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Bruce Momjian 24 years ago
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      doc/src/FAQ/FAQ_DEV.html

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@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
<H1>Developer's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for
PostgreSQL</H1>
<P>Last updated: Tue Dec 4 01:14:35 EST 2001</P>
<P>Last updated: Tue Dec 4 01:20:03 EST 2001</P>
<P>Current maintainer: Bruce Momjian (<A href=
@ -549,37 +549,38 @@
<H3><A name="15">15</A>) How are RPM's packaged?</H3>
<P>This was written by Lamar Owen:</P>
<PRE>
2001-05-03
<P>2001-05-03
As to how the RPMs are built -- to answer that question sanely requires
<P>As to how the RPMs are built -- to answer that question sanely requires
me to know how much experience you have with the whole RPM paradigm.
'How is the RPM built?' is a multifaceted question. The obvious simple
answer is that I maintain:
<P>
1.) A set of patches to make certain portions of the source
tree 'behave' in the different environment of the RPMset;
2.) The initscript;
3.) Any other ancilliary scripts and files;
4.) A README.rpm-dist document that tries to adequately document
<P> 2.) The initscript;
<P> 3.) Any other ancilliary scripts and files;
<P> 4.) A README.rpm-dist document that tries to adequately document
both the differences between the RPM build and the WHY of the
differences, as well as useful RPM environment operations
(like, using syslog, upgrading, getting postmaster to
start at OS boot, etc);
5.) The spec file that throws it all together. This is not a
<P> 5.) The spec file that throws it all together. This is not a
trivial undertaking in a package of this size.
I then download and build on as many different canonical distributions
<P>I then download and build on as many different canonical distributions
as I can -- currently I am able to build on Red Hat 6.2, 7.0, and 7.1 on
my personal hardware. Occasionally I receive opportunity from certain
commercial enterprises such as Great Bridge and PostgreSQL, Inc. to
build on other distributions.
I test the build by installing the resulting packages and running the
<P>I test the build by installing the resulting packages and running the
regression tests. Once the build passes these tests, I upload to the
postgresql.org ftp server and make a release announcement. I am also
responsible for maintaining the RPM download area on the ftp site.
You'll notice I said 'canonical' distributions above. That simply means
<P>You'll notice I said 'canonical' distributions above. That simply means
that the machine is as stock 'out of the box' as practical -- that is,
everything (except select few programs) on these boxen are installed by
RPM; only official Red Hat released RPMs are used (except in unusual
@ -592,7 +593,7 @@ possible. Only the standard released 'official to that release'
compiler is used -- and only the standard official kernel is used as
well.
For a time I built on Mandrake for RedHat consumption -- no more.
<P>For a time I built on Mandrake for RedHat consumption -- no more.
Nonstandard RPM building systems are worse than useless. Which is not
to say that Mandrake is useless! By no means is Mandrake useless --
unless you are building Red Hat RPMs -- and Red Hat is useless if you're
@ -600,12 +601,12 @@ trying to build Mandrake or SuSE RPMs, for that matter. But I would be
foolish to use 'Lamar Owen's Super Special RPM Blend Distro 0.1.2' to
build for public consumption! :-)
I _do_ attempt to make the _source_ RPM compatible with as many
<P>I _do_ attempt to make the _source_ RPM compatible with as many
distributions as possible -- however, since I have limited resources (as
a volunteer RPM maintainer) I am limited as to the amount of testing
said build will get on other distributions, architectures, or systems.
And, while I understand people's desire to immediately upgrade to the
<P>And, while I understand people's desire to immediately upgrade to the
newest version, realize that I do this as a side interest -- I have a
regular, full-time job as a broadcast
engineer/webmaster/sysadmin/Technical Director which occasionally
@ -613,7 +614,7 @@ prevents me from making timely RPM releases. This happened during the
early part of the 7.1 beta cycle -- but I believe I was pretty much on
the ball for the Release Candidates and the final release.
I am working towards a more open RPM distribution -- I would dearly love
<P>I am working towards a more open RPM distribution -- I would dearly love
to more fully document the process and put everything into CVS -- once I
figure out how I want to represent things such as the spec file in a CVS
form. It makes no sense to maintain a changelog, for instance, in the
@ -624,7 +625,7 @@ before building the RPM. IOW, I need to rethink the process -- and then
go through the motions of putting my long RPM history into CVS one
version at a time so that version history information isn't lost.
As to why all these files aren't part of the source tree, well, unless
<P>As to why all these files aren't part of the source tree, well, unless
there was a large cry for it to happen, I don't believe it should.
PostgreSQL is very platform-agnostic -- and I like that. Including the
RPM stuff as part of the Official Tarball (TM) would, IMHO, slant that
@ -636,17 +637,16 @@ instinct says they're not likely to be), I am opposed to the idea -- not
to keep the stuff to myself, but to not hinder the platform-neutral
stance. IMHO, of course.
Of course, there are many projects that DO include all the files
<P>Of course, there are many projects that DO include all the files
necessary to build RPMs from their Official Tarball (TM).
</PRE>
<H3><A name="16">16</A>) How are CVS branches managed?</H3>
<P>This was written by Tom Lane:</P>
<PRE>
<P>
2001-05-07
If you just do basic "cvs checkout", "cvs update", "cvs commit", then
<P>If you just do basic "cvs checkout", "cvs update", "cvs commit", then
you'll always be dealing with the HEAD version of the files in CVS.
