the FSF thinks it might be a good
-choice for publishing on paper, then please include our standard
-invariant section which explains the importance of free documentation.
-Write to @email{assign@@gnu.org} to get a copy of this section.
+If the manual is over 400 pages, or if the FSF thinks it might be a
+good choice for publishing on paper, then please include the GNU GPL,
+as in the notice above. Please also include our standard invariant
+section which explains the importance of free documentation. Write to
+@email{assign@@gnu.org} to get a copy of this section.
When you distribute several manuals together in one software package,
their on-line forms can share a single copy of the GFDL (see
The GNU Coding Standards are a good thing to send people when you ask
them to clean up changes (@pxref{Top, , Contents, standards, GNU Coding
Standards}). The Emacs Lisp manual contains an appendix that gives
-coding standards for Emacs Lisp programs; it is good to urge authors to
-read it (@pxref{Tips, , Tips and Standards, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
+coding standards for Emacs Lisp programs; it is good to urge Lisp authors to
+read it (@pxref{Tips, , Tips and Conventions, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
Reference Manual}).
nowadays we want to give each program its own bug-reporting list and
move away from using @email{bug-gnu-utils}.
+If you wish, you can also have mailing lists such as
+@samp{info-@var{program}} for announcements (@pxref{Announcements}),
+@samp{help-@var{program}} for general help and discussion (see below),
+or any others you find useful.
+
+By far the easiest way to create mailing lists is through
+@code{savannah.gnu.org}. Once you register your program, you can do
+this yourself through the `Mailing Lists' menu, without needing
+intervention by anyone else. Furthermore, lists created through
+Savannah will have a reasonable default configuration for antispam
+purposes (see below).
+
If you are the maintainer of a GNU package, you should have an account
-on the GNU servers; contact @email{accounts@@gnu.org} if you don't have
-one. (You can also ask for accounts for people who help you a large
-amount in working on the package.) With this account, you can edit
-@file{/com/mailer/aliases} to create a new unmanaged list or add
-yourself to an existing unmanaged list. A comment near the beginning of
-that file explains how to create a Mailman-managed mailing list.
+on the GNU servers; contact
+@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/README.accounts.html} if you don't
+have one. (You can also ask for accounts for people who help you a
+large amount in working on the package.) With this account, you can
+edit @file{/com/mailer/aliases} to create a new unmanaged list or add
+yourself to an existing unmanaged list. A comment near the beginning
+of that file explains how to create a Mailman-managed mailing list.
But if you don't want to learn how to do those things, you can
alternatively ask @email{alias-file@@gnu.org} to add you to the
@node Automated Upload Registration
@subsection Automated Upload Registration
-@cindex registration
+@cindex registration for uploads
@cindex uploads, registration for
Here is how to register your information so you can perform uploads
@cindex uploads
-Once you have registered your information as described in the
-previous section, you will be able to do unattended ftp uploads using
-the following procedure.
+Once you have registered your information as described in the previous
+section, you will be able to do ftp uploads for yourself using the
+following procedure.
For each upload destined for @code{ftp.gnu.org} or
@code{alpha.gnu.org}, three files (a @dfn{triplet}) need to be
@emph{will not be processed}.
Since v1.1 of the upload script, it is also possible to upload a
-@dfn{directive file} on its own to perform certain operations on
-uploaded files. @xref{FTP Upload Directive File - v1.1}, for more
-information.
+clearsigned directive file on its own (no accompanying @file{.sig} or
+any other file) to perform certain operations on the server.
+@xref{FTP Upload Directive File - v1.1}, for more information.
Upload the file(s) via anonymous ftp to @code{ftp-upload.gnu.org}. If
the upload is destined for @code{ftp.gnu.org}, place the file(s) in
package. You also receive a message when your upload has been successfully
processed.
+One relatively easy way to create and transfer the necessary files is
+to use the @code{gnupload} script, which is available from the
+@file{build-aux/} directory of the @code{gnulib} project at
+@url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gnulib}. @code{gnupload} can
+also remove uploaded files. Run @code{gnupload --help} for a
+description and examples.
+
+@code{gnupload} uses the @code{ncftpput} program to do the actual
+transfers; if you don't happen to have the @code{ncftp} package
+installed, the @code{ncftpput-ftp} script in the @file{build-aux/}
+directory of @code{gnulib}. serves as a replacement which uses plain
+command line @code{ftp}.
+
If you have difficulties processing an upload, email
@email{ftp-upload@@gnu.org}.
of the directives @code{symlink}, @code{rmsymlink} or @code{archive},
in addition to the obligatory @code{directory} and @code{version}
directives. A @code{filename} directive is not allowed, and a
-@code{comment} directive is optional.
+@code{comment} directive remains optional.
If you use more than one directive, the directives are executed in the
sequence they are specified in.
@node Announcements
@section Announcing Releases
+@cindex announcements
+@cindex @code{info-gnu} mailing list
When you have a new release, please make an announcement. For
official new releases, including those made just to fix bugs, we
-recommend using the (moderated) general GNU announcements list,
-@email{info-gnu@@gnu.org}. Doing so makes it easier for users and
-developers to find the latest GNU releases.
-
-You can maintain your own mailing list for announcements as well if
-you like. For your own list, you can decide as you see fit what
-events are worth announcing.
+strongly recommend using the (moderated) general GNU announcements
+list, @email{info-gnu@@gnu.org}. Doing so makes it easier for users
+and developers to find the latest GNU releases. On the other hand,
+please do not announce test releases on @code{info-gnu} unless it's an
+unusual situation.
