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1 | =head1 NAME |
2 | ||
3 | repository - Using the Perl repository | |
4 | ||
5 | This document describes what a Perl Porter needs to do | |
6 | to start using the Perl repository. | |
7 | ||
8 | =head1 Prerequisites | |
9 | ||
10 | You'll need to get hold of the following software. | |
11 | ||
12 | =over 4 | |
13 | ||
14 | =item Perforce | |
15 | ||
16 | Download a perforce client from: | |
17 | ||
18 | http://www.perforce.com/perforce/loadprog.html | |
19 | ||
20 | You'll probably also want to look at: | |
21 | ||
22 | http://www.perforce.com/perforce/technical.html | |
23 | ||
24 | where you can look at or download its documentation. | |
25 | ||
26 | =item ssh | |
27 | ||
28 | If you don't already have access to an ssh client, then look at its | |
29 | home site C<http://www.cs.hut.fi/ssh> which mentions ftp sites from | |
30 | which it's available. You only need to build the client parts (ssh | |
31 | and ssh-keygen should suffice). | |
32 | ||
33 | =back | |
34 | ||
35 | =head1 Creating an SSH Key Pair | |
36 | ||
37 | If you already use ssh and want to use the same key pair for perl | |
38 | repository access then you can skip the rest of this section. | |
39 | Otherwise, generate an ssh key pair for use with the repository | |
40 | by typing the command | |
41 | ||
42 | ssh-keygen | |
43 | ||
44 | After generating a key pair and testing it, ssh-keygen will ask you | |
45 | to enter a filename in which to save the key. The default it offers | |
46 | will be the file F<~/.ssh/identity> which is suitable unless you | |
47 | particularly want to keep separate ssh identities for some reason. | |
48 | If so, you could save the perl repository private key in the file | |
49 | F<~/.ssh/perl>, for example, but I will use the standard filename | |
50 | in the remainder of the examples of this document. | |
51 | ||
52 | After typing in the filename, it will prompt you to type in a | |
53 | passphrase. The private key will itself be encrypted so that it is | |
54 | usable only when that passphrase is typed. (When using ssh, you will | |
55 | be prompted when it requires a pass phrase to unlock a private key.) | |
56 | If you provide a blank passphrase then no passphrase will be needed | |
57 | to unlock the key and, as a consequence, anyone who gains access to | |
58 | the key file gains access to accounts protected with that key | |
59 | (barring additional configuration to restrict access by IP address). | |
60 | ||
61 | When you have typed the passphrase in twice, ssh-keygen will confirm | |
62 | where it has saved the private key (in the filename you gave and | |
63 | with permissions set to be only readable by you), what your public | |
64 | key is (don't worry: you don't need to memorise it) and where it | |
65 | has saved the corresponding public key. The public key is saved in | |
66 | a filename corresponding to your private key's filename but with | |
67 | ".pub" appended, usually F<~/.ssh/identity.pub>. That public key | |
68 | can be (but need not be) world readable. It is not used by your | |
69 | own system at all. | |
70 | ||
71 | =head1 Notifying the Repository Keeper | |
72 | ||
73 | Mail the contents of that public key file to the keeper of the perl | |
74 | repository (see L</Contact Information> below). | |
75 | When the key is added to the repository host's configuration file, | |
76 | you will be able to connect to it with ssh by using the corresponding | |
77 | private key file (after unlocking it with your chosen passphrase). | |
78 | ||
79 | =head1 Connecting to the Repository | |
80 | ||
81 | Connections to the repository are made by using ssh to provide a | |
82 | TCP "tunnel" rather than by using ssh to login to or invoke any | |
83 | ordinary commands on the repository. When you want to start a | |
84 | session using the repository, use the command | |
85 | ||
4bc101a5 | 86 | ssh -l perlrep -f -q -x -L 1666:127.0.0.1:1666 sickle.activestate.com foo |
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87 | |
88 | If you are not using the default filename of F<~/.ssh/identity> | |
89 | to hold your perl repository private key then you'll need to add | |
90 | the option B<-i filename> to tell ssh where it is. Unless you chose | |
91 | a blank passphrase for that private key, ssh will prompt you for the | |
92 | passphrase to unlock that key. Then ssh will fork and put itself | |
93 | in the background, returning you (silently) to your shell prompt. | |
94 | The tunnel for repository access is now ready for use. | |
95 | ||
96 | For the sake of completeness (and for the case where the chosen | |
97 | port of 1666 is already in use on your machine), I'll briefly | |
98 | describe what all those ssh arguments are for. | |
99 | ||
100 | =over 4 | |
101 | ||
4bc101a5 | 102 | =item B<-l perlrep> |
0c97a5ed | 103 | |
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104 | Use a remote username of perlrep. (The account on the repository which |
105 | provides the end-point of the ssh tunnel is named "perlrep".) | |
