Development

Anyone is welcome to contribute.

The collaboration is based on git and emails. Coming patches are listed in patchwork.

Planned features are listed in the roadmap and integrated during a cycle started by a merge window.

Bugs are open in bugzilla.

Licenses

Main code is BSD licensed and Linux kernel related parts are naturally licensed under the GPL.

Get source code

Read-only access:

git clone git://dpdk.org/dpdk

Or if git is blocked in your network:

git clone http://dpdk.org/git/dpdk

The source code can be browsed online.

Focus is on next version in git HEAD. There is no maintenance of previous versions.

Contribute by sending patches

Following lines are a snippet of contribution guidelines.

Patches should be sent and reviewed via the mailing list. Be sure to be registered.

To prepare a patch, it must be saved with git commit.

The title will be clearly visible in the git repository and in the email archives. So it is important to make it short and clear for quick reading and searches. Prefixes like "mk:", "mem:" or "pci:" make it easy to read.
The email title must begin with [PATCH] to distinguish it among discussions.

There must be details in the commit log, explaining what was the problem and how it is fixed.
When fixing a regression, it is a good idea to reference the id of the commit which introduced the bug (see fixline alias below).

Before sending a patch, be sure that there is no licensing issue. The commit log must have a Signed-off-by line (--signoff option). It certifies that you wrote it and/or have the right to send it.
For a longer explanation, see the Developer Certificate of Origin.

The patch must be sent with git send-email. It is automatically or manually prepared in the right format by git format-patch. Typical usage is:

git send-email -1 --to dev@dpdk.org

If a previous version of the patch has already been sent, a version number and changelog annotations are helpful:

git send-email -1 -v2 --annotate --in-reply-to <Message-ID of the previous patch>
--to dev@dpdk.org --cc <everybody discussing the patch>

Annotations take place after the 3 dashes and should explicit what has changed since the previous version.

The Message-ID can be found in the email header of the previous patch or in its patchwork page.

In the case of a bug reported on the mailing list, the patch should be a reply to the bug report.

An updated patchset should be a reply to the previous cover letter.

When sending several patches in a series, a cover letter may explain the global idea:

git send-email -3 --to dev@dpdk.org --cover-letter --annotate

Shallow threading (--thread --no-chain-reply-to) is preferred for patch series. It should be git's default.

If a patch is for a stable release rather than for mainline, please send only to stable@dpdk.org and indicate the target branch using --subject-prefix:

git send-email -1 --to stable@dpdk.org --subject-prefix='PATCH 17.11'

Example of configuration in ~/.gitconfig:

[sendemail]
	suppressfrom = true
	chainreplyto = false
	confirm = always
	envelopesender = auto
	smtpuser = name@domain.com
	smtpserver = smtp.domain.com
	smtpserverport = 465
	smtpencryption = ssl
[alias]
	fixline = log -1 --abbrev=12 --format='Fixes: %h (\"%s\")%nCc: %ae'

Contribute by testing or reviewing patches

Patches are applied in the git repository when it becomes clear that they are well written and do the right things.
Test reports and reviews help a lot in the process. Such contributions are marked with flags Tested-by, Reviewed-by or Acked-by.

Status of patches

Once sent to the mailing list, patches are automatically registered in patchwork with status "New". So they are visible in the default view (filter "Action Required").

Access to management of his own patches is granted after registration. The status may be manually updated to "RFC", "Changes Requested", "Superseded" or "Rejected". After sending a new version of a patch, developers should set the previous patch as "Superseded". When a patch is applied, it is set to "Accepted".

Patchwork can also help to download patches individually or bundled.

Most of the patchwork actions can be done with a pwclient command line.

Contribute by finding or fixing bugs

There is a bug tracker where anybody can notify a bug to the community, and follow the resolution.

A notification is sent to dev@dpdk.org for every new bug. The fixes must be sent and discussed on the mailing list.

Technical Board

The Technical Board may intermediate in the development process, as described in the Technical Board operation.