Provided by: libmoose-perl_2.2009-1_amd64 
NAME
Moose::Manual::Contributing - How to get involved in Moose
VERSION
version 2.2009
GETTING INVOLVED
Moose is an open project, and we are always willing to accept bug fixes, more tests, and
documentation patches. Commit bits are given out freely and it's easy to get started!
Get the Code
If you just want to get your feet wet and check out the code, you can do so from the
comfort of your web browser by going to the official repository on GitHub:
<https://github.com/moose/Moose>.
However, if you know how to use git and would rather have a local copy (because, why
wouldn't you?!), then you can clone it:
git clone git@github.com:moose/Moose.git
If, at some point, you think you'd like to contribute a patch, please see "Getting
Started".
NOTE: Your contribution is very important to us. If, for some reason, you would prefer not
to use Git/GitHub, come talk to us at #moose on irc.perl.org and we can work something
out.
People
As Moose has matured, some structure has emerged in the process.
Cabal - people who can release moose
These people are the ones who have co-maint on Moose itself and can create a release.
They're listed under "CABAL" in Moose in the Moose documentation. They are responsible
for reviewing branches, and are the only people who are allowed to push to stable
branches.
Cabal members are listed in Moose and can often be found on irc in the
<irc://irc.perl.org/#moose-dev> channel.
Contributors - people creating a topic or branch
You!
New Features
Moose already has a fairly large feature set, and we are currently not looking to add any
major new features to it. If you have an idea for a new feature in Moose, you are
encouraged to create a MooseX module first.
At this stage, no new features will even be considered for addition into the core without
first being vetted as a MooseX module, unless it is absolutely 100% impossible to
implement the feature outside the core.
If you think it is 100% impossible, please come discuss it with us on IRC or via e-mail.
Your feature may need a small hook in the core, or a refactoring of some core modules, and
we are definitely open to that.
Moose was built from the ground up with the idea of being highly extensible, and quite
often the feature requests we see can be implemented through small extensions. Try it,
it's much easier than you might think.
Branch Layout
The repository is divided into several branches to make maintenance easier for everyone
involved. The branches below are ordered by level of stability.
stable/*
The branch from which releases are cut. When making a new major release, the release
manager makes a new "stable/X.YY" branch at the current position of "master". The
version used in the stable branch should not include the last two digits of the
version number.
For minor releases, patches will be committed to "master", and backported (cherry-
picked) to the appropriate stable branch as needed. A stable branch is only updated by
someone from the Cabal during a release.
master
The main development branch. All new code should be written against this branch. This
branch contains code that has been reviewed, and will be included in the next major
release. Commits which are judged to not break backwards compatibility may be
backported into "stable" to be included in the next minor release.
topic/*
Small personal branches that are still in progress. They can be freely rebased. They
contain targeted features that may span a handful of commits. Any change or bugfix
should be created in a topic branch.
rfc/*
Topic branches that are completed and waiting on review. A Cabal member will look over
branches in this namespace, and either merge them to "master" if they are acceptable,
or move them back to a different namespace otherwise. This namespace is being phased
out now that we are using GitHub's pull requests in our "Development Workflow".
attic/*
Branches which have been reviewed, and rejected. They remain in the repository in case
we later change our mind, or in case parts of them are still useful.
abandoned/*
Topic branches which have had no activity for a long period of time will be moved
here, to keep the main areas clean.
Larger, longer term branches can also be created in the root namespace (i.e. at the same
level as master and stable). This may be appropriate if multiple people are intending to
work on the branch. These branches should not be rebased without checking with other
developers first.
WORKFLOWS
Getting Started
So, you've cloned the main Moose repository to your local machine (see "Get the Code") and
you're ready to do some hacking. We couldn't be happier to welcome you to our community!
Of course, to ensure that your first experience is as productive and satisfying as
possible, you should probably take some time to read over this entire POD document. Doing
so will give you a full understanding of how Moose developers and maintainers work
together and what they expect from one another. Done? Great!
Next, assuming you have a GitHub account, go to <http://github.com/moose/Moose> and fork
the repository (see <https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo>). This will put an
exact replica of the Moose repository into your GitHub account, which will serve as a
place to publish your patches for the Moose maintainers to review and incorporate.
Once your fork has been created, switch to your local working repository directory and
update your "origin" remote's push URL. This allows you to use a single remote ("origin")
to both pull in the latest code from GitHub and also push your work to your own fork:
# Replace YOUR_USERNAME below with your GitHub username
git remote set-url --push origin git@github.com:YOUR_USERNAME/moose.git
You can verify your work:
$ git remote -v
origin git@github.com:moose/Moose.git (fetch)
origin git@github.com:YOUR_USERNAME/moose.git (push)
Now, you're ready for action! From now on, you just follow the "Development Workflow" to
publish your work and submit pull requests to the Moose Cabal.
Development Workflow
The general gist of the STANDARD WORKFLOW is:
1. Update your local repository with the latest commits from the official repository
2. Create a new topic branch, based on the master branch
3. Hack away
4. Commit and push the topic branch to your forked repository
5. Submit a pull request through GitHub for that branch
What follows is a more detailed rundown of that workflow. Please make sure to review and
follow the steps in the previous section, "Getting Started", if you have not done so
already.
