Difference between revisions of "Mylyn/Contributor Reference"

Revision as of 16:36, 31 May 2007

Also see: helpwanted bugs discussion bugs eclipse dev

Conventions

All contributions to Mylar need to be made using Mylar since it links source changes to tasks and contexts, making open development and collaboration easier. Using Mylar ensures that:

• All Bugzilla reports have a corresponding task context, making them easy to reopen or pick up by you and by others.
• All commits correspond to a single Bugzilla report, making it easy to navigate from changes to bugs.

Links

• Eclipse Code Conventions
• Eclipse User Interface Guidelines
• Documentation Style Guidelines
• Eating your own dog food (Wikipedia)

Bugzilla

• Any user-reported bug should be resolved by one of: code improvements, documentation/FAQ improvements, or being marked a duplicate of another bug. All but the last require attaching a context.
• Be judicious in marking bugs for LATER, because this typically communicates that the bug will never be resolved. Do this only if the bug does not fit in with the current scope of the project but is related to the mission. Otherwise mark P4/P5 and "helpwanted" to encourage a contribution that is not part of our current prioritization and plan.
• When naming bugs, try to describe the use case or problem instead of the implementation unless there is no ambiguity in how the fix should be implemented. If the implementation approach helps with queries append it.
  • Bad: task list working set
  • Good: support nesting top level task list elements, e.g. via working sets

Workspace

The recommended way to work with Mylar sources is by checking them out of CVS. Doing this makes it easy to try the latest changes and work with patches.

Setup

Install Eclipse and get it configured for developing Java 5 applications.

• Unless targeting a particular Eclipse release, download the latest Eclipse milestone release.
• Associate J2SE-1.5 with your installed JRE via the Window -> Preferences -> Java -> Installed JREs -> Execution Environments.

Checkout

The Mylar CVS repository contains the following branches. Each can be checked via saving the linked .psf file locally, and then using File -> Import -> Team Project Set. Use username "anonymous" and an empty password. If you are only interested in parts of Mylar, the additional projects can be deleted after the import. After the checkout you should have no errors or warnings from the Mylar projects.

Note: these project sets specify anonymous pserver access. If that does not work for you see the CVS Howto.

Active branches:

• HEAD: Mylar 2.0 stream for Eclipse 3.3 (latest 3.3 milestone)
• e_3_2: Mylar 2.0 stream for Eclipse 3.2 (branched projects updated with each release)

Maintenance branches: Not updated unless a severe defect is found, or a request is made with sufficient reason or patch.

• e_3_3_m_1_0: Mylar 1.0 stream for Eclipse 3.3 (currently supports 3.3M4 only)
• e_3_2_m_1_0: Mylar 1.0 stream for Eclipse 3.2

End-of-life branches:

• e_3_1: Mylar 0.6 for Eclipse 3.1

Other:

• Web site: for updating eclipse.org/mylar
• :pserver:dev.eclipse.org:/cvsroot/technology can be used for manual checkout

JUnit tests

Each component has it's own All<Component>Tests suite. If not familiar with running PDE JUnit tests, refer to the Eclipse Documentation.

• Add a credentials.properties file to org.eclipse.mylar.context.tests and put the following into it:

   user: <user>
   pass: <pass>

• For <user> use "tests<at sign>mylar.eclipse.org". For <pass> use "<project's name lowercase>test". If you have any trouble making this work email mylar-dev@eclipse.org.
• Add the following to the test configuration under Arguments -> VM Arguments: -enableassertions -Xmx384M

Test suites (in org.eclipse.mylar.tests):

• AllTests: all of the automatic tests, should always pass, run as a JUnit Plug-in Test
• AllStandaloneTests: do not require workbench, can run as JUnit Test, subset of AllTests
• AllFragileWebTests: web connector tests, some templates may periodically fail

Manual tests

The manual tests can be found on the Mylar Testing page.

• Component owners are responsible for maintaining their respective manual tests and ensuring they are covered two days prior to release.

Trac Connector

• A Trac test repository that offers anonymous access through XML-RPC is available at http://mylar.eclipse.org/tractest. Feel free to create or modify any tickets.

