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<li class="toctree-l1 current"><a class="current reference internal" href="#">14. Contributing to Open MPI</a><ul>
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<h1><span class="section-number">14. </span>Contributing to Open MPI<a class="headerlink" href="#contributing-to-open-mpi" title="Permalink to this heading"></a></h1>
<p>There are many ways to contribute. Here are a few:</p>
<ol class="arabic">
<li><p>Subscribe to <a class="reference external" href="https://www.open-mpi.org/community/lists/ompi.php">the mailing lists</a> and become
active in the discussions.</p></li>
<li><p>Obtain <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/open-mpi/ompi/">a Git clone</a> of Open
MPI’s code base and start looking through the code.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>Be sure to see the <a class="reference internal" href="developers/index.html"><span class="doc">Developers guide</span></a> for technical details about the
code base and how to build it).</p>
</div>
</li>
<li><p>Report bug fixes to the main code base.</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>First, ensure the bug was not already reported by searching
<a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/open-mpi/ompi/issues">existing GitHub Issues</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>If you’re unable to find an open issue addressing the problem,
<a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/open-mpi/ompi/issues/new">open a new one</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p>Submit bug fixes to the main code base.</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Awesome! Open a new GitHub pull request with the patch.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Please submit bug fixes / new features on the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">main</span></code> branch
first, and then port them to the relevant release branch(es)
after they have been accepted on <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">main</span></code>. <a class="reference internal" href="developers/git-github.html#git-github-branch-scheme-label"><span class="std std-ref">See this
section for more information</span></a>.</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p>Ensure the PR description clearly describes the problem and
solution. If there is an existing GitHub issue open describing
this bug, please include it in the description so we can track
them together.</p></li>
<li><p>Be sure to see the <a class="reference internal" href="#contributing-open-source-label"><span class="std std-ref">Open source contributions</span></a> section, below.</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p>Submit feature enhancements and/or new components to the main code
base.</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Awesome! We love new ideas!</p></li>
<li><p>You might want to suggest your change on the <a class="reference external" href="https://www.open-mpi.org/community/lists/ompi.php">devel mail list</a> before you
start writing code. The <a class="reference external" href="https://www.open-mpi.org/faq/?category=developers">developer level technical information
on the internals of Open MPI</a> may also be
useful for large scale features.</p></li>
<li><p>If you’re contributing a large new piece of functionality, that
will be best viewed if you — or someone, anyone — is
also stepping up to help maintain that functionality over time.
We love new ideas and new features, but we do need to be
realistic in what we can reliably test and deliver to our users.</p></li>
<li><p>Be sure to see the <a class="reference internal" href="#contributing-open-source-label"><span class="std std-ref">Open source contributions</span></a> section, below.</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p>Submit fixes and/or entirely new content to this documentation.</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Docs are great! We always need help with documentation.</p></li>
<li><p>These docs are authored using ReStructured Text markup with the
Sphinx rendering tool under the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">docs/</span></code> directory in the
repository. This means you can submit a pull request with your
docs updates, just like you would for any Open MPI code contribution.</p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="developers/sphinx.html#developers-installing-sphinx-label"><span class="std std-ref">See this section</span></a> and
<a class="reference internal" href="developers/rst-for-markdown-expats.html#developers-rst-for-markdown-expats"><span class="std std-ref">also this section</span></a> for
information about how to install Sphinx locally and some
high-level logistical instructions on how to write these docs.</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p>Provide testing resources:</p>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li><p>For Github Pull Request Continuous Integration (CI)</p></li>
<li><p>For nightly snapshot builds and testing</p></li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<div class="section" id="open-source-contributions">
<span id="contributing-open-source-label"></span><h2><span class="section-number">14.1. </span>Open source contributions<a class="headerlink" href="#open-source-contributions" title="Permalink to this heading"></a></h2>
<p>All code contributions are submitted as pull requests on the <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/open-mpi/ompi/">Open
MPI GitHub repository</a>.</p>
<div class="admonition important">
<p class="admonition-title">Important</p>
<p>All commits must include a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Signed-off-by:</span></code> line,
indicating the submitter’s agreement to the <a class="reference internal" href="#contributing-contributors-declaration-label"><span class="std std-ref">Open
MPI Contributor’s Declaration</span></a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="contributor-s-declaration">
<span id="contributing-contributors-declaration-label"></span><h3><span class="section-number">14.1.1. </span>Contributor’s Declaration<a class="headerlink" href="#contributor-s-declaration" title="Permalink to this heading"></a></h3>
<p>In order to ensure that we can keep distributing Open MPI under our
<a class="reference internal" href="license/index.html"><span class="doc">open source license</span></a>, we need to ensure that
all contributions are compatible with that license. Put differently:
we need to have an established intellectual property pedigree of the
code in Open MPI. This means being able to ensure that all code
included in Open MPI is free, open source, and able to be distributed
under <a class="reference internal" href="license/index.html"><span class="doc">the BSD license</span></a>.</p>
<p>Open MPI has therefore adopted requirements based on the signed-off-by
process as described in Section 11 of the Linux kernel document on
<a class="reference external" href="https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/process/submitting-patches.html#sign-your-work-the-developer-s-certificate-of-origin">Submitting Patches</a>.