Update Your Repository
Update your local copy of the master branch from the remote:
git checkout master
git pull --rebase
Create Your Topic Branch
Now, create a new topic branch based on your master branch. It's useful to use concise,
descriptive branch names such as: pod-syntax-contrib, feat-autodelegation,
patch-23-role-comp, etc. However, we'll just call ours "my-feature" for demonstration
purposes:
git checkout -b topic/my-feature
Hack. Commit. Repeat.
While you're hacking, the most important thing to remember is that your topic branch is
yours to do with as you like. Nothing you do there will affect anyone else at this point.
Commit as often as little or as often as you need to and don't let perfection get in the
way of progress. However, don't try to do too much as the easiest changes to integrate are
small and focused.
If it's been a while since you created your topic branch, it's often a good idea to
periodically rebase your branch off of the upstream master to reduce your work later on:
git fetch # or, git remote update
git rebase origin/master # or, git pull --rebase origin master
You should also feel free to publish (using "push --force" if necessary) your branch to
your GitHub fork if you simply need feedback from others. (Note: actual collaboration
takes a bit more finesse and a lot less "--force" however).
Clean Up Your Branch
Finally, when your development is done, it's time to prepare your branch for review. Even
the smallest branches can often use a little bit of tidying up before they are unleashed
on a reviewer. Clarifying/cleaning up commit messages, reordering commits, splitting large
commits or those which contain different types of changes, squashing related or straggler
commits are all highly worthwhile activities to undertake on your topic branch.
Remember: Your topic branch is yours. Don't worry about rewriting its history or breaking
fast-forward. Some useful commands are listed below but please make sure that you
understand what they do as they can rewrite history:
- git commit --amend
- git rebase --interactive
- git cherry-pick
Ultimately, your goal in cleaning up your branch is to craft a set of commits whose
content and messages are as focused and understandable as possible. Doing so will greatly
increase the chances of a speedy review and acceptance into the mainline development.
Rebase on the Latest
Before your final push and issuing a pull request, you need to ensure that your changes
can be easily merged into the master branch of the upstream repository. This is done by
once again rebasing your branch on the latest "origin/master".
git fetch # or, git remote update
git rebase origin/master # or, git pull --rebase origin master
Publish and Pull Request
Now it's time to make your final push of the branch to your fork. The "--force" flag is
only necessary if you've pushed before and subsequently rewriting your history:
git push --force
After your branch is published, you can issue a pull request to the Moose Cabal. See
<https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests> for details.
Congratulations! You're now a contributor!
Approval Workflow
Moose is an open project but it is also an increasingly important one. Many modules depend
on Moose being stable. Therefore, we have a basic set of criteria for reviewing and
merging branches. What follows is a set of rough guidelines that ensures all new code is
properly vetted before it is merged to the master branch.
It should be noted that if you want your specific branch to be approved, it is your
responsibility to follow this process and advocate for your branch.
Small bug fixes, doc patches and additional passing tests.
These items don't really require approval beyond one of the core contributors just
doing a simple review. For especially simple patches (doc patches especially),
committing directly to master is fine.
Larger bug fixes, doc additions and TODO or failing tests.
Larger bug fixes should be reviewed by at least one cabal member and should be tested
using the xt/author/test-my-dependents.t test.
New documentation is always welcome, but should also be reviewed by a cabal member for
accuracy.
TODO tests are basically feature requests, see our "New Features" section for more
information on that. If your feature needs core support, create a "topic/" branch
using the "Development Workflow" and start hacking away.
Failing tests are basically bug reports. You should find a core contributor and/or
cabal member to see if it is a real bug, then submit the bug and your test to the RT
queue. Source control is not a bug reporting tool.
New user-facing features.
Anything that creates a new user-visible feature needs to be approved by more than one
cabal member.
Make sure you have reviewed "New Features" to be sure that you are following the
guidelines. Do not be surprised if a new feature is rejected for the core.
New internals features.
New features for Moose internals are less restrictive than user facing features, but
still require approval by at least one cabal member.
Ideally you will have run the xt/author/test-my-dependents.t script to be sure you are
not breaking any MooseX module or causing any other unforeseen havoc. If you do this
(rather than make us do it), it will only help to hasten your branch's approval.
Backwards incompatible changes.
Anything that breaks backwards compatibility must be discussed by the cabal. Backwards
incompatible changes should not be merged to master if there are strong objections
from any cabal members.
We have a policy for what we see as sane "BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY" for Moose. If your
changes break back-compat, you must be ready to discuss and defend your change.