Self-hosting

Self-hosting, also known as working bootstrapped (i.e. self-hosted) makes eating your own dog food easier and avoids having to update to dev builds.

The following is an example of how to set up a bootstrap workspace, using Eclipse 3.3 on Windows and a C:/Dev workspace directory as an example.

• Create a new directory for your build workspace, e.g.: C:/Dev/build-e3.3
• Launch Eclipse with this workspace, e.g.: C:\Apps\eclipse-3.3\eclipse.exe -data C:\Dev\build-3.3
• Check out Mylar from CVS into this workspace, see #Setup
• Create a new Launch Configuration:
  • SelectRun -> Run... -> create a new Eclipse Application.
  • Call the application Mylar Bootstrap.
  • On the Main tab, set the Location
    • You can use the existing workspace that you used Mylar with previously
    • You can create a new workspace (e.g. C:/Dev/bootstrap)
• Launching with this launch configuration will give you a second workbench with Mylar. This workbench will be created based on the target platform (the workbench you're launching from) and the plugins in C:/Dev/build-3.3.
• Do your development in the runtime workspace (C:/Dev/workspace).
• Whenever your changes make it into HEAD that you would like to use, close your runtime workspace (C:/Dev/workspace), update from CVS in the build workspace (C:/Dev/build-3.3), and then re-launch your runtime workspace.

Notes:

• The launching workspace will typically consume very little memory.
• Working in bootstrap mode means you have the source code checked out at least twice, once to bootstrap Mylar, and once to actually develop.
• You must have two distinct workspaces, you can't bootstrap into the same workspace as you launch from.
• It is possible to run in debug mode so that the changes apply to the workspace immediately after synch, but this can cause problems with the running workspace if classes change or go missing. This is because the hot-swap virtual machine can only change method bodies, not class definitions.

Developers

Contributing patches

Creating

• Each patch should correspond to a single bug report, and a single patch should be made for each set of changes to be reviewed.
• A task context should be attached to each patch to make applying and evolving it easier.
• With few exceptions patches should be accompanied by a JUnit test, and in general unit tests are one of the most valuable and long-lived contributions. If you are having trouble writing a test (e.g. trickiness verifying what happens in the UI) comment on the corresponding bug report so that we can point you at similar test cases or consider extending the test harness if needed.
• Minimize the amount of changes to existing code to make review easier.
• Synchronize often to ensure you have the latest code. Once you start modifying resources, put the Synchronize view in Outgoing mode and press the Change Set button so that Mylar tracks the context for the patch.
• Before creating a new JUnit test class class check the components test suite for similar test cases (e.g. AllTasklistTests).
• Set the formatter by importing org.eclipse.mylar/developer/mylar-settings-formatter.xml into Window -> Preferences -> Java -> Code Style -> Formatter. Format code using Eclipse's formatter (Ctrl+Shift+F) and ensure that no have been added.
• Add an @author tag to each class that you create or make significant modification to, placed below any existing author tags and indicating the bug, e.g.: @author Rob Elves (bug 160315)
• Ensure that there is no console output. For logging errors use MylarStatusHandler.

Submitting

• Ensure there are no build errors, warnings, and that org.eclipse.mylar.tests.AllTests passes.
• Do not include binary files such as GIF icons in the patch, they need to be attached separately.
• Synchronize using Incoming mode and ensure that there are no conflicts, and merge them locally if there are.
• Right click the task context change set (or the project containing the patch--patches should be made for a project, not a file), press Team -> Create Patch, and make the file suffix ".txt".
• Attach the patch to the bug report, and indicate in the comment what testing was done to validate it (e.g. unit test coverage, manual tests performed).
• Indicate any changes made to the existing UI in the comment (e.g. reordering of menu actions).
• Attach the task context to the bug report.

Tips

• Use Bugzilla for all of your communication. This helps committers track the contribution.
• Before setting out to contribute to a bug report, post on the bug report describing your intention. This helps committers guide the contribution and avoids problems with patches going stale due to related work being done concurrently.

