+For contributors/developers: follow the steps in
+@ref{Commits and patches}, and @ref{Pushing to staging}.
+
+@ignore
+For people doing maintenance tasks: git-cl is adding issues, James
+is testing them, Colin is selecting them for countdowns, and
+Patchy is merging from staging to master. In the coming weeks,
+these tasks will be more and more automated.
+@end ignore
+
+@subheading Patch cycle
+
+@itemize
+
+@item
+Patches get added to the tracker and to Rietveld by the @qq{git-cl} tool, with
+a status of @qq{patch-new}.
+
+@item
+The automated tester, Patchy, verifies that the patch can be applied
+to current master. By default, it checks that the patch allows @code{make}
+and @code{make test} to complete successfully. It can also be configured to
+check that @code{make doc} is successful. If it passes, Patchy changes the
+status to @qq{patch-review} and emails the developer list. If the patch
+fails, Patchy sets it to @qq{patch-needs_work} and notifies the developer list.
+
+@item
+The Patch Meister reviews the tracker periodically, to list patches
+which have been on review for at least 24 hours. The list is found at
+
+@smallexample
+@uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/list?can=2&q=label:patch%20patch=review&sort=modified+patch&colspec=ID%20Type%20Status%20Priority%20Owner%20Patch%20Summary%20Modified}
+@end smallexample
+
+@item
+For each patch, the Handler reviews any discussion on the tracker
+and on Rietveld, to determine whether the patch can go forward. If
+there is any indication that a developer thinks the patch is not
+ready, the Handler marks it @qq{patch-needs_work} and makes a comment
+regarding the reason, referring to the Rietveld item if needed.
+
+@item
+Patches with explicit approval, or at least no negative comment, can
+be updated to @qq{patch-countdown}. When saving the tracker item,
+clear the @qq{send email} box to prevent sending notification for
+each patch.
+
+@item
+The Patch Meister sends an email to the developer list, with a fixed
+subject line, to enable filtering by email clients:
+
+@example
+PATCH: Countdown to 20130113
+@end example
+
+The text of the email sets the deadline for this countdown batch. At
+present, batches are done on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings.
+
+To create the countdown announcement, use the
+@code{make-countdown-announcement.sh} script, which takes the
+deadline date, and optionally your name. Follow the instructions
+provided:
+
+@example
+cd $LILYPOND_GIT
+scripts/auxiliar/make-countdown-announcement.sh "Jan 1, 2001" James
+@end example
+
+The script produces an announcement that is easily readable in all
+email clients. Also, whenever a new contributor submits a patch,
+you will be prompted to add the new username and author name to
+the script itself, and then commit those changes to the main git
+repository.
+
+
+@item
+On the scheduled countdown day, the Patch Meister reviews the
+previous list of patches on countdown, with the same procedure and
+criteria as before. Patches with no controversy can be set to
+@qq{patch-push} with a courtesy message added to the comment block.
+
+@item
+Roughly at six month intervals, the Patch Meister can list the
+patches which have been set to @qq{patch-needs-work} and send the
+results to the developer list for review. In most cases, these
+patches should be marked @qq{patch-abandoned} but this should come
+from the developer if possible.
+
+@item
+As in most organisations of unpaid volunteers, fixed procedures are
+useful in as much as they get the job done. In our community, there
+is room for senior developers to bypass normal patch handling flows,
+particularly now that the testing of patches is largely automated.
+Similarly, the minimum age of 24 hours can reasonably be waived if
+the patch is minor and from an experienced developer.
+
+
+@end itemize
+
+@ignore
projects / lilypond.git / blobdiff