X-Git-Url: https://code.delx.au/gnu-emacs-elpa/blobdiff_plain/a08d40b91d18e553ff32c0a08c5cc678f3ba0495..7da6741f270fd2404f0d62b5ea3b1d70eb5f2898:/README diff --git a/README b/README index 097e43049..acc42e4a6 100644 --- a/README +++ b/README @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -Copyright (C) 2010-2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc. +Copyright (C) 2010-2011, 2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc. See the end of the file for license conditions. @@ -23,51 +23,120 @@ for testing purposes). This directory holds the package sources, with one subdirectory for each package. +Each directory in here corresponds to a package, which can be +either a single-file package or a multifile package. + +A nightly cron job refreshes the GNU ELPA archive from this repository. + +This cron job only creates a new package when the "version" (as specified in +the "Version:" header) of a package is modified. This means that you can +safely work on the next version here without worrying about the unstable +code making it to GNU ELPA, and simply update the "version" when you want to +release the new code. + ** To add a package: *** Add a simple (1-file) package as packages/NAME/NAME.el. +The file needs to follow the usual coding conventions (most importantly +start with ";;; --- ") and have a "Version:" and +"Maintainer:" pseudo-header. + *** Add a multi-file package as a directory, packages/NAME. -*** Commit your changes the usual way ("bzr add", "bzr commit", etc). +It needs to have a file named packages/NAME/NAME.el which follows the same +rules as above. -Changes in the Bzr repository do not immediately propagate to the -user-facing archive (what users see when they do `M-x list-packages'). -That is done by deploying the archive. +*** Commit your changes the usual way ("git add", "git commit", etc). +Changes in the Git repository do not immediately propagate to the +user-facing archive (what users see when they do `M-x list-packages'). +That is done by deploying the archive, which happens automatically +once a day, and the changes are only reflected when the "Version:" +header changes. + +** Format + +Each package should follow the ELPA packaging conventions, but there are +some differences due to the way the deployment script creates the packages +and the web-pages from this source code: +- Multi-file packages put the package metadata in the main .el file + in the format used for single-file packages: the -pkg.el file is + auto-generated from it. +- Every package should have both a "Version:" *and* a "Maintainer:". +- the "URL:" header can be used to specify the home page + of the package, if it's maintained externally. +- A "News:" section (or "NEWS" file) can/should be used to list the + user-visible changes of each version. +- The "Package-Type:" header can be used to force the type of package + created (can be either `simple' for single-file packages or `multi' for + tarballs). By default the type is decided based on whether there are + several Elisp files in the source. +- If you want some files to not be included in the tarball, you can + put a `.elpaignore' file in the root of your package directory, where you + can list patterns of files to ignore (this file is passed to tar's -X). + +** External branches + +Some packages are maintained in external branches. These should be +appropriately listed in the `externals-list' file. +There are two different cases: subtrees and externals. + +In both cases, a copy of the code is kept in the `elpa' repository and +should be sync'd with the upstream every once in a while. This copy may +include local changes, tho ideally these should be kept to a minimum. + +In the `subtree' case, the copy of the code is kept here in the +corresponding `packages/' directory. You should be able to "git +merge -s subtree" from the upstream branch. + +In the `external' case, the copy of the code is not kept here but in the +`externals/' branch in the `elpa' repository. +You can check out all the external packages into the `packages' directory +with the command: + + make externals + +** Public incubation + +If you want to develop a package publicly prior to its first release (to +benefit from others' feedback, primarily), but not in an external repo, +you have 2 choices: +- you can simply put "Version: 0" to indicate that this should not be + released yet. +- or you can push to an "ephemeral" branch -- subject to rebase and eventual + removal upon finishing merge -- for the duration of the incubation. * DEPLOYMENT -** To use the package repository as a "site installation" of packages: +** To install all the packages "in place": - make site + make externals + make This compiles and generates autoloads for all the packages in the -packages/ directory, and creates a site/ directory containing symlinks -to the package directories. +packages/ directory. You can then add that directory, e.g. with: -Now you have to add this site/ directory to `package-directory-list', -and all the packages will be available. +(eval-after-load 'package + '(add-to-list 'package-directory-list ".../elpa/packages")) ** To deploy the package repository as a remotely-accessible archive: - make archive - -or - - make archive-full - -This deploys the packages to the archive/ directory. Unlike "make -site", this makes a full copy of the packages, and tars up multi-file -packages. + git clone .../elpa + mkdir build + cd build + (cd ../elpa; git log --format=%H | tail -n 1) >.changelog-witness + ln -s ../elpa/admin + ln -s ../elpa/GNUmakefile + admin/update-archive.sh -A full deployment also copies the admin scripts to archive/admin, and -fetches externally hosted packages (currently, the Org daily builds) -and adds them to the archive. +This deploys the packages to the staging/ directory (sibling of "build"). +Unlike "make", this makes a full copy of the packages, tars up +multi-file packages, and doesn't byte-compile any files. ** To access a deployed archive -To access the archive via HTPP, have a symlink (say) /var/www/packages +To access the archive via HTTP, have a symlink (say) /var/www/packages pointing to DEST/packages, and set up Emacs with (setq package-archives '(("new-elpa" . "http://foo.com/packages"))) @@ -75,18 +144,19 @@ pointing to DEST/packages, and set up Emacs with You can also access the archive via normal file access. Such "local archives" are useful for debugging: - (setq package-archives '(("local-elpa" . "DEST/packages"))) + (setq package-archives '(("local-elpa" . ".../elpa/packages"))) ** Notes specific to elpa.gnu.org The way things are set up on this machine, we refresh the archive by -logging in (login access set up by FSF admins), and +a cron job. You can do it by hand by logging in (access set up by FSF +admins), and -su elpa -cd ~elpa/elpa -bzr up + su elpa + cd ~elpa/build + admin/update-archive.sh -Then make a full archive deployment, as discussed above. The symlink +Which makes a full archive deployment, as discussed above. The symlink /var/www/packages points to the staging package directory under /home/elpa/.