SF.net SVN: matplotlib:[7475] branches/v0_99_maint/doc/faq/howto_faq.rst

[<jd...@us...>]

Revision: 7475
          http://matplotlib.svn.sourceforge.net/matplotlib/?rev=7475&view=rev
Author:   jdh2358
Date:     2009-08-12 00:26:50 +0000 (Wed, 12 Aug 2009)

Log Message:
-----------
update the contributing faq

Modified Paths:
--------------
    branches/v0_99_maint/doc/faq/howto_faq.rst

Modified: branches/v0_99_maint/doc/faq/howto_faq.rst
===================================================================
--- branches/v0_99_maint/doc/faq/howto_faq.rst	2009-08-12 00:04:43 UTC (rev 7474)
+++ branches/v0_99_maint/doc/faq/howto_faq.rst	2009-08-12 00:26:50 UTC (rev 7475)
@@ -516,8 +516,32 @@
 
 If you have made lots of local changes and do not want to a diff
 against the entire tree, but rather against a single directory or
-file, that is fine, but we do prefer svn diffs against HEAD.
+file, that is fine, but we do prefer svn diffs against the top level
+(where setup.py lives) since it is nice to have a consistent way to
+apply them.
 
+If you are posting a patch to fix a code bug, please explain your
+patch in words -- what was broken before and how you fixed it.  Also,
+even if your patch is particularly simple, just a few lines or a
+single function replacement, we encourage people to submit svn diffs
+against HEAD or the branch they are patching.  It just makes life
+simpler for us, since we (fortunately) get a lot of contributions, and
+want to receive them in a standard format.  If possible, for any
+non-trivial change, please include a complete, free-standing example
+that the developers  can run unmodified which shows the undesired
+behavior pre-patch and the desired behavior post-patch, with a clear
+verbal description of what to look for.  The original developer may
+have written the function you are working on years ago, and may no
+longer be with the project, so it is quite possible you are the world
+expert on the code you are patching and we want to hear as much detail
+as you can offer.
+
+When emailing your patch and examples, feel free to paste any code
+into the text of the message, indeed we encourage it, but also attach
+the patches and examples since many email clients screw up the
+formatting of plain text, and we spend lots of needless time trying to
+reformat the code to make it usable.
+
 You should check out the guide to developing matplotlib to make sure
 your patch abides by our coding conventions
 :ref:`developers-guide-index`.


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