Re: [boost] [git] What about unmaintained libraries?

Subject: Re: [boost] [git] What about unmaintained libraries?
From: Dave Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-12-24 14:09:45

on Mon Dec 24 2012, Beman Dawes <bdawes-AT-acm.org> wrote:

> On Mon, Dec 24, 2012 at 1:51 AM, Andrey Semashev
> <andrey.semashev_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have little experience with git and none with GitHub, so apologies
>> if my questions sound silly.
>
> There is nothing silly about your questions! Getting this stuff
> documented is part of moving to Git and GitHub.
>
>> We have a number of unmaintained libraries in Boost. With svn anyone
>> with commit rights can apply fixes and even take over these libs. In
>> the end of the day, I think, this is a good thing - community support
>> is better than no support.
>
> AFAIK, we will use same procedure (see below) as for maintained
> libraries, but it will be someone with global write permissions who
> applies the pull request.
>
>> Even with maintained libs, it is sometimes simpler to just apply the
>> fix instead of filing a ticket and waiting for the maintainer to get
>> to it. Also, remember the bug fixing weeks we had a while ago -
>> anyone could choose a library and resolve tickets against it.
>
> I've added a FAQ entry "How do I submit fixes to a Boost library owned
> by someone else?". See
> https://svn.boost.org/trac/boost/wiki/ModCvtFAQ.

On that page:

  "The Git community has a usual way of submitting changes upstream. See
  GitHub's description of the process"

Actually, major parts of that description are GitHub-specific.
"Forking" a repository on GitHub is similar to cloning a repository with
git, except that GitHub remembers the relationship between the
repositories.  A "pull-request"
(https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests) provides a
convenient web interface for submitting changes to a repository you've
"forked."  It also allows you to amend those changes before they are
incorporated upstream; if you request a pull on a symbolic reference
(like a branch), any changes to that reference made before the request
is accepted upstream will become part of that pull.  That can be a
surprising effect.  If you want to avoid it, you might use tags or
dedicated branches for pull requests.

GitHub also makes it easy to submit small changes upstream by providing
an "Edit" button (if you're logged in) on the browser for any given
file.  That button will cause GitHub to fork the repository for you (if
you don't already have a fork) and set up a new branch for the changes
you make.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
BoostPro Computing                  Software Development        Training
http://www.boostpro.com             Clang/LLVM/EDG Compilers  C++  Boost