That's what you want for development, but if you need to patch past
stable releases then you have to be able to access and update the
@ -654,17 +654,19 @@ stable releases then you have to be able to access and update the
for a stable release just before starting the development cycle for the
next release.
The first thing you have to know is the branch name for the branch you
<P>The first thing you have to know is the branch name for the branch you
are interested in getting at. To do this, look at some long-lived file,
say the top-level HISTORY file, with "cvs status -v" to see what the
branch names are. (Thanks to Ian Lance Taylor for pointing out that
this is the easiest way to do it.) Typical branch names are:
<PRE>
REL7_1_STABLE
REL7_0_PATCHES
REL6_5_PATCHES
</PRE>
OK, so how do you do work on a branch? By far the best way is to create
<P>OK, so how do you do work on a branch? By far the best way is to create
a separate checkout tree for the branch and do your work in that. Not
only is that the easiest way to deal with CVS, but you really need to
have the whole past tree available anyway to test your work. (And you
@ -672,73 +674,88 @@ have the whole past tree available anyway to test your work. (And you
with very little beta testing --- so whenever you commit an update to a
stable branch, you'd better be doubly sure that it's correct.)
Normally, to checkout the head branch, you just cd to the place you
<P>Normally, to checkout the head branch, you just cd to the place you
want to contain the toplevel "pgsql" directory and say
<PRE>
cvs ... checkout pgsql
</PRE>
To get a past branch, you cd to whereever you want it and say
<P>To get a past branch, you cd to whereever you want it and say
<PRE>
cvs ... checkout -r BRANCHNAME pgsql
</PRE>
For example, just a couple days ago I did
<P>For example, just a couple days ago I did
<PRE>
mkdir ~postgres/REL7_1
cd ~postgres/REL7_1
cvs ... checkout -r REL7_1_STABLE pgsql
</PRE>
and now I have a maintenance copy of 7.1.*.
<P>and now I have a maintenance copy of 7.1.*.
When you've done a checkout in this way, the branch name is "sticky":
<P>When you've done a checkout in this way, the branch name is "sticky":
CVS automatically knows that this directory tree is for the branch,
and whenever you do "cvs update" or "cvs commit" in this tree, you'll
fetch or store the latest version in the branch, not the head version.
Easy as can be.
So, if you have a patch that needs to apply to both the head and a
<P>So, if you have a patch that needs to apply to both the head and a
recent stable branch, you have to make the edits and do the commit
twice, once in your development tree and once in your stable branch
tree. This is kind of a pain, which is why we don't normally fork
the tree right away after a major release --- we wait for a dot-release
or two, so that we won't have to double-patch the first wave of fixes.
</PRE>
<H3><A name="17">17</A>) How go I get involved in PostgreSQL
development?</H3>
<P>This was written by Lamar Owen:</P>
<PRE>
<P>
2001-06-22
<P>
&gt; If someone was interested in joining the development team, where would
<BR>
&gt; they...
<BR>
&gt; - Find a description of the open source development process used by the
<BR>
&gt; PostgreSQL team.
<BR>
Read HACKERS for six months (or a full release cycle, whichever is longer).
<P>Read HACKERS for six months (or a full release cycle, whichever is longer).
Really. HACKERS _is_the process. The process is not well documented (AFAIK
-- it may be somewhere that I am not aware of) -- and it changes continually.
<P>
&gt; - Find the development environment (OS, system, compilers, etc)
<BR>
&gt; required to develop code.
<BR>
<a href="developers.postgresql.org">Developers Corner</a> on the website
<P><a href="developers.postgresql.org">Developers Corner</a> on the website
has links to this information. The distribution tarball itself
includes all the extra tools and documents that go beyond a good
Unix-like development environment. In general, a modern unix with a
modern gcc, GNU make or equivalent, autoconf (of a particular version),
and good working knowledge of those tools are required.
<P>
&gt; - Find an area or two that needs some support.
<BR>
The TODO list.
<P>The TODO list.
You've made the first step, by finding and subscribing to HACKERS. Once you
<P>You've made the first step, by finding and subscribing to HACKERS. Once you
find an area to look at in the TODO, and have read the documentation on the
internals, etc, then you check out a current CVS,write what you are going to
write (keeping your CVS checkout up to date in the process), and make up a
patch (as a context diff only) and send to the PATCHES list, prefereably.
Discussion on the patch typically happens here. If the patch adds a major
<P>Discussion on the patch typically happens here. If the patch adds a major
feature, it would be a good idea to talk about it first on the HACKERS list,
in order to increase the chances of it being accepted, as well as toavoid
duplication of effort. Note that experienced developers with a proven track
@ -746,22 +763,20 @@ record usually get the big jobs -- for more than one reason. Also note that
PostgreSQL is highly portable -- nonportable code will likely be dismissed
out of hand.
Once your contributions get accepted, things move from there. Typically, you
<P>Once your contributions get accepted, things move from there. Typically, you
would be added as a developer on the list on the website when one of the
other developers recommends it. Membership on the steering committee is by
invitation only, by the other steering committee members, from what I have
gathered watching froma distance.
I make these statements from having watched the process for over two years.
<P>I make these statements from having watched the process for over two years.
To see a good example of how one goes about this, search the archives for the
<P>To see a good example of how one goes about this, search the archives for the
name 'Tom Lane' and see what his first post consisted of, and where he took
things. In particular, note that this hasn't been _that_ long ago -- and his
bugfixing and general deep knowledge with this codebase is legendary. Take a
few days to read after him. And pay special attention to both the sheer
quantity as well as the painstaking quality of his work. Both are in high
demand.
</PRE>
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