1d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov# How To Contribute 2d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 3d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovThere are several ways to contribute to the development of ReactOS. The most often encountered problem is not knowing where to begin or what to do. If you are able to program or understand the technical information that is pertinent to this project, helping the development can be easy. 4d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 5df77f88fSTuur Martens- [What To Do?](#what-to-do) 6df77f88fSTuur Martens- [How To Contribute?](#how-to-contribute) 7df77f88fSTuur Martens- [Where To Start?](#where-to-start) 8d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 9a4f0a239SAlexander Shaposhnikov**Legal notice:** If you have seen Microsoft Windows source code, your contribution won't be accepted because of potential copyright violation. Before contributing, you must affirm that the following is true: 10a4f0a239SAlexander Shaposhnikov>I hereby swear that I have not used nor seen the source code to any version of the Windows operating system 11a4f0a239SAlexander Shaposhnikov>nor any Microsoft product that may be related to the proposed project that is under a license incompatible 12a4f0a239SAlexander Shaposhnikov>with contribution to ReactOS, including but not limited to the leaked Windows 2000 source code and the Windows Research Kernel. 13a4f0a239SAlexander Shaposhnikov 14d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov## What To Do? 15d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 16d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Fix bugs 17d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 18d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovYou can try to fix a few bugs that are already listed in [JIRA]. Squashing bugs is not a simple task. It requires a lot more skill than simply searching for them, and can be time consuming; however, by doing that you greatly help ReactOS become a stable system. 19d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 20d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov_NOTE: patches related to 3rd party code such as Wine or BtrFS should be sent to upstream of the said projects. See [3rd Party Files.txt], [README.WINE] and [README.FSD] in [media/doc](media/doc) for details._ 21d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 22d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Fix tests 23d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 24d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovTests are used to check the functionality and correctness of APIs on ReactOS compared to Windows implementations. There are some unit tests that you could help ReactOS pass, which can be found [in the Web Test Manager][testman] and some that are broken or yet to be written. 25d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 26d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Fix Coverity scans 27d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 28d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov[Coverity] is enhanced static analysis that uncovers leaks, buffer overflows, security issues and other. We do such scans on ReactOS codebase pretty often. You can [request][request-coverity] to see Coverity 'defects' and help to fix them. 29d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 30d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Test ReactOS 31d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 32d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovBy localizing bugs, developers can identify what causes the bug and which part it affects. There are a variety of methods to [debug] ReactOS while testing it. After identifying a bug, check if it is already known about by searching on JIRA and adding any additional information to the report. If you think that it is an unidentified bug, consider [filing a bug report]. 33d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 34d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Implement new things 35d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 36d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovConsidering ReactOS is alpha quality software, there is a lot of [missing functionality] that Windows operating systems have. Before starting a project to implement something, find out whether another person is working on the same thing. If you find that someone is already working on it, ask if any assistance is needed for what specifically is being worked on or a related project. More often than not, someone will start to implement something and move onto something else before it's complete. Make sure you stay committed to what you are going to implement, and do not be afraid to ask for assistance if you need help with something. 37d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 38d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Write documentation 39d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 40d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovThere are some important points if you would like to help document ReactOS: 41d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 42d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov1. Make sure the documentation does not exist yet (if it does, help improve it). 43d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov2. Respect [clean room reverse engineering] practices. 44d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov3. Add your knowledge to a place where the other developers can find it. 45d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 46d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov## How To Contribute? 47d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 48d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovYour contribution can be of numerous forms. We currently accept two ways to contribute - Pull Requests and Patches. 49d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 50d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Pull Requests 51d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 52f50f983fSAlexander ShaposhnikovSince our [migration to GitHub] we gladly accept __[Pull Requests]__. Pull requests let you tell others about changes you have pushed to a repository on GitHub. Once a pull request is opened, you can discuss and review the potential changes with collaborators and add follow-up commits before the changes are merged into the repository. __Pull request is a preferred way to submit your work__ - it makes reviewing and merging your contribution much easier. 53d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 54d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Patches 55d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 56d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovA __[patch]__ is a set of changes to existing source code. The changes in a patch can be merged into existing source code. This process is referred to as applying a patch (to source code). Which changes a patch contains and the way the patch is structured can have significant impact on the consequences that can happen from applying the patch. 57d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 58d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovSee [Submitting Patches] for details. 