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1Contributor's Guide
2===================
3
4Getting Started
5---------------
6
7-  Make sure you have a Github account and you are logged on both
8   `developer.trustedfirmware.org`_ and `review.trustedfirmware.org`_.
9
10-  If you plan to contribute a major piece of work, it is usually a good idea to
11   start a discussion around it on the mailing list. This gives everyone
12   visibility of what is coming up, you might learn that somebody else is
13   already working on something similar or the community might be able to
14   provide some early input to help shaping the design of the feature.
15
16   If you intend to include Third Party IP in your contribution, please mention
17   it explicitly in the email thread and ensure that the changes that include
18   Third Party IP are made in a separate patch (or patch series).
19
20-  Clone `Trusted Firmware-A`_ on your own machine as described in
21   :ref:`prerequisites_get_source`.
22
23-  Create a local topic branch based on the `Trusted Firmware-A`_ ``master``
24   branch.
25
26Making Changes
27--------------
28
29-  Make commits of logical units. See these general `Git guidelines`_ for
30   contributing to a project.
31
32-  Keep the commits on topic. If you need to fix another bug or make another
33   enhancement, please address it on a separate topic branch.
34
35-  Split the patch in manageable units. Small patches are usually easier to
36   review so this will speed up the review process.
37
38-  Avoid long commit series. If you do have a long series, consider whether
39   some commits should be squashed together or addressed in a separate topic.
40
41-  Ensure that each commit in the series has at least one ``Signed-off-by:``
42   line, using your real name and email address. The names in the
43   ``Signed-off-by:`` and ``Commit:`` lines must match. By adding this line the
44   contributor certifies the contribution is made under the terms of the
45   :download:`Developer Certificate of Origin <../../dco.txt>`.
46
47   There might be multiple ``Signed-off-by:`` lines, depending on the history
48   of the patch.
49
50   More details may be found in the `Gerrit Signed-off-by Lines guidelines`_.
51
52-  Ensure that each commit also has a unique ``Change-Id:`` line. If you have
53   cloned the repository with the "`Clone with commit-msg hook`" clone method
54   (following the :ref:`Prerequisites` document), this should already be the
55   case.
56
57   More details may be found in the `Gerrit Change-Ids documentation`_.
58
59-  Write informative and comprehensive commit messages. A good commit message
60   provides all the background information needed for reviewers to understand
61   the intent and rationale of the patch. This information is also useful for
62   future reference.
63
64   For example:
65
66   -  What does the patch do?
67   -  What motivated it?
68   -  What impact does it have?
69   -  How was it tested?
70   -  Have alternatives been considered? Why did you choose this approach over
71      another one?
72   -  If it fixes an `issue`_, include a reference.
73
74-  Follow the :ref:`Coding Style` and :ref:`Coding Guidelines`.
75
76   -  Use the checkpatch.pl script provided with the Linux source tree. A
77      Makefile target is provided for convenience, see :ref:`this
78      section<automatic-compliance-checking>` for more details.
79
80-  Where appropriate, please update the documentation.
81
82   -  Consider whether the :ref:`Porting Guide`, :ref:`Firmware Design` document
83      or other in-source documentation needs updating.
84
85   -  If you are submitting new files that you intend to be the code owner for
86      (for example, a new platform port), then also update the
87      :ref:`code owners` file.
88
89   -  For topics with multiple commits, you should make all documentation changes
90      (and nothing else) in the last commit of the series. Otherwise, include
91      the documentation changes within the single commit.
92
93-  Ensure that each changed file has the correct copyright and license
94   information. Files that entirely consist of contributions to this project
95   should have a copyright notice and BSD-3-Clause SPDX license identifier of
96   the form as shown in :ref:`license`. Files that contain changes to imported
97   Third Party IP files should retain their original copyright and license
98   notices.
99
100   For significant contributions you may add your own copyright notice in the
101   following format:
102
103   ::
104
105       Portions copyright (c) [XXXX-]YYYY, <OWNER>. All rights reserved.
106
107   where XXXX is the year of first contribution (if different to YYYY) and YYYY
108   is the year of most recent contribution. <OWNER> is your name or your company
109   name.
110
111-  Ensure that each patch in the patch series compiles in all supported
112   configurations. Patches which do not compile will not be merged.
113
114-  Please test your changes. As a minimum, ensure that Linux boots on the
115   Foundation FVP. See :ref:`Arm Fixed Virtual Platforms (FVP)` for more
116   information. For more extensive testing, consider running the `TF-A Tests`_
117   against your patches.
118
119-  Ensure that all CI automated tests pass. Failures should be fixed. They might
120   block a patch, depending on how critical they are.
121
122Submitting Changes
123------------------
124
125-  Submit your changes for review at https://review.trustedfirmware.org
126   targeting the ``integration`` branch.
127
128-  Add reviewers for your patch:
129
130   -  At least one code owner for each module modified by the patch. See the list
131      of modules and their :ref:`code owners`.
132
133   -  At least one maintainer. See the list of :ref:`maintainers`.