Committers

The Eclipse Charter explains how developers can gain commit rights.

Participation

Committers should:

• Sign up for all of the project mailing lists.
• Read the newsgroup regularly, and respond to posts in their area of expertise.
• Respond to mylar-dev email in their area of expertise.
• Watch and update all wiki pages related to components that they contribute to.

Communication

Mylar committers are required to follow these communication guidelines. Our philosophy is that the user is always right, even if it takes time to figure out how or why they are right. Our project thrives on the feedback of users, whether they are seasoned experts or newbies. Feedback defines how the tool should work, how it should be simplified, and how it should evolve.

• All user feedback contains information, and it is the responsibility of committers to turn that information into actions. This can mean improving the implementation, simplifying the workflow, clarifying the documentation, or noting a duplicate request. Making the actions we take clear helps communicate this philosophy to our growing user community and encourages high-quality feedback.
• If users do not provide enough information or do not take the time to provide accurate information, they should be prompted to provide the necessary details. If they do not do so in a timely manner, the feedback is incomplete and can be resolved without taking action.
• Always show respect to users, whether they are making correct or incorrect assumptions about the tool. When they are making incorrect assumptions it is because we have not done our job well enough, or because the platforms we build on are making it hard for us to do our job well enough. Identifying those cases is important so that we can provide feedback to those platforms and find work-arounds.
• Never turn user feedback or discussion away by flaming, being condescending, short, or insulting. Forms of humor that work for face-to-face communication, such as sarcasm, should be avoided because they result in misinterpretation, especially when there is a language or cultural barrier. Use of emoticons is not a work-around.
• Review public communication before sending. Things that are not meant to be intentionally disrespectful can come across that way. When reviewing try to shorten in order to show respect for your audience's time.

Web site authoring

• Create a new CVS location: :pserver:dev.eclipse.org:/cvsroot/org.eclipse
• Check out www/mylar as a project
• To push documentation from org.eclipse.mylar.doc to the web site use the targets in mylar/build.xml

Building a distribution

• Using PDE Build support to create a Mylar distribution from HEAD, using a plain Eclipse 3.2
  • org.eclipse.mylar-feature/feature.xml -> Overview -> change version number to current date (e.g. 0.4.7.v20060125-0800)
    • On Plug-ins tab -> Versions... -> Force feature version into plug-in and fragment manifests
    • Repeat above for org.eclipse.mylar-bugzilla-feature.xml
  • org.eclipse.mylar-site/e3.2/site.xml
    • Delete old features (grayed out)
    • Add new mylar-bugzilla and mylar features
    • Hit Build All (if this fails restart Eclipse and try again)
• To install, add the path of org.eclipse.mylar-site/e3.2/site.xml as a local update site
• Bugzilla support can be built independently of the Mylar UI by checking out the following projects mylar.bugzilla.core, mylar.bugzilla.ui, mylar.tasklist, mylar.core

Merging and building the 3.1 branch:

• Right-click the org.eclipse.mylar.java, mylar.ide, and mylar.xml project, Team -> Switch to Another Branch..., then Refresh the Branches and select e_3_1
• The list of files that should not be overwritten is in: org.eclipse.mylar-site/merge.text

Deploying:

• Instructions are in org.eclipse.mylar-site/release.txt

Sandbox

Update site: http://download.eclipse.org/technology/mylar/update-site/dev/sandbox

The sandbox is a set of CVS projects and feature contributors use for experimentation. These features are not intended to be used for daily development. Sandbox features include experimental connectors and bridges, experimental UI features, and developer tools. To use sandbox tools either check them out of CVS from the org.eclipse.mylar/sandbox directory, or install them using the update site above. Please note that some Sandbox tools may have external dependencies, listed in a readme.txt file.

Dev tools

• Introspect Object (action): displays the class and other relevant information (e.g. degree-of-interest, task synchronization state) of any object visible in the workbench. Appears at the end of the context menu for any view that accepts an object contributions.

• Interest Level Decorator: displays the floating point interest level of elements. Enable via Decorators preference page.