59d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 60d70741faSAlexander Shaposhnikov### Commit style 61d70741faSAlexander Shaposhnikov 62d70741faSAlexander ShaposhnikovOur commit style is defined in a __[commit template]__. Use it as a reference or turn it on using `git config commit.template .gitmessage`. This will set this template as an initial commit message for the new commits in your local repository. 63d70741faSAlexander Shaposhnikov 64d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov### Rules and Recommendations 65d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 66*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov- *Use your __real name__ and __real email__.* We do not accept anonymous code contributions! 67*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov - Every commit that changes code or translations should have author's full legal name (in latin letters, diacritics allowed). 68*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov - It's recommended to have the same full name set in GitHub profile (in the [Name field here][GitHub Profile Settings]) that matches one specified in commits. 69*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov- There is an exception for media changes, such as changes of art (wallpapers, themes, icons, sounds) and out-of-code documentation. 70*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov - In these specific cases it's allowed to use a nickname or alias as author's name, and it's recommended to have the same name set in GitHub profile (in the [Name field here][GitHub Profile Settings]) matching one specified in commits. 71*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov- In any case the author must use a real e-mail address, this includes git commits (`user.email` setting) and GitHub [e-mail settings][GitHub Email Settings] - the checkbox "Keep my email addresses private" must be unchecked there. 72*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov - In order to *keep your privacy*, select appropriate "Primary email address" that will be applied to your commits in GitHub [e-mail settings][GitHub Email Settings]. 73d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov- *Ensure your contribution is properly described.* Include the relevant issue number if applicable. 74f9dd6dbeSAlexander Shaposhnikov- *Put only related changes.* It will make reviewing easier as the reviewer needs to recall less information about the existing source code that is changed. 75d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov- *Search for similar pull requests/patches before submitting.* It may be that a similar pull request or issue was opened previously. Comment and review on that one instead. 76d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov- *Keep your contribution small and focused on the topic.* It can be tempting to fix existing issues as you come across them while reading the source code. Resist the temptation and put in a note in the source code instead, or (even better) put the issue in the issue tracking system. 77d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov- *Respect our __[Coding Style]__ and __[Programming Guidelines]__.* 78*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov- *Do not be afraid to ask questions.* Ask our developers in the [chat]. 79d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 80a8257740SBișoc GeorgeTo amend your commit with your name and e-mail (in any case you've forgot to set your name/e-mail) please take a look at this [guide](https://reactos.org/wiki/ReactOS_Git_For_Dummies#Amending_your_commit_with_name.2FE-mail). To set your name/e-mail globally for future commits that you push, [read this](https://reactos.org/wiki/ReactOS_Git_For_Dummies#Assign_commits_with_your_name_.26_E-mail_automatically). 81a8257740SBișoc George 82d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov## Where To Start? 83d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 84d7c8a574SAlexander ShaposhnikovFinding a good project to start with can be a challenge, because when starting out you are (usually) not aware of all the possibilities. To help you find a project, here are some ideas to try: 85d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 86d3636e13SSerge Gautherie- Find a test that fails, and try to make it succeed: <https://reactos.org/testman/> 87d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov- Look around in JIRA, and if you have problems finding nice projects to start with, there is a label for this: <https://jira.reactos.org/issues/?jql=labels%20%3D%20starter-project> 88*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov- Ask for help in the [chat] 89d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov- Additionally, there are some tests that cause crashes/hangs, but these might be slightly harder: <https://jira.reactos.org/browse/ROSTESTS-125> 90d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov 91d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [clean room reverse engineering]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design 92d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [debug]: https://reactos.org/wiki/Debugging 93d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [JIRA]: https://jira.reactos.org/ 94d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [filing a bug report]: https://reactos.org/wiki/File_Bugs 95d3636e13SSerge Gautherie [testman]: https://reactos.org/testman/ 96d3636e13SSerge Gautherie [migration to GitHub]: https://reactos.org/project-news/reactos-repository-migrated-github/ 97d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [humans are terrible at tracking large amount of information]: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/aps-hmc030805.php 98d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [Pull requests]: https://help.github.com/articles/about-pull-requests/ 99*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov [GitHub Profile Settings]: https://github.com/settings/profile 100*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov [GitHub Email Settings]: https://github.com/settings/emails 1017f8929c5SSerge Gautherie [tips for reviewing patches]: https://www.drupal.org/patch/review 102d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [missing functionality]: https://reactos.org/wiki/Missing_ReactOS_Functionality 103d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [patch]: https://git-scm.com/docs/git-format-patch 104d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [Submitting Patches]: https://reactos.org/wiki/Submitting_Patches 105d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [Coding Style]: https://reactos.org/wiki/Coding_Style 106*02a19c31SStanislav Motylkov [chat]: https://reactos.org/wiki/Mattermost 107d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [Programming Guidelines]: https://reactos.org/wiki/Programming_Guidelines 108d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [3rd Party Files.txt]: /media/doc/3rd_Party_Files.txt 109d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [README.WINE]: /media/doc/README.WINE 110d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [README.FSD]: /media/doc/README.FSD 111d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [Coverity]: https://scan.coverity.com/projects/reactos 112d7c8a574SAlexander Shaposhnikov [request-coverity]: https://scan.coverity.com/memberships/new?project_id=reactos 113d70741faSAlexander Shaposhnikov [commit template]: .gitmessage 11423d0ec4cSDavid Quintana 11523d0ec4cSDavid Quintana# See Also 11623d0ec4cSDavid Quintana 11723d0ec4cSDavid Quintana- [Rules for managing Pull Requests](PULL_REQUEST_MANAGEMENT.md) 118