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106 | |
107 | =item B<-f> | |
108 | ||
109 | Tells ssh to fork and remain running in the background. Since ssh | |
110 | is only being used for its tunnelling capabilities, the command | |
111 | that ssh runs never does any I/O and can sit silently in the | |
112 | background. | |
113 | ||
114 | =item B<-q> | |
115 | ||
116 | Tells ssh to be quiet. Without this option, ssh will output a | |
117 | message each time you use a p4 command (since each p4 command | |
118 | tunnels over the ssh connection to reach the repository). | |
119 | ||
120 | =item B<-x> | |
121 | ||
122 | Tells ssh not to bother to set up a tunnel for X11 connections. | |
123 | The repository doesn't allow this anyway. | |
124 | ||
125 | =item B<-L 1666:127.0.0.1:1666> | |
126 | ||
127 | This is the important option. It tells ssh to listen out for | |
128 | connections made to port 1666 on your local machine. When such | |
129 | a connection is made, the ssh client tells the remote side | |
130 | (the corresponding ssh daemon on the repository) to make a | |
131 | connection to IP address 127.0.0.1, port 1666. Data flowing | |
132 | along that connection is tunnelled over the ssh connection | |
133 | (encrypted). The perforce daemon running on the repository | |
134 | only accepts connections from localhost and that is exactly | |
135 | where ssh-tunnelled connections appear to come from. | |
136 | ||
137 | If port 1666 is already in use on your machine then you can | |
138 | choose any non-privileged port (a number between 1024 and 65535) | |
139 | which happens to be free on your machine. It's the first of the | |
140 | three colon separated values that you should change. Picking | |
141 | port 2345 would mean changing the option to | |
142 | B<-L 2345:127.0.0.1:1666>. Whatever port number you choose should | |
143 | be used for the value of the P4PORT environment variable (q.v.). | |
144 | ||
145 | =item sickle.activestate.com | |
146 | ||
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147 | This is the canonical name of the host on which the perl repository |
148 | resides. Its IP address is 199.60.48.20. | |
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149 | |
150 | =item foo | |
151 | ||
152 | This is a dummy place holder argument. Without an argument | |
153 | here, ssh will try to perform an interactive login to the | |
154 | repository which is not allowed. Ordinarily, this argument | |
155 | is for the one-off command which is to be executed on the | |
156 | remote host. However, the repository's ssh configuration | |
157 | file uses the "command=" option to force a particular | |
158 | command to run so the actual value of the argument is | |
159 | ignored. The command that's actually run merely pauses and | |
160 | waits for the ssh connection to drop, then exits. | |
161 | ||
162 | =back | |
163 | ||
164 | =head1 Problems | |
165 | ||
166 | You should normally get a prompt that asks for the passphrase | |
167 | for your RSA key when you connect with the ssh command shown | |
168 | above. If you see a prompt that looks like: | |
169 | ||
170 | perlrep@sickle.activestate.com's password: | |
171 | ||
172 | Then you either don't have a ~/.ssh/identity file corresponding | |
173 | to your public key, or your ~/.ssh/identity file is not readable. | |
174 | Fix the problem and try again. | |
175 | ||
176 | =head1 Using the Perforce Client | |
177 | ||
178 | Remember to read the documentation for Perforce. You need | |
179 | to make sure that three environment variable are set | |
180 | correctly before using the p4 client with the perl repository. | |
181 | ||
182 | =over 4 | |
183 | ||
184 | =item P4PORT | |
185 | ||
186 | Set this to localhost:1666 (the port for your ssh client to listen on) | |
187 | unless that port is already in use on your host. If it is, see | |
188 | the section above on the B<-L 1666:127.0.0.1:1666> option to ssh. | |
189 | ||
190 | =item P4CLIENT | |
191 | ||
192 | The value of this is the name by which Perforce knows your | |
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193 | host's workspace. You need to pick a name (normally, your |
194 | Perforce username, a dash, and your hostname) | |
0c97a5ed | 195 | when you first start using the perl repository and then |
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196 | stick with it. |
197 | ||
198 | Perforce keeps track of the files you have on your machine. It | |
199 | does this through your client. When you first sync a version of a | |
200 | file, the file comes from the server to your machine. If you sync | |
201 | the same file again the server does nothing because it | |
202 | knows you already have the file. | |
203 | ||
204 | You should NOT use the same client on different machines. If you do | |
205 | you probably won't get the files you expect, and may end up with | |
206 | nasty corruption. Perforce allows you to have as many clients as | |
207 | you want. For example, sally-home, sally-openbsd, sally-laptop. | |
208 | ||