Experimental tools

The following experimental views can be opened via the Mylar Sandbox view category or accessed via the Mylar -> Sandbox preference page.

• Context Search: automatically finds and displays elements that are structurally related to landmarks in the active . These elements become part of the task context and have a predicted degree-of-interest.

• Context Hierarchy: displays the Java hierarchy of all landmark elements.

• Predicted interested for Java errors: potentially useful, but tends to overload the Package Explorer. If you find this useful for long-term use condiser commenting on bug 107542.

Tips and Tricks

User support

• Every time that you find yourself formulating an answer to a bug report, email, or newsgroup post, if the answer is more than a sentence, consider updating the FAQ, User Guide, or Integrator Reference and pointing to the entry.
• Every time that resolving a bug does not result in a code change that addresses the problem or clarifies the UI, update the FAQ or User Guide to make sure that users can self-diagnose the problem. This is particularly important for bugs marked INVALID or WORKSFORME.

Code

• For error handling use MylarStatusHandler.
• Use WorkbenchJob for running jobs that should only run when the workbench is active. Not doing this can cause errors on workbench shutdown (e.g. bug 178409).
• When using String.toLowerCase(), use String.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH) to ensure locale safety (see bug 168652).
• Do not use @Override annotations on implementing methods, only on overriding methods. Doing so violates Java 5 (bug 173171).
• Use DateFormat with extra caution. It is not thread-safe and should not be saved to fields in classes that can be used from multiple threads (UI, asynchonous execution, or jobs).
• For the sake of multi-monitor setups, use getMonitor() instead of getDisplay() when you want to position a UI element on a specific coordinate of the screen.

Bugzilla

• Query setup: If you are added to the cc list on a report that is not picked up by your usual queries it may go unnoticed. One trick is to create a query for ALL products except the product you usually work in (and hence have queries for) and set the cc field of the query to your id. Now you will be notified of anybody adding you to the cc of a product you don't usually monitor.

JDT

• Including Platform plug-ins in search: Java search (Ctrl+H > Java Search) will include all plugins in your Plugin-in Dependencies. If you want to search other plugins as well, open the Plug-ins view, right click on the desired plugin(s) and choose 'Add to Java Search'. That plugin will now always be included in your java searches.

Debugging

• Plug-ins fail to load: verify that plug-in dependencies are met via the Validate Plug-in Set button on the launch configuration Plug-ins tab.
• Startup failure: If you get an IStartup failure message or a ClassNotFoundException on startup this is often the result of some step in the activation of the plug-in failing.
  • Attempt to find the earliest exception thrown within the in the plug-in's activation process. For example, this could occur in TasksUiPlugin.start() or TasksUiPlugin.<init>.
  • If the cause of the failure is not straightforward, the problem could be due to a class loading race condition. This can sometimes be verified by trying a different VM like IBM's or BEA's and checking if that resolves the problem. If this is the case, please file a bug.
• Getting a thread dump: run Eclipse with -debug option (or use java.exe instead javaw.exe on windows), then hit a Ctrl-Break few times on the console window during that long synchronization to capture the thread dump (Ctrl-\ on Linux, or send SIG_QUIT signal). Also see: Thread Dump and Concurrency Locks
• Startup problems and deadlocks: for a diagnosis of a potential problem see diagnosis on https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=177048#c3

Migrating Eclipse milestones

To migrate between Eclipse 3.3M4 and 3.3M5 (as of I20070205-1824):

• Get latest milestone or integration build: http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/

• Unzip two copies of it, one for bootstrapping and one for setting as your Target Platform in your bootstrap workspace. If you get two workspaces when you launch a test workspace, delete the "configuration" directory of the Target Platform. Note this bug may be fixed by

3.3M5 (bug 172975).

• To synch you may need to delete the known_hosts file if CVS connections were failing (file path is in: Preferences -> Team -> CVS -> SSH2..).

• After synching, if you get conflicts in the .settings folder after launching override them (happens because CVS version was updated, and your own was automatically migrated).

• As usual, update your repository credentials in the Task Repositories view.

• Note that you may need to re-create your launch configurations.