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<h1>Contributing to XML-Security</h1>
<a name="N1000D"></a><a name="Introduction"></a>
<h2 class="h3">Introduction</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
The XML Security Project is an
<a class="external" href="http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</a>
volunteer project released
under a very open license. This means there are many ways to contribute to the
project - either with direct participation (coding, documenting, answering
questions, proposing ideas, reporting bugs, suggesting bug-fixes, etc..) or by
resource donations (money, time, publicity, hardware, software, conference
presentations, speeches, etc...).
</p>
<p>
To begin with, we suggest you to subscribe to the
<a href="mail-lists.html">XML-Security mailing list</a> (follow the link for
information on how to subscribe and to access the mail list archives).
Listen-in for a while, to hear how others make contributions.
</p>
<p>
You can get your local working copy of the
<a class="external" href="http://cvs.apache.org/viewcvs.cgi/xml-security">latest and
greatest code</a> (which you find in the xml-security module in the CVS code
repository. Review the todo list, choose a task (or perhaps you have noticed
something that needs patching). Make the changes, do the testing, generate a
patch, and post to the dev mailing list. (Do not worry - the process is easy
and explained below.)
</p>
</div>
<a name="N10029"></a><a name="Help+Wanted+Here"></a>
<h2 class="h3">Help Wanted Here</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
The rest of this document is mainly about contributing new or
improved code and/or documentation, but we would also be glad to have extra
help in any of the following areas:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
Answering questions on the mailing list - there
is often a problem of having too many questioners and not enough experts to
respond to all the questions.
</li>
<li>
Testing the package (especially its less-frequently-used features) on
various configurations and reporting back.
</li>
<li>
Debugging - producing reproduceable test cases and/or finding
causes of bugs. Some known bugs are informally listed on To Do, and some are
recorded in Bugzilla (see <a href="#procedure">explanation
below</a>).
</li>
<li>
Specifying/analysing/designing new features - and beyond. (If you
wish to get involved with this, please join the mailing list, install
and try out xml-security and read some of the
<a href="mail-lists.html">mail archives</a>. You should have a strong
"fluency" in XML technologies especially XMLDSig and XML Encryption,
Java or C++ and a basic understanding of the architecture of this
package.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<a name="cvshowto"></a>
<a name="N1004D"></a><a name="CVS+Usage+Precis"></a>
<h2 class="h3">CVS Usage Precis</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
An overview of how to use CVS to participate in the XML Security development.
Do not be afraid - you cannot accidently destroy the actual code repository,
because you are working with a local copy as an anonymous user. Therefore, you
do not have the system permissions to change anything. You can only update your
local repository and compare your revisions with the real repository.
</p>
<p>
(Further general CVS usage information is at
<a class="external" href="http://www.cvshome.org/">www.cvshome.org</a> and your local
<span class="codefrag">info cvs</span> pages or <span class="codefrag">man cvs</span> pages or user
documentation.)
</p>
<p>
Have a look at the <a href="Java/installation.html">Java</a> or
<a href="c/installation.html">C++</a> installation pages to see
how to get a local copy of the source.
</p>
</div>
<a name="ssh"></a>
<a name="N10072"></a><a name="CVS+Committer+with+Secure+Shell+access"></a>
<h2 class="h3">CVS Committer with Secure Shell access</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
After a developer has consistently provided contributions (code,
documentation and discussion), then the rest of the dev community may vote to
grant this developer commit access to CVS.
</p>
<p>
You will need secure access to the repository to be able to commit
patches. Here are some resources that help to get your machine configured to
use the repository over SSH.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a class="external" href="http://cvsbook.red-bean.com/">The CVS Book</a>
</li>
<li>
<a class="external" href="http://www.cvshome.org/">www.cvshome.org</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<a name="procedure"></a>
<a name="N1008F"></a><a name="Procedure+for+Raising+Development+Issues"></a>
<h2 class="h3">Procedure for Raising Development Issues</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
There are two methods for discussing development and submitting
patches. So that everyone can be productive, it is important to know which
method is appropriate for a certain situation and how to go about it without
confusion. This section explains when to use the <span class="codefrag">developer</span>
<a href="mail-lists.html">mailing list</a> the bug database.
</p>
<p>
Research your topic thoroughly before beginning to discuss a new
development issue. Search and browse through the email archives - your issue
may have been discussed before. Prepare your post clearly and
concisely.