134
135   -  If some module has no code owner, try to identify a suitable (non-code
136      owner) reviewer. Running ``git blame`` on the module's source code can
137      help, as it shows who has been working the most recently on this area of
138      the code.
139
140      Alternatively, if it is impractical to identify such a reviewer, you might
141      send an email to the `TF-A mailing list`_ to broadcast your review request
142      to the community.
143
144   Note that self-reviewing a patch is prohibited, even if the patch author is
145   the only code owner of a module modified by the patch. Getting a second pair
146   of eyes on the code is essential to keep up with the quality standards the
147   project aspires to.
148
149-  The changes will then undergo further review by the designated people. Any
150   review comments will be made directly on your patch. This may require you to
151   do some rework. For controversial changes, the discussion might be moved to
152   the `TF-A mailing list`_ to involve more of the community.
153
154   Refer to the `Gerrit Uploading Changes documentation`_ for more details.
155
156-  The patch submission rules are the following. For a patch to be approved
157   and merged in the tree, it must get:
158
159   -  One ``Code-Owner-Review+1`` for each of the modules modified by the patch.
160   -  A ``Maintainer-Review+1``.
161
162   In the case where a code owner could not be found for a given module,
163   ``Code-Owner-Review+1`` is substituted by ``Code-Review+1``.
164
165   In addition to these various code review labels, the patch must also get a
166   ``Verified+1``. This is usually set by the Continuous Integration (CI) bot
167   when all automated tests passed on the patch. Sometimes, some of these
168   automated tests may fail for reasons unrelated to the patch. In this case,
169   the maintainers might (after analysis of the failures) override the CI bot
170   score to certify that the patch has been correctly tested.
171
172   In the event where the CI system lacks proper tests for a patch, the patch
173   author or a reviewer might agree to perform additional manual tests
174   in their review and the reviewer incorporates the review of the additional
175   testing in the ``Code-Review+1`` or ``Code-Owner-Review+1`` as applicable to
176   attest that the patch works as expected. Where possible additional tests should
177   be added to the CI system as a follow up task. For example, for a
178   platform-dependent patch where the said platform is not available in the CI
179   system's board farm.
180
181-  When the changes are accepted, the :ref:`maintainers` will integrate them.
182
183   -  Typically, the :ref:`maintainers` will merge the changes into the
184      ``integration`` branch.
185
186   -  If the changes are not based on a sufficiently-recent commit, or if they
187      cannot be automatically rebased, then the :ref:`maintainers` may rebase it
188      on the ``integration`` branch or ask you to do so.
189
190   -  After final integration testing, the changes will make their way into the
191      ``master`` branch. If a problem is found during integration, the
192      :ref:`maintainers` will request your help to solve the issue. They may
193      revert your patches and ask you to resubmit a reworked version of them or
194      they may ask you to provide a fix-up patch.
195
196Binary Components
197-----------------
198
199-  Platforms may depend on binary components submitted to the `Trusted Firmware
200   binary repository`_ if they require code that the contributor is unable or
201   unwilling to open-source. This should be used as a rare exception.
202-  All binary components must follow the contribution guidelines (in particular
203   licensing rules) outlined in the `readme.rst <tf-binaries-readme_>`_ file of
204   the binary repository.
205-  Binary components must be restricted to only the specific functionality that
206   cannot be open-sourced and must be linked into a larger open-source platform
207   port. The majority of the platform port must still be implemented in open
208   source. Platform ports that are merely a thin wrapper around a binary
209   component that contains all the actual code will not be accepted.
210-  Only platform port code (i.e. in the ``plat/<vendor>`` directory) may rely on
211   binary components. Generic code must always be fully open-source.
212
213--------------
214
215*Copyright (c) 2013-2020, Arm Limited and Contributors. All rights reserved.*
216
217.. _developer.trustedfirmware.org: https://developer.trustedfirmware.org
218.. _review.trustedfirmware.org: https://review.trustedfirmware.org
219.. _issue: https://developer.trustedfirmware.org/project/board/1/
220.. _Trusted Firmware-A: https://git.trustedfirmware.org/TF-A/trusted-firmware-a.git
221.. _Git guidelines: http://git-scm.com/book/ch5-2.html
222.. _Gerrit Uploading Changes documentation: https://review.trustedfirmware.org/Documentation/user-upload.html
223.. _Gerrit Signed-off-by Lines guidelines: https://review.trustedfirmware.org/Documentation/user-signedoffby.html
224.. _Gerrit Change-Ids documentation: https://review.trustedfirmware.org/Documentation/user-changeid.html
225.. _TF-A Tests: https://trustedfirmware-a-tests.readthedocs.io
226.. _Trusted Firmware binary repository: https://review.trustedfirmware.org/admin/repos/tf-binaries
227.. _tf-binaries-readme: https://git.trustedfirmware.org/tf-binaries.git/tree/readme.rst
228.. _TF-A mailing list: https://lists.trustedfirmware.org/mailman/listinfo/tf-a
229