209 | Also, never change the client's root and view at the same time. | |
210 | See C<http://www.perforce.com/perforce/doc.002/manuals/p4guide/04_details.html#1048341> | |
211 | ||
0c97a5ed | 212 | If you have multiple hosts sharing the same directory structure |
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213 | via NFS then you may be able to get away with only one client name, |
214 | but be careful. | |
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215 | |
216 | The C<p4 clients> command lists all currently known clients. | |
217 | ||
218 | =item P4USER | |
219 | ||
220 | This is the username by which perforce knows you. Use your | |
221 | username if you have a well known or obvious one or else pick | |
222 | a new one which other perl5-porters will recognise. There is | |
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223 | a licence limit on the number of these usernames, so be sure not |
224 | to use more than one. | |
225 | ||
226 | It is very important to set a password for your Perforce username, | |
227 | or else anyone can impersonate you. Use the C<p4 passwd> command | |
228 | to do this. Once a password is set for your account, you'll need | |
229 | to tell Perforce what it is. You can do this by setting the | |
230 | environment variable P4PASSWD, or you can use the C<-P> flag | |
231 | with the C<p4> command. | |
232 | ||
233 | There are a few techniques you can use to avoid having to either | |
234 | set an environment variable or type the password on every command. | |
235 | One is to create a shell alias, for example, in bash, add something like | |
236 | alias p4='p4 -P secret' | |
237 | to your F<.bash_profile> file. Another way is to create a small shell | |
238 | script, for example | |
239 | #!/bin/bash | |
240 | p4 -P secret $@ | |
241 | And use this instead of running C<p4> directly. | |
242 | ||
243 | With either of these, be sure the file containing your password | |
244 | (the F<.bash_profile> or shell script file) is only readable by you. | |
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245 | |
246 | The C<p4 users> command lists all currently known users. | |
247 | ||
248 | =back | |
249 | ||
250 | Once these three environment variables are set, you can use the | |
251 | perforce p4 client exactly as described in its documentation. | |
252 | After setting these variables and connecting to the repository | |
253 | for the first time, you should use the C<p4 user> and | |
254 | C<p4 client> commands to tell perforce the details of your | |
255 | new username and your new client workspace specifications. | |
256 | ||
257 | =head1 Ending a Repository Session | |
258 | ||
259 | When you have finished a session using the repository, you | |
260 | should kill off the ssh client process to break the tunnel. | |
261 | Since ssh forked itself into the background, you'll need to use | |
262 | something like ps with the appropriate options to find the ssh | |
263 | process and then kill it manually. The default signal of | |
264 | SIGTERM is fine. | |
265 | ||
266 | =head1 Overview of the Repository | |
267 | ||
268 | Please read at least the introductory sections of the Perforce | |
269 | User Guide (and perhaps the Quick Start Guide as well) before | |
270 | reading this section. | |
271 | ||
272 | Every repository user typically "owns" a "branch" of the mainline | |
273 | code in the repository. They hold the "pumpkin" for things in this | |
274 | area, and are usually the only user who will modify files there. | |
275 | This is not strictly enforced in order to allow the flexibility | |
276 | of other users stealing the pumpkin for short periods with the | |
277 | owner's permission. | |
278 | ||
279 | Here is the current structure of the repository: | |
280 | ||
281 | /----+-----perl - Mainline development (bleadperl) | |
f704d51e | 282 | +-----perlio - PerlIO Pumpkin's Perl |
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283 | +-----vmsperl - VMS Pumpkin's Perl |
284 | +-----maint-5.004------perl - Maintainance branches | |
285 | +-----maint-5.005------perl | |
286 | +-----maint-5.6------perl | |
f704d51e | 287 | +-----maint-5.6------pureperl |
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288 | |
289 | Perforce uses a branching model that simply tracks relationships | |
290 | between files. It does not care about directories at all, so | |
291 | any file can be a branch of any other file--the fully qualified | |
292 | depot path name (of the form //depot/foo/bar.c) uniquely determines | |
293 | a file for the purpose of establishing branching relationships. | |
294 | Since a branch usually involves hundreds of files, such relationships | |
295 | are typically specified en masse using a branch map (try `p4 help branch`). | |
296 | `p4 branches` lists the existing branches that have been set up. | |
297 | `p4 branch -o branchname` can be used to view the map for a particular | |
298 | branch, if you want to determine the ancestor for a particular set of | |
299 | files. | |
300 | ||
301 | The mainline (aka "trunk") code in the Perl repository is under | |