Release Workflow
# major releases (including trial releases)
git checkout master
# minor releases
git checkout stable/X.YY
# do final changelogging, etc
vim dist.ini # increment version number
git commit
dzil release # or dzil release --trial for trial releases
git commit # to add the actual release date
git branch stable/X.YY # only for non-trial major releases
Release How-To
Moose uses Dist::Zilla to manage releases. Although the git repository comes with a
"Makefile.PL", it is a very basic one just to allow the basic "perl Makefile.PL && make &&
make test" cycle to work. In particular, it doesn't include any release metadata, such as
dependencies. In order to get started with Dist::Zilla, first install it: "cpanm
Dist::Zilla", and then install the plugins necessary for reading the "dist.ini": "dzil
authordeps | cpanm".
Moose releases fall into two categories, each with their own level of release preparation.
A minor release is one which does not include any API changes, deprecations, and so on. In
that case, it is sufficient to simply test the release candidate against a few different
Perls. Testing should be done against at least two recent major versions of Perl (5.8.8
and 5.10.1, for example). If you have more versions available, you are encouraged to test
them all. However, we do not put a lot of effort into supporting older 5.8.x releases.
For major releases which include an API change or deprecation, you should run the
xt/author/test-my-dependents.t test. This tests a long list of MooseX and other Moose-
using modules from CPAN. In order to run this script, you must arrange to have the new
version of Moose in Perl's include path. You can use "prove -b" and "prove -I", install
the module, or fiddle with the "PERL5LIB" environment variable, whatever makes you happy.
This test downloads each module from CPAN, runs its tests, and logs failures and warnings
to a set of files named test-mydeps-$$-*.log. If there are failures or warnings, please
work with the authors of the modules in question to fix them. If the module author simply
isn't available or does not want to fix the bug, it is okay to make a release.
Regardless of whether or not a new module is available, any breakages should be noted in
the conflicts list in the distribution's dist.ini.
Emergency Bug Workflow (for immediate release)
The stable branch exists for easily making bug fix releases.
git remote update
git checkout -b topic/my-emergency-fix origin/master
# hack
git commit
Then a cabal member merges into "master", and backports the change into "stable/X.YY":
git checkout master
git merge topic/my-emergency-fix
git push
git checkout stable/X.YY
git cherry-pick -x master
git push
# release
Project Workflow
For longer lasting branches, we use a subversion style branch layout, where master is
routinely merged into the branch. Rebasing is allowed as long as all the branch
contributors are using "git pull --rebase" properly.
"commit --amend", "rebase --interactive", etc. are not allowed, and should only be done in
topic branches. Committing to master is still done with the same review process as a topic
branch, and the branch must merge as a fast forward.
This is pretty much the way we're doing branches for large-ish things right now.
Obviously there is no technical limitation on the number of branches. You can freely
create topic branches off of project branches, or sub projects inside larger projects
freely. Such branches should incorporate the name of the branch they were made off so that
people don't accidentally assume they should be merged into master:
git checkout -b my-project--topic/foo my-project
(unfortunately Git will not allow "my-project/foo" as a branch name if "my-project" is a
valid ref).
BRANCH ARCHIVAL
Merged branches should be deleted.
Failed branches may be kept, but should be moved to "attic/" to differentiate them from
in-progress topic branches.
Branches that have not been worked on for a long time will be moved to "abandoned/"
periodically, but feel free to move the branch back to "topic/" if you want to start
working on it again.
TESTS, TESTS, TESTS
If you write any code for Moose, you must add tests for that code. If you do not write
tests then we cannot guarantee your change will not be removed or altered at a later date,
as there is nothing to confirm this is desired behavior.
If your code change/addition is deep within the bowels of Moose and your test exercises
this feature in a non-obvious way, please add some comments either near the code in
question or in the test so that others know.
We also greatly appreciate documentation to go with your changes, and an entry in the
Changes file. Make sure to give yourself credit! Major changes or new user-facing features
should also be documented in Moose::Manual::Delta.
DOCS, DOCS, DOCS
Any user-facing changes must be accompanied by documentation. If you're not comfortable
writing docs yourself, you might be able to convince another Moose dev to help you.
Our goal is to make sure that all features are documented. Undocumented features are not
considered part of the API when it comes to determining whether a change is backwards
compatible.
BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
Change is inevitable, and Moose is not immune to this. We do our best to maintain
backwards compatibility, but we do not want the code base to become overburdened by this.
This is not to say that we will be frivolous with our changes, quite the opposite, just
that we are not afraid of change and will do our best to keep it as painless as possible
for the end user.
Our policy for handling backwards compatibility is documented in more detail in
Moose::Manual::Support.
All backwards incompatible changes must be documented in Moose::Manual::Delta. Make sure
to document any useful tips or workarounds for the change in that document.
AUTHORS
• Stevan Little <stevan.little@iinteractive.com>
• Dave Rolsky <autarch@urth.org>
• Jesse Luehrs <doy@tozt.net>
• Shawn M Moore <code@sartak.org>
• יובל קוג'מן (Yuval Kogman) <nothingmuch@woobling.org>
• Karen Etheridge <ether@cpan.org>
• Florian Ragwitz <rafl@debian.org>
• Hans Dieter Pearcey <hdp@weftsoar.net>
• Chris Prather <chris@prather.org>
• Matt S Trout <mst@shadowcat.co.uk>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is copyright (c) 2006 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as
the Perl 5 programming language system itself.