Patch Guidelines

Patch Guidelines
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These apply both to patches for the build tools and to patches for the SAP DB sources.

1. Use context or unified diffs

2. One patch per source file

As not every patch will be integrated at once, having multiple files makes it easier to keep track of which patches have been integrated and which haven't.

3. Mark the exact version of the source file in the patch

The exact version can be found as follows:

- CVS: cvs log <filename> Every comment about a change contains a line 'Perforce changelist: ...'
- tool snapshot: ftp.sap.com contains these of the form sapdb-devtools-src-35758.tgz. The number is equivalent to the Perforce changelist in the CVS log
- source snapshot: the full release number (e.g. 7.4.03.10) is sufficient

4. add file specific comments to the patch file where necessary

Global comments like 'added support for platform XYZ' are not necessary, but 'library abc changed definition with version xyz' or 'different alignment on cpu' are a hint to us which platforms might be affected as well.

5. Patches for new platforms or new features will be accepted only when generated by running diff against the latest CVS tree.

6. Short patches can be sent directly to this mailing list. There exists a 40KB size limit on attachments. Larger files
- can be mailed directly to me (mailto:[email protected])
- can be mailed to this mailing list, the administrator will then forward them (unless the mail is mistaken for spam)
- can be put on a web/ftp server, with only the link being sent to the mailing list

Daniel Dittmar

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Daniel Dittmar
SAP DB, SAP Labs Berlin
[email protected]
http://www.sapdb.org/