Comitting

Getting commit access

There are two stages of commit access:

  1. community module or extension commit access
  2. core commit access

The first stage of access allows a developer to commit only to the community module or extension for which they are the maintainer. This stage of access can be obtained quite easily.

The second allows a developer to make commits to the core modules of geoserver. Being granted this stage of access takes time, and is obtained only after the developer has gained the trust of the other core comitters.

Community commit access

The process of getting community commit access is as follows:

  1. Email the developer list

    This first step is all about communication. In order to grant commit access the other developers on the project must first know what the intention is. Therefore any developer looking for commit access must first describe what they want to commit (usually a community module), and what it does.

  2. Join the project on CodeHaus

    After a developer has stated intentions via the email list, a PSC member will approve the request for commit access. At which point the developer must:

    1. Create a Codehaus account by visiting http://xircles.codehaus.org/signup

      Note

      If you already have a JIRA (bug tracker) or Confluence (wiki) account it is best to use the same userid for the Codehaus account.

    2. Visit http://xircles.codehaus.org/projects/geoserver

    3. Click the Apply to join as a developer link

      ../_images/codehaus-join.jpg

  3. Notify the developer list

    After a developer has signed up on Codehaus they must notify the developer list. A project despot will then approve the request to join the project.

Core commit access

The process of obtaining core commit access is far less mechanical than the one to obtain community commit access. It is based soley on trust. To obtain core commit access a developer must first obtain the trust of the other core commiters.

The way this is typically done is through continuous code review of patches. After a developer has submitted enough patches that have been met with a postitive response, and those patches require little modifications, the developer will be granted core commit access.

There is no magic number of patches that make the criteria, it is based mostly on the nature of the patches, how in depth the they are, etc... Basically it boils down the developer being able to show that they understand the code base well enough to not seriously break anything.

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