302 | "//depot/perl/...". Most branches typically map its entire | |
303 | contents under a directory that goes by the same name as the branch | |
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304 | name. Thus the contents of the perlio branch are to be found |
305 | in //depot/perlio. | |
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306 | |
307 | Run `p4 client` to specify how the repository contents should map to | |
308 | your local disk. Most users will typically have a client map that | |
309 | includes at least their entire branch and the contents of the mainline. | |
310 | ||
311 | Run `p4 changes -l -m10` to check on the activity in the repository. | |
312 | //depot/perl/Porting/genlog is useful to get an annotated changelog | |
313 | that shows files and branches. You can use this listing to determine | |
314 | if there are any changes in the mainline that you need to merge into | |
315 | your own branch. A typical merging session looks like this: | |
316 | ||
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317 | % cd ~/p4view/perlio |
318 | % p4 integrate -b perlio # to bring parent changes into perlio | |
319 | % p4 resolve -am ./... # auto merge the changes | |
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320 | % p4 resolve ./... # manual merge conflicting changes |
321 | % p4 submit ./... # check in | |
322 | ||
f704d51e | 323 | If the owner of the mainline wants to bring the changes in perlio |
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324 | back into the mainline, they do: |
325 | ||
f704d51e | 326 | % p4 integrate -r -b perlio |
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327 | ... |
328 | ||
329 | Generating a patch for change#42 is done as follows: | |
330 | ||
a2c6387b | 331 | % p4genpatch 42 > change-42.patch |
0c97a5ed | 332 | |
a2c6387b | 333 | F<p4genpatch> is to be found in //depot/perl/Porting/. |
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334 | |
335 | The usual routine to apply a patch is | |
336 | ||
337 | % p4 edit file.c file.h | |
338 | % patch < patch.txt | |
339 | ||
340 | (any necessary, re-Configure, make regen_headers, make clean, etc, here) | |
341 | ||
342 | % make all test | |
343 | ||
344 | (preferably make all test in several platforms and under several | |
345 | different Configurations) | |
346 | ||
347 | % while unhappy | |
348 | do | |
349 | $EDITOR | |
350 | make all test | |
351 | done | |
352 | % p4 submit | |
353 | ||
354 | Other useful Perforce commands | |
355 | ||
356 | % p4 describe -du 12345 # show change 12345 | |
357 | ||
358 | Note: the output of "p4 describe" is not in proper diff format, use | |
a2c6387b | 359 | the F<Porting/p4genpatch> to get a diff-compatible format. |
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360 | |
361 | % p4 diff -se ./... # have I modified something but forgotten | |
362 | # to "p4 edit", easy faux pas with autogenerated | |
363 | # files like proto.h, or if one forgets to | |
364 | # look carefully which files a patch modifies | |
365 | % p4 sync file.h # if someone else has modified file.h | |
366 | % p4 opened # which files are opened (p4 edit) by me | |
367 | % p4 opened -a # which files are opened by anybody | |
368 | % p4 diff -du file.c # what changes have I done | |
369 | % p4 revert file.h # never mind my changes | |
370 | % p4 sync -f argh.c # forcibly synchronize your file | |
371 | # from the repository | |
372 | % p4 diff -sr | p4 -x - revert | |
373 | # throw away (opened but) unchanged files | |
374 | # (in Perforce it's a little bit too easy | |
375 | # to checkin unchanged files) | |
376 | ||
377 | Integrate patch 12345 from the mainline to the maint-5.6 branch: | |
378 | (you have to in the directory that has both the mainline and | |
379 | the maint-5.6/perl as subdirectories) | |
380 | ||
381 | % p4 integrate -d perl/...@12345,12345 maint-5.6/perl/... | |
382 | ||
383 | Integrate patches 12347-12350 from the perlio branch to the mainline: | |
384 | ||
385 | % p4 integrate -d perlio/...@12347,12350 perl/... | |
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386 | |
387 | =head1 Contact Information | |
388 | ||
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389 | The mail alias <perl-repository-keepers@perl.org> can be used to reach |
390 | all current users of the repository. | |
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391 | |
392 | The repository keeper is currently Gurusamy Sarathy | |
393 | <gsar@activestate.com>. | |
394 | ||
395 | =head1 AUTHORS | |
396 | ||
397 | Malcolm Beattie, mbeattie@sable.ox.ac.uk, 24 June 1997. | |
398 | ||
399 | Gurusamy Sarathy, gsar@activestate.com, 8 May 1999. | |
400 | ||
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401 | Slightly updated by Simon Cozens, simon@brecon.co.uk, 3 July 2000. |
402 | ||
403 | More updates by Jarkko Hietaniemi, jhi@iki.fi, 28 June 2001. | |
0c97a5ed | 404 | |
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405 | Perforce clarifications by Randall Gellens, rcg@users.sourceforge.net, 12 July 2001. |
406 | ||
0c97a5ed | 407 | =cut |