Improve perlrepository.pod to explain how to checkout/pull/branch from blead

[perl5.git] / pod / perlrepository.pod

=head1 NAME

perlrepository - Using the Perl source repository

=head1 SYNOPSIS

All of Perl's source code is kept centrally in a Git repository. The
repository contains many Perl revisions from Perl 1 onwards and all
the revisions from Perforce, the version control system we were using
previously. This repository is accessible in different ways.

The full repository takes up about 80MB of disk space. A check out of
blead takes up about 160MB of disk space (including the repository). A
build of blead takes up about 200MB (including the repository and the
check out).

=head1 GETTING ACCESS TO THE REPOSITORY

=head2 READ ACCESS VIA THE WEB

You may access this over the web. This allows you to browse the tree,
see recent commits, search for particular commits and more. You may
access it at:

  http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git

=head2 READ ACCESS VIA GIT

You will need a copy of Git for your computer. You can fetch a copy of
the repository using the Git protocol (which uses port 9418):

  git clone git://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git perl-git

This clones the repository and makes a local copy in the 'perl-git'
directory.

If your local network does not allow you to use port 9418, then you can
fetch a copy of the repository over HTTP (this is slower):

  git clone http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git perl-http

This clones the repository and makes a local copy in the 'perl-http'
directory.

=head2 WRITE ACCESS TO THE REPOSITORY

If you are a committer, then you can fetch a copy of the repository that
you can push back on with:

  git clone ssh://perl5.git.perl.org/gitroot/perl.git perl-ssh

This clones the repository and makes a local copy in the 'perl-ssh'
directory.

If you clone using git, which is faster than ssh, then you will need to
modify your config in order to enable pushing. Edit .git/config where
you will see something like:

  [remote "origin"]
  url = git://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git

change that to something like this:

  [remote "origin"]
  url = ssh://perl5.git.perl.org/gitroot/perl.git

NOTE: there are symlinks set up so that the /gitroot is actually optional.

=head1 OVERVIEW OF THE REPOSITORY

Once you have changed into the repository directory, you can inspect it.

The repository contains a few branches:

  % git branch -a
  * blead
    origin/HEAD
    origin/blead
  ...

You can see recent commits:

  % git log

And pull new changes from the repository:

  % git pull

To switch to another branch:

  % git checkout origin/maint-5.8-dor

To switch back to blead:

  % git checkout blead

=head1 SUBMITTING A PATCH

If you have a patch in mind for Perl, you should first get a copy of
the repository:

  % git clone git://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git perl-git

Then change into the directory:

  % cd perl-git

Alternatively, if you already have a Perl repository, you should
ensure that you're on the I<blead> branch, and your repository
is up to date:

  % git checkout blead
  % git pull

Now that we have everything up to date, we need to create a temporary new
branch for these changes and switch into it:

  % git branch orange
  % git checkout orange

Then make your changes. For example, if Leon Brocard changes his name
to Orange Brocard, we should change his name in the AUTHORS file:

  % perl -pi -e 's{Leon Brocard}{Orange Brocard}' AUTHORS

You can see what files are changed:

  % git status
  # On branch blead
  # Changes to be committed:
  #   (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)
  #
  #	modified:   AUTHORS
  #

And you can see the changes:

  % git diff
  diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
  index 293dd70..722c93e 100644
  --- a/AUTHORS
  +++ b/AUTHORS
  @@ -541,7 +541,7 @@    Lars Hecking                   <lhecking@nmrc.ucc.ie>
   Laszlo Molnar                  <laszlo.molnar@eth.ericsson.se>
   Leif Huhn                      <leif@hale.dkstat.com>
   Len Johnson                    <lenjay@ibm.net>
  -Leon Brocard                   <acme@astray.com>
  +Orange Brocard                 <acme@astray.com>
   Les Peters                     <lpeters@aol.net>
   Lesley Binks                   <lesley.binks@gmail.com>
   Lincoln D. Stein               <lstein@cshl.org>

Now commit your change locally:

  % git add AUTHORS
  % git commit -m 'Rename Leon Brocard to Orange Brocard'
  Created commit 6196c1d: Rename Leon Brocard to Orange Brocard
   1 files changed, 1 insertions(+), 1 deletions(-)

Now you should create a patch file for all your local changes:

  % git format-patch origin
  0001-Rename-Leon-Brocard-to-Orange-Brocard.patch

You should now send an email to perl5-porters@perl.org with a
description of your changes, and attach this patch file as an
attachment.

If you want to delete your temporary branch, you may do so with:

  % git checkout blead
  % git branch -d orange
  error: The branch 'orange' is not an ancestor of your current HEAD.
  If you are sure you want to delete it, run 'git branch -D orange'.
  % git branch -D orange
  Deleted branch orange.

=head1 ACCEPTING A PATCH

If you have received a patch file generated using the above section,
you should try out the patch.

First we need to create a temporary new branch for these changes and
switch into it:

  % git branch experimental
  % git checkout experimental

Now we should apply the patch:

  % git am 0001-Rename-Leon-Brocard-to-Orange-Brocard.patch
  Applying Rename Leon Brocard to Orange Brocard

Now we can inspect the change:

  % git log
  commit b1b3dab48344cff6de4087efca3dbd63548ab5e2
  Author: Leon Brocard <acme@astray.com>
  Date:   Fri Dec 19 17:02:59 2008 +0000

    Rename Leon Brocard to Orange Brocard
  ...

  % git diff blead
  diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
  index 293dd70..722c93e 100644
  --- a/AUTHORS
  +++ b/AUTHORS
  @@ -541,7 +541,7 @@ Lars Hecking                        <lhecking@nmrc.ucc.ie>
   Laszlo Molnar                  <laszlo.molnar@eth.ericsson.se>
   Leif Huhn                      <leif@hale.dkstat.com>
   Len Johnson                    <lenjay@ibm.net>
  -Leon Brocard                   <acme@astray.com>
  +Orange Brocard                 <acme@astray.com>
   Les Peters                     <lpeters@aol.net>
   Lesley Binks                   <lesley.binks@gmail.com>
   Lincoln D. Stein               <lstein@cshl.org>

If you are a committer to Perl and you think the patch is good, you can
then merge it into blead then push it out to the main repository:

  % git checkout blead
  % git pull . experimental
  % git push

If you want to delete your temporary branch, you may do so with:

  % git checkout blead
  % git branch -d experimental
  error: The branch 'experimental' is not an ancestor of your current HEAD.
  If you are sure you want to delete it, run 'git branch -D experimental'.
  % git branch -D experimental
  Deleted branch experimental.