+
+@cindex @url{http://planet.gnu.org}
+@cindex Savannah, news area
+Please also post release announcements in the news section of your
+Savannah project site. It is fine to also write news entries for test
+releases and any other newsworthy events. The news feeds from all GNU
+projects at savannah are aggregated at @url{http://planet.gnu.org}.
+(You can also post items directly, or arrange for feeds from other
+locations; see contact information on the GNU Planet web page.)
+
+@cindex announcement mailing list, project-specific
+You can maintain your own mailing list (typically
+@email{info-@var{program}@@gnu.org}) for announcements as well if you
+like. For your own list, of course you can decide as you see fit what
+events are worth announcing. (@xref{Mail}, for more suggestions on
+handling mail for your package.)
@node Web Pages
Please write web pages about your package for installation on
@code{www.gnu.org}. They should follow our usual standards for web
-pages (see @url{http://www.gnu.org/server}); we chose them in order to
-support a wide variety of browsers, to focus on information rather
-than flashy eye candy, and to keep the site simple and uniform.
+pages (see @url{http://www.gnu.org/server/fsf-html-style-sheet.html}).
+The overall goals are to support a wide variety of browsers, to focus
+on information rather than flashy eye candy, and to keep the site
+simple and uniform.
The simplest way to maintain the web pages for your project is to
register the project on @code{savannah.gnu.org}. Then you can edit
section above. It has a companion template file, used as the basis
for the HTML index pages. Both are available from the Texinfo CVS
sources:
-@format
+
+@smallformat
@uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs.sh}
@uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs_template}
-@end format
+@end smallformat
-There is also a ``minimalistic'' template version, available from:
+There is also a minimalistic template, available from:
-@format
+@smallformat
@uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/texinfo/texinfo/util/gendocs_template_min}
-@end format
+@end smallformat
Invoke the script like this, in the directory containing the Texinfo
source:
-@example
-gendocs.sh @var{yourmanual} "GNU @var{yourmanual} manual"
-@end example
-@noindent where @var{yourmanual} is the short name for your package.
-The script processes the file @file{@var{yourmanual}.texinfo} (or
-@file{.texi} or @file{.txi}). For example:
+@smallexample
+gendocs.sh --email @var{yourbuglist} @var{yourmanual} "GNU @var{yourmanual} manual"
+@end smallexample
-@example
+@noindent where @var{yourmanual} is the short name for your package
+and @var{yourbuglist} is the email address for bug reports (typically
+@code{bug-@var{package}@@gnu.org}). The script processes the file
+@file{@var{yourmanual}.texinfo} (or @file{.texi} or @file{.txi}). For
+example:
+
+@smallexample
cd .../emacs/man
# download gendocs.sh and gendocs_template
-gendocs.sh emacs "GNU Emacs manual"
-@end example
+gendocs.sh --email bug-gnu-emacs@@gnu.org emacs "GNU Emacs manual"
+@end smallexample
@command{gendocs.sh} creates a subdirectory @file{manual/} containing
the manual generated in all the standard output formats: Info, HTML,
directory with @option{-o} each time, and moving all the output to
your web page. Then write (by hand) an overall index.html with links
to them all. For example:
-@example
+
+@smallexample
cd .../texinfo/doc
-gendocs.sh -o texinfo texinfo "GNU Texinfo manual"
-gendocs.sh -o info info "GNU Info manual"
-gendocs.sh -o info-stnd info-stnd "GNU info-stnd manual"
-@end example
+gendocs.sh --email bug-texinfo@@gnu.org -o texinfo texinfo "GNU Texinfo manual"
+gendocs.sh --email bug-texinfo@@gnu.org -o info info "GNU Info manual"
+gendocs.sh --email bug-texinfo@@gnu.org -o info-stnd info-stnd "GNU info-stnd manual"
+@end smallexample
By default, the script uses @command{makeinfo} for generating
@acronym{HTML} output. If you prefer to use @command{texi2html}, use
the @option{--texi2html} command line option, e.g.:
-@example
+@smallexample
gendocs --texi2html -o texinfo texinfo "GNU Texinfo manual"
-@end example
+@end smallexample
The template files will automatically produce entries for additional
HTML output generated by @command{texi2html} (i.e., split by sections
executed, and @env{GENDOCS_TEMPLATE_DIR} to control where the
@file{gendocs_template} file is found.
+As usual, run @samp{gendocs.sh --help} for a description of all the
+options, environment variables, and more information.
+
Please email bug reports, enhancement requests, or other
correspondence to @email{bug-texinfo@@gnu.org}.
Software Movement is idealistic, and raises issues of freedom, ethics,
principle and what makes for a good society. The Open Source Movement,
founded in 1998, studiously avoids such questions. For more explanation,
-see @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html}.
+see @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html}.
The GNU Project is aligned with the Free Software Movement. This
doesn't mean that all GNU contributors and maintainers have to agree;
@cindex Free Software Directory
@cindex Directory, Free Software
-The Free Software Directory aims to be a complete list of free software
-packages, within certain criteria. Every GNU package should be listed
-there, so please contact @email{bug-directory@@gnu.org} to ask for
-information on how to write an entry for your package.
+The Free Software Directory aims to be a complete list of free
+software packages, within certain criteria. Every GNU package should
+be listed there, so please see
+@url{http://www.gnu.org/help/directory.html#adding-entries} for
+information on how to write an entry for your package. Contact
+@email{bug-directory@@gnu.org} with any questions or suggestions for
+the Free Software Directory.
@node Using the Proofreaders List
time-stamp-start: "@set lastupdate "
time-stamp-end: "$"
time-stamp-format: "%:b %:d, %:y"
-compile-command: "make just-maintain"
+compile-command: "make -C work.m"
End:
projects / gnulib.git / blobdiff