</p>
<p>
Most issues will be discovered, resolved, and then patched quickly
via the <span class="codefrag">developer</span> mailing list. Larger issues, and ones that are
not yet fully understood or are hard to solve, are destined for
Bugzilla.
</p>
<p>
Experienced developers use Bugzilla directly, as they are very sure
when they have found a bug and when not. However, less experienced users should
first discuss it on the user or developer mailing list (as appropriate).
Impatient people always enter everything into Bugzilla without caring if it is
a bug of our package or their own installation/configuration mistake - please do
not do this.
</p>
<p>
As a rule-of-thumb, discuss an issue on the <span class="codefrag">developers</span>
mailing list first to work out any details. After it is confirmed to be
worthwhile, and you are clear about it, then submit the bug description or
patch via Bug Tracking.
</p>
<p>
Perhaps you do not get any answer on your first reply, so just post
it again until you get one. (But please not every hour - allow a few days for
the list to deal with it.) Do not be impatient - remember that the whole world
is busy, not just you. Bear in mind that other countries will have holidays at
different times to your country and that they are in different time zones. You
might also consider rewriting your initial posting - perhaps it was not clear
enough and the readers eyes glazed over.
</p>
</div>
<a name="tips"></a>
<a name="N100B8"></a><a name="Contribution+Notes+and+Tips"></a>
<h2 class="h3">Contribution Notes and Tips</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
This is a collection of tips for contributing to the project in a
manner that is productive for all parties.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
Every contribution is worthwhile. Even if the ensuing discussion
proves it to be off-beam, then it may jog ideas for other people.
</li>
<li>
Use sensible and concise email subject headings. Search engines,
and humans trying to browse a voluminous list, will respond favourably to a
descriptive title.
</li>
<li>
Start new threads with new Subject for new topics, rather than
reusing the previous Subject line.
</li>
<li>
Keep each topic focused. If some new topic arises then start a new
discussion. This leaves the original topic to continue uncluttered.
</li>
<li>
Whenever you decide to start a new topic, then start with a fresh
new email message window. Do not use the "Reply to" button, because
threaded mail-readers get confused (they utilise the <span class="codefrag">In-reply-to</span>
header). If so, then your new topic will get lost in the previous thread and go
unanswered.
</li>
<li>
Prepend your email subject line with a marker when that is
appropriate, e.g. <span class="codefrag">[Patch]</span>, <span class="codefrag">[Proposal]</span>,
<span class="codefrag">[RT]</span> (Random Thought which quickly blossom into research topics
:-), <span class="codefrag">[STATUS]</span> (development status of a certain
facility).
</li>
<li>
When making changes to XML documentation, or any XML document for
that matter, use a <a class="external" href="http://www.oasis-open.org/cover/">validating
parser</a> (one that is tried and true is
<a class="external" href="http://openjade.sourceforge.net/">OpenSP/onsgmls</a>). This
procedure will detect errors without having to go through the whole <span class="codefrag">build
docs</span> process to find them. Do not expect Forrest or the build system to
detect the validation errors for you - they can do it, but that is not their
purpose. (Anyway, nsgmls validation error messages are more
informative.)
</li>
<li>
Remember that most people are participating in development on a
volunteer basis and in their "spare time". These enthusiasts will attempt to
respond to issues. It may take a little while to get your answers. </li>
<li>
Research your topic thoroughly before beginning to discuss a new
development issue. Search and browse through the email archives - your issue
may have been discussed before. Do not just perceive a problem and then rush
out with a question - instead, delve.
</li>
<li>
Try to at least offer a partial solution and not just a problem
statement.
</li>
<li>
Take the time to clearly explain your issue and write a concise
email message. Less confusion facilitates fast and complete
resolution.
</li>
<li>
Do not bother to send an email reply that simply says "thanks". When
the issue is resolved, that is the finish - end of thread. Reduce clutter.
</li>
<li>
You would usually do any development work against the HEAD branch of
CVS.
</li>
<li>
When sending a patch, you usually do not need to worry about which
CVS branch it should be applied to. The maintainers of the repository will
decide.
</li>
<li>
If an issue starts to get bogged down in list discussion, then it
may be appropriate to go into private off-list discussion with a few interested
other people. Spare the list from the gory details. Report a summary back to
the list to finalise the thread.
</li>
<li>
Become familiar with the mailing lists. As you browse and search,
you will see the way other people do things. Follow the leading
examples.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
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