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Annotation of pkgsrc/doc/BRANCHES, Revision 1.1

1.1     ! agc         1: pkgsrc branches
        !             2: ===============
        !             3:
        !             4: This short document gives a brief overview of how branches are used in
        !             5: pkgsrc, what changes should be pulled up to branches from the head,
        !             6: and, in general, provides administrative background for pkgsrc
        !             7: branches.
        !             8:
        !             9: Starting in December 2003, we have been branching pkgsrc every 3
        !            10: months.  The reasoning behind this is that pkgsrc needs to be branched
        !            11: more often than the main NetBSD source tree, to enable it to keep up
        !            12: with more frequent releases from third-party software authors, to
        !            13: enable it to keep up to date with security fixes (see also
        !            14: pkgsrc/security/audit-packages for help with this), and for general
        !            15: bug fixes in third-party software.  In addition, users are accustomed
        !            16: to updating their packages more frequently than their main trees, and
        !            17: so this move is intended to mirror the habits and usage model of
        !            18: pkgsrc users.
        !            19:
        !            20: pkgsrc branches are traditionally made at the end of almost 3 months
        !            21: development - new packages added, some old packages removed, and many
        !            22: packages updated to newer versions. At the end of this development
        !            23: period, a freeze is placed on new additions to pkgsrc, and any packages
        !            24: which have problems in them are investigated, and the team will fix as
        !            25: many of the errors as possible.  The aim is to have zero broken
        !            26: packages on its main platform (NetBSD/i386, using the latest release
        !            27: available at the time of pkgsrc-branching).  In the past, we have
        !            28: achieved this aim - recently, with newer versions of gcc, and other
        !            29: changes in the base system, we have had to relax that goal. Starting
        !            30: with the pkgsrc-2004Q2 branch, the freeze start and end times are
        !            31: recorded in the pkgsrc/doc/CHANGES file.
        !            32:
        !            33: The pkgsrc branch is named according to the time period at the end of
        !            34: which it was made:  pkgsrc-2003Q4, pkgsrc-2004Q1 etc.  This is
        !            35: reflected in the CVS tag and branch name in the pkgsrc tree.  Commits
        !            36: to the branch appear in pkgsrc-changes mail with the tag in the
        !            37: subject line.
        !            38:
        !            39: Only one pkgsrc branch is maintained at any one time.  When the pkgsrc
        !            40: tree is tagged and branched, the old branch is deprecated, support for
        !            41: it is ended, and the new branch is supported.
        !            42:
        !            43: We continually run bulk-builds of pkgsrc on a number of platforms, and
        !            44: the results are distributed to the pkgsrc-bulk mailing list.
        !            45:
        !            46: Whilst pkgsrc has been ported to many different operating systems, its
        !            47: primary use is as the packaging system for NetBSD, and that is where
        !            48: it gets most exercise.
        !            49:
        !            50: Where a change has been made to the pkgsrc trunk, and is found to be
        !            51: working, it can be pulled up to the branch. The developer who wishes
        !            52: it to be pulled up should send a mail to the well-known address (not
        !            53: listed here due to spiders and other bots which could harvest the
        !            54: mail address).
        !            55:
        !            56: Normally, a security fix will be pulled up to the branch when it is
        !            57: known that a fix works and closes the security hole. Other bug fixes
        !            58: and enhancements will enter a "cooling-off period" of two working days
        !            59: from receipt of the pullup request.  Developers requesting pullups
        !            60: should take note of this - if you are requesting that a security fix
        !            61: be pulled up, please mark the request as being for a "security fix".
        !            62: The criterion for acceptance of a pullup is a simple one - does it
        !            63: enhance the pkgsrc branch?  - and the pullup manager's decision is
        !            64: subjective and final.  To request a pullup, the developer should
        !            65: forward all pieces of the relevant pkgsrc-changes mail marking it
        !            66: clearly as "security fix", "portability fix" or "other".
        !            67:
        !            68: Starting with the pkgsrc-2004Q2 branch, on the pkgsrc branch, in the
        !            69: pkgsrc/doc directory, there will be a file called CHANGES-<branch
        !            70: name> which contains a short description of the pullup ticket (used
        !            71: internally to manage the pullup queue), and the date on which it was
        !            72: taken. This file will also include the exact time in UTC when a branch
        !            73: was taken, to aid in any date-based CVS operations.
        !            74:
        !            75: Alistair Crooks
        !            76: Sun Jul 18 23:31:49 BST 2004