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diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..62b00ea --- /dev/null +++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md @@ -0,0 +1,142 @@ +# How to contribute to HDF5 + +The HDF Group encourages community members to contribute to the HDF5 project. We accept and are very grateful for any contributions, +from minor typos and bug fixes to new features. The HDF Group is committed to work with the code contributors and make contribution +process enjoyable and straightforward. + +This document describes guiding principles for the HDF5 code contributors and does not pretend to address any possible +contribution. If in doubt, please do not hesitate to ask us for guidance. +***Note that no contribution may be accepted unless the donor agrees with the HDF Group software license terms +found in the COPYING file in every branch's top source directory.*** + + +> We will assume that you are familiar with `git` and `GitHub`. If not, you may go through the GitHub tutorial found at +[https://guides.github.com/activities/hello-world/](https://guides.github.com/activities/hello-world/). This tutorial should only take +around 10 minutes. + +## Table of Contents + +* [Workflow](#workflow) +* [Acceptance criteria for a pull request](#criteria) +* [Release Note](#releasenote) +* [Check List](#checklist) + +# Workflow <A NAME="workflow"></A> + +The process for contributing code to HDF5 is as follows: + +* Open an issue on [HDF5 GitHub](https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/issues). + +> This step is ***required*** unless the change is minor (e.g., typo fix). + +* Fork the [HDF5](https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5) repository. +* Make the desired changes to the HDF5 software. + * New features should always go to _develop_ branch first and later should be merged to the appropriate maintenance branches. + * Bug fixes should go to all appropriate branches (_develop_ and maintenance). +* Build and test your changes. Detailed instructions on building and testing HDF5 can be found in the `INSTALL*` files in the `release_docs` directory. +* Push your changes to GitHub. +* Issue a pull request and address any code formatting and testing issues reported. + +Once a pull request is correctly formatted and passes **ALL** CI tests, it will be reviewed and evaluated by The HDF Group developers and HDF5 +community members who can approve pull requests. The HDF Group developers will work with you to ensure that the pull request satisfies the acceptance +criteria described in the next section. + +# Acceptance criteria for a pull request <A NAME="criteria"></A> + +We appreciate every contribution we receive, but we may not accept them all. Those that we *do* satisfy the following criteria: + +* **The pull request has a clear purpose** - What does the pull request address? How does it benefit the HDF5 community? +If the pull request does not have a clear purpose and benefits, it will not be accepted. + +* **The pull request is documented** - The HDF5 developers must understand not only *what* a change is doing, but *how* it is doing it. + Documenting the code makes it easier for us to understand your patch and maintain the code in the future. + +* **The pull request passes HDF5 regression testing** - Any issue fixed or functionality added should be accompanied by the corresponding +tests and pass HDF5 regression testing run by The HDF Group. We do not expect you to perform comprehensive testing across multiple platforms +before we accept the pull request. If the pull request does not pass regression testing after the merge, The HDF Group developers will work +with you on the fixes. + +* **The pull request does not compromise the principles behind HDF5** - HDF5 has a 100% commitment to backward compatibility. + * Any file ever created with HDF5 must be readable by any future version of HDF5. + If your patch's purpose is to modify the HDF5 data model or file format, + **please** discuss this with us first. File format changes and features required by those changes can be introduced only in a new major release. + * HDF5 has a commitment to remaining *machine-independent*; data created on one platform/environment/architecture **must** remain readable by HDF5 on any other. + * For binary compatibility, no changes are allowed to public APIs and data structures in the maintenance releases; new APIs can be added. + +* **New features are documented** - Any new features should have proper documentation; talk to us if you have any questions. + +* **When to Write a Release Note** - Generally, a release note must be written for every change that is made to the code for which +users might see a change in the way the software works. In other words, if a user might see a difference in the way the software works, +a note should be written. By code we mean the text that will be compiled into one of the company's software products. The code includes +configuration changes and changes to tools users might work with to configure and build our software. + + * Notes should be added for known problems. Known problems are issues that we know about and have not yet been able to fix. + + * Any change made to address a user-reported problem should be described in a release note. + + * A release note does not need to be written for changes to the code that users will not see. Here are some examples. If you add a +comment, you do not need to write a release note describing the comment you added. If you rewrite some code to make it read more +clearly and if there is no change in functionality or performance, then you do not need to write a release note. If you change the +process by which user software is made, you may not need to write a release note since the change was not made to the code. + + * Users. We have different kinds of users. A release note may be written to be helpful to +application developers and not system administrators. Users who may find the RELEASE.txt file helpful include the following: +application developers, library developers, and system administrators. + + +# Release Note <A NAME="releasenote"></A> + +* **Entry Syntax** +The release note entry syntax is shown below. + +``` + - Title/Problem + + Problem/Solution + + Signature +``` + +* **Entry Elements** - The elements of the entry - title, problem, solution, and signature - are described in more detail in the table +below. Descriptions of the problem and the solution should be clear without any ambiguities and should be short without losing clarity or specifics. + + * **Title** - The title or tag should identify one or more categories that will help readers decide if the entry is something they need to study. Can be combined with the `Problem` element + * **Problem** - Describe the problem and how users might see the problem in a paragraph. +You might also consider the following as you describe the problem: + * Under what specific conditions does this issue arise? + * Under what specific conditions are we sure this issue will not arise? + * For a performance issue, instead of saying something is a performance issue, describe what the performance impact of issue is? + * **Solution** - Describe the solution in another paragraph. +You might also consider the following as you describe the solution: + * What was done to resolve the issue? + * What is the functional impact? + * Is there a workaround – a way for users design their software so as not to encounter the issue? If so, what is the workaround? + * For a performance fix, how has the performance improved? Links to published documentation would be good. + * **Signature** - Each entry must be signed with the initials of the author, the date in YYYY/MM/DD format, and the JIRA ticket number. The +following is an example entry written by developer Xavier Zolo on April 16, 2014 about JIRA ticket HDFFV-5555: (XYZ - 2014/04/16, HDFFV-5555). The +signature is enclosed in parentheses. JIRA or Github numbers should not be used in the description of the problem or the solution. They are like +abbreviations that customers and external users will not be able to interpret. + +# Checklist <A NAME="checklist"></A> + +Please make sure that you check the items applicable to your pull request: + +* Code + * [ ] Does the pull request have a corresponding GitHub issue and clear purpose? + * [ ] Does the pull request follow HDF5 best practices (naming conventions, code portability, code structure, etc.)? <<TODO: link to the document>> + * [ ] If changes were done to Autotools build, were they added to CMake and vice versa? + * [ ] Is the pull request applicable to any other branches? If yes, which ones? Please document it in the GitHub issue. + * [ ] Is the new code sufficiently documented for future maintenance? + * [ ] Does the new feature require a change to an existing API? See "API Compatibility Macros" document (https://portal.hdfgroup.org/display/HDF5/API+Compatibility+Macros) +* Documentation + * [ ] Was the change described in the release_docs/RELEASE.txt file? + * [ ] Was MANIFEST updated if new files had been added to the source? + * [ ] Was the new function documented in the corresponding public header file using [Doxygen](https://docs.hdfgroup.org/hdf5/develop/_r_m_t.html)? + * [ ] Was new functionality documented for the HDF5 community (the level of documentation depends on the feature; ask us what would be appropriate) +* Testing + * [ ] Does the pull request have tests? + * [ ] Does the pull request affect HDF5 library performance? + +We want as many contributions as we can get, and we are here to help. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions + +Thank you for your contribution! |