Each proposed contribution to the Open MPI code base must include the
text <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Signed-off-by:</span></code> followed by the contributor’s name and email
address.</p>
<div class="tip admonition">
<p class="admonition-title">Pro tip</p>
<p>You can use the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-s</span></code> flag to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">git</span> <span class="pre">commit</span></code> command (i.e.,
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">git</span> <span class="pre">commit</span> <span class="pre">-s</span> <span class="pre">...</span></code>) to automatically add the appropriate
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Signed-off-by:</span></code> line to your commit message.</p>
</div>
<p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Signed-off-by:</span></code> line is a developer’s certification that he or
she has the right to submit the patch for inclusion into the project,
and indicates agreement to the Developer’s Certificate of Origin:</p>
<blockquote>
<div><p>By making a contribution to this project, I certify that:</p>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li><p>The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I
have the right to submit it under the <a class="reference internal" href="license/index.html"><span class="doc">Open MPI open
source license</span></a>; or</p></li>
<li><p>The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best
of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source
license and I have the right under that license to submit that
work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part by
me, under the <a class="reference internal" href="license/index.html"><span class="doc">Open MPI open source license</span></a> (unless I am permitted to submit under a
different license); or</p></li>
<li><p>The contribution was provided directly to me by some other
person who certified (1) or (2) and I have not modified it.</p></li>
<li><p>I understand and agree that this project and the contribution
are public and that a record of the contribution (including all
personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off)
is maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent
with this project and the open source license(s) involved.</p></li>
</ol>
</div></blockquote>
<p>Proposed contributions failing to include the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Signed-off-by:</span></code>
certification will not be accepted into any Open MPI code
repository. The community reserves the right to revert any commit
inadvertently made without the required certification.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>This policy prevents a situation where intellectual property
gets into the Open MPI code base and then someone later
claims that we owe them money for it. Open MPI is a free,
open source code base. We intend it to remain that way.</p>
</div>
<p>If you have not already done so, please ensure that <em>every</em> commit in
your pull request contains the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Signed-off-by:</span></code> line.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="git-commit-messages">
<h3><span class="section-number">14.1.2. </span>Git commit messages<a class="headerlink" href="#git-commit-messages" title="Permalink to this heading"></a></h3>
<p>Please write a good Git commit message, with a short first line
describing <em>what</em> was done, and then a description of <em>why</em> it was
done.</p>
<div class="tip admonition">
<p class="admonition-title">Pro tip</p>
<p><a class="reference external" href="https://cbea.ms/git-commit/">See this blog entry</a> for an
excellent description of how to write a good Git commit message.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="code-style">
<h3><span class="section-number">14.1.3. </span>Code style<a class="headerlink" href="#code-style" title="Permalink to this heading"></a></h3>
<p>There are a small number of style rules for Open MPI:</p>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li><p>For all code:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>4 space tabs. No more, no less.</p></li>
<li><p>No tab characters <strong>at all</strong>. 2 indentations are 8 spaces
— not a tab.</p></li>
<li><p>m4 code is a bit weird in terms of indentation: we don’t have a
good, consistent indentation style in our existing code. But
still: no tab characters at all.</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p>For C code:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>We prefer if all blocks are enclosed in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">{}</span></code> (even 1-line
blocks).</p></li>
<li><p>We prefer that if you are testing equality with a constant, put
the constant on the <strong>left</strong> of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">==</span></code>. E.g., <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">if</span> <span class="pre">(NULL</span> <span class="pre">==</span>
<span class="pre">ptr)</span></code>.</p></li>
<li><p>If there are no parameters to a C function, declare it with
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">(void)</span></code> (vs. <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">()</span></code>).</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="closed-source-contributions">
<h2><span class="section-number">14.2. </span>Closed source contributions<a class="headerlink" href="#closed-source-contributions" title="Permalink to this heading"></a></h2>
<p>While we are creating free / open-source software, and we would prefer
if everyone’s contributions to Open MPI were also free / open-source,
we certainly recognize that other organizations have different goals
from us. Such is the reality of software development in today’s
global economy.</p>
<p>As such, it is perfectly acceptable to make non-free / non-open-source
contributions to Open MPI. We obviously cannot accept such
contributions into the main code base, but you are free to distribute
plugins, enhancements, etc. as you see fit. Indeed, the <a class="reference internal" href="license/index.html"><span class="doc">the BSD
license</span></a> is extremely liberal in its redistribution
provisions.</p>
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