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authorLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2023-08-30 20:05:42 -0700
committerLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2023-08-30 20:05:42 -0700
commitcd99b9eb4b702563c5ac7d26b632a628f5a832a5 (patch)
treeff96773806b6bb1efece11d8b7678ae43d71411e /Documentation/maintainer
parentf8fd5c24830fbc259ba7d5e72817c9867c01b8e8 (diff)
parentc63594f2d66690805eb78b75e4b8e8dc9f2672bf (diff)
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Merge tag 'docs-6.6' of git://git.lwn.net/linux
Pull documentation updates from Jonathan Corbet: "Documentation work keeps chugging along; this includes: - Work from Carlos Bilbao to integrate rustdoc output into the generated HTML documentation. This took some work to figure out how to do it without slowing the docs build and without creating people who don't have Rust installed, but Carlos got there - Move the loongarch and mips architecture documentation under Documentation/arch/ - Some more maintainer documentation from Jakub ... plus the usual assortment of updates, translations, and fixes" * tag 'docs-6.6' of git://git.lwn.net/linux: (56 commits) Docu: genericirq.rst: fix irq-example input: docs: pxrc: remove reference to phoenix-sim Documentation: serial-console: Fix literal block marker docs/mm: remove references to hmm_mirror ops and clean typos docs/zh_CN: correct regi_chg(),regi_add() to region_chg(),region_add() Documentation: Fix typos Documentation/ABI: Fix typos scripts: kernel-doc: fix macro handling in enums scripts: kernel-doc: parse DEFINE_DMA_UNMAP_[ADDR|LEN] Documentation: riscv: Update boot image header since EFI stub is supported Documentation: riscv: Add early boot document Documentation: arm: Add bootargs to the table of added DT parameters docs: kernel-parameters: Refer to the correct bitmap function doc: update params of memhp_default_state= docs: Add book to process/kernel-docs.rst docs: sparse: fix invalid link addresses docs: vfs: clean up after the iterate() removal docs: Add a section on surveys to the researcher guidelines docs: move mips under arch docs: move loongarch under arch ...
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/maintainer')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst36
-rw-r--r--Documentation/maintainer/feature-and-driver-maintainers.rst155
-rw-r--r--Documentation/maintainer/index.rst1
-rw-r--r--Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst4
4 files changed, 172 insertions, 24 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst b/Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst
index ec0ddfb9cdd3..0a36831814ea 100644
--- a/Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst
+++ b/Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst
@@ -1,35 +1,31 @@
-.. _configuregit:
-
-Configure Git
-=============
+Configuring Git
+===============
This chapter describes maintainer level git configuration.
-Tagged branches used in :ref:`Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
-<pullrequests>` should be signed with the developers public GPG key. Signed
-tags can be created by passing the ``-u`` flag to ``git tag``. However,
-since you would *usually* use the same key for the same project, you can
-set it once with
-::
+Tagged branches used in pull requests (see
+Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst) should be signed with the
+developers public GPG key. Signed tags can be created by passing
+``-u <key-id>`` to ``git tag``. However, since you would *usually* use the same
+key for the project, you can set it in the configuration and use the ``-s``
+flag. To set the default ``key-id`` use::
git config user.signingkey "keyname"
-Alternatively, edit your ``.git/config`` or ``~/.gitconfig`` file by hand:
-::
+Alternatively, edit your ``.git/config`` or ``~/.gitconfig`` file by hand::
[user]
name = Jane Developer
email = jd@domain.org
signingkey = jd@domain.org
-You may need to tell ``git`` to use ``gpg2``
-::
+You may need to tell ``git`` to use ``gpg2``::
[gpg]
program = /path/to/gpg2
-You may also like to tell ``gpg`` which ``tty`` to use (add to your shell rc file)
-::
+You may also like to tell ``gpg`` which ``tty`` to use (add to your shell
+rc file)::
export GPG_TTY=$(tty)
@@ -37,20 +33,18 @@ You may also like to tell ``gpg`` which ``tty`` to use (add to your shell rc fil
Creating commit links to lore.kernel.org
----------------------------------------
-The web site http://lore.kernel.org is meant as a grand archive of all mail
+The web site https://lore.kernel.org is meant as a grand archive of all mail
list traffic concerning or influencing the kernel development. Storing archives
of patches here is a recommended practice, and when a maintainer applies a
patch to a subsystem tree, it is a good idea to provide a Link: tag with a
reference back to the lore archive so that people that browse the commit
history can find related discussions and rationale behind a certain change.
-The link tag will look like this:
+The link tag will look like this::
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/<message-id>
This can be configured to happen automatically any time you issue ``git am``
-by adding the following hook into your git:
-
-.. code-block:: none
+by adding the following hook into your git::
$ git config am.messageid true
$ cat >.git/hooks/applypatch-msg <<'EOF'
diff --git a/Documentation/maintainer/feature-and-driver-maintainers.rst b/Documentation/maintainer/feature-and-driver-maintainers.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f04cc183e1de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/maintainer/feature-and-driver-maintainers.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+==============================
+Feature and driver maintainers
+==============================
+
+The term "maintainer" spans a very wide range of levels of engagement
+from people handling patches and pull requests as almost a full time job
+to people responsible for a small feature or a driver.
+
+Unlike most of the chapter, this section is meant for the latter (more
+populous) group. It provides tips and describes the expectations and
+responsibilities of maintainers of a small(ish) section of the code.
+
+Drivers and alike most often do not have their own mailing lists and
+git trees but instead send and review patches on the list of a larger
+subsystem.
+
+Responsibilities
+================
+
+The amount of maintenance work is usually proportional to the size
+and popularity of the code base. Small features and drivers should
+require relatively small amount of care and feeding. Nonetheless
+when the work does arrive (in form of patches which need review,
+user bug reports etc.) it has to be acted upon promptly.
+Even when a particular driver only sees one patch a month, or a quarter,
+a subsystem could well have a hundred such drivers. Subsystem
+maintainers cannot afford to wait a long time to hear from reviewers.
+
+The exact expectations on the response time will vary by subsystem.
+The patch review SLA the subsystem had set for itself can sometimes
+be found in the subsystem documentation. Failing that as a rule of thumb
+reviewers should try to respond quicker than what is the usual patch
+review delay of the subsystem maintainer. The resulting expectations
+may range from two working days for fast-paced subsystems (e.g. networking)
+to as long as a few weeks in slower moving parts of the kernel.
+
+Mailing list participation
+--------------------------
+
+Linux kernel uses mailing lists as the primary form of communication.
+Maintainers must be subscribed and follow the appropriate subsystem-wide
+mailing list. Either by subscribing to the whole list or using more
+modern, selective setup like
+`lei <https://people.kernel.org/monsieuricon/lore-lei-part-1-getting-started>`_.
+
+Maintainers must know how to communicate on the list (plain text, no invasive
+legal footers, no top posting, etc.)
+
+Reviews
+-------
+
+Maintainers must review *all* patches touching exclusively their drivers,
+no matter how trivial. If the patch is a tree wide change and modifies
+multiple drivers - whether to provide a review is left to the maintainer.
+
+When there are multiple maintainers for a piece of code an ``Acked-by``
+or ``Reviewed-by`` tag (or review comments) from a single maintainer is
+enough to satisfy this requirement.
+
+If the review process or validation for a particular change will take longer
+than the expected review timeline for the subsystem, maintainer should
+reply to the submission indicating that the work is being done, and when
+to expect full results.
+
+Refactoring and core changes
+----------------------------
+
+Occasionally core code needs to be changed to improve the maintainability
+of the kernel as a whole. Maintainers are expected to be present and
+help guide and test changes to their code to fit the new infrastructure.
+
+Bug reports
+-----------
+
+Maintainers must ensure severe problems in their code reported to them
+are resolved in a timely manner: regressions, kernel crashes, kernel warnings,
+compilation errors, lockups, data loss, and other bugs of similar scope.
+
+Maintainers furthermore should respond to reports about other kinds of
+bugs as well, if the report is of reasonable quality or indicates a
+problem that might be severe -- especially if they have *Supported*
+status of the codebase in the MAINTAINERS file.
+
+Selecting the maintainer
+========================
+
+The previous section described the expectations of the maintainer,
+this section provides guidance on selecting one and describes common
+misconceptions.
+
+The author
+----------
+
+Most natural and common choice of a maintainer is the author of the code.
+The author is intimately familiar with the code, so it is the best person
+to take care of it on an ongoing basis.
+
+That said, being a maintainer is an active role. The MAINTAINERS file
+is not a list of credits (in fact a separate CREDITS file exists),
+it is a list of those who will actively help with the code.
+If the author does not have the time, interest or ability to maintain
+the code, a different maintainer must be selected.
+
+Multiple maintainers
+--------------------
+
+Modern best practices dictate that there should be at least two maintainers
+for any piece of code, no matter how trivial. It spreads the burden, helps
+people take vacations and prevents burnout, trains new members of
+the community etc. etc. Even when there is clearly one perfect candidate,
+another maintainer should be found.
+
+Maintainers must be human, therefore, it is not acceptable to add a mailing
+list or a group email as a maintainer. Trust and understanding are the
+foundation of kernel maintenance and one cannot build trust with a mailing
+list. Having a mailing list *in addition* to humans is perfectly fine.
+
+Corporate structures
+--------------------
+
+To an outsider the Linux kernel may resemble a hierarchical organization
+with Linus as the CEO. While the code flows in a hierarchical fashion,
+the corporate template does not apply here. Linux is an anarchy held
+together by (rarely expressed) mutual respect, trust and convenience.
+
+All that is to say that managers almost never make good maintainers.
+The maintainer position more closely matches an on-call rotation
+than a position of power.
+
+The following characteristics of a person selected as a maintainer
+are clear red flags:
+
+ - unknown to the community, never sent an email to the list before
+ - did not author any of the code
+ - (when development is contracted) works for a company which paid
+ for the development rather than the company which did the work
+
+Non compliance
+==============
+
+Subsystem maintainers may remove inactive maintainers from the MAINTAINERS
+file. If the maintainer was a significant author or played an important
+role in the development of the code, they should be moved to the CREDITS file.
+
+Removing an inactive maintainer should not be seen as a punitive action.
+Having an inactive maintainer has a real cost as all developers have
+to remember to include the maintainers in discussions and subsystem
+maintainers spend brain power figuring out how to solicit feedback.
+
+Subsystem maintainers may remove code for lacking maintenance.
+
+Subsystem maintainers may refuse accepting code from companies
+which repeatedly neglected their maintainership duties.
diff --git a/Documentation/maintainer/index.rst b/Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
index 3e03283c144e..eeee27f8b18c 100644
--- a/Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ additions to this manual.
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 2
+ feature-and-driver-maintainers
configure-git
rebasing-and-merging
pull-requests
diff --git a/Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst b/Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
index e072de60ccb0..00b200facf67 100644
--- a/Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
+++ b/Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-.. _pullrequests:
-
Creating Pull Requests
======================
@@ -41,7 +39,7 @@ named ``char-misc-next``, you would be using the following command::
that will create a signed tag called ``char-misc-4.15-rc1`` based on the
last commit in the ``char-misc-next`` branch, and sign it with your gpg key
-(see :ref:`Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst <configuregit>`).
+(see Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst).
Linus will only accept pull requests based on a signed tag. Other
maintainers may differ.