[Pixman] [PATCH] README: Add guidelines on how to contribute patches

[Søren Sandmann]

From: Søren Sandmann Pedersen <ssp at redhat.com>

Ben Avison pointed out here:

   http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/pixman/2013-January/002485.html

that there isn't really any documentation about how to submit patches
to pixman. This patch adds some information to the README file.
---
 README |   97 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
 1 files changed, 90 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README b/README
index 3cfbc50..4c8cfdc 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1,22 +1,105 @@
-pixman is a library that provides low-level pixel manipulation
+Pixman is a library that provides low-level pixel manipulation
 features such as image compositing and trapezoid rasterization.
 
-All questions regarding this software should be directed to the pixman
+Questions, bug reports and patches should be directed to the pixman
 mailing list:
 
         http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/pixman
 
-Please send patches and bug reports either to the mailing list above,
-or file them at the freedesktop bug tracker:
+You can also file bugs at
 
         https://bugs.freedesktop.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=pixman
 
-The master development code repository can be found at:
+For real time discussions about pixman, feel free to join the IRC
+channels #cairo and #xorg-devel on the FreeNode IRC network.
+
+
+Contributing
+------------
+
+In order to contribute to pixman, you will need a working knowledge of
+the git version control system. For a quick getting started guide,
+there is the "Everyday Git With 20 Commands Or So guide"
+
+        http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/everyday.html
+
+from the Git homepage. For more in depth git documentation, see the
+resources on the Git community documentation page:
+
+        http://git-scm.com/documentation
+
+Pixman uses the infrastructure from the freedesktop.org umbrella
+project. For instructions about how to use the git service on
+freedesktop.org, see:
+
+        http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Infrastructure/git/Developers
+
+The Pixman master repository can be found at:
 
 	git://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/pixman
 
+and browsed on the web here:
+
 	http://gitweb.freedesktop.org/?p=pixman;a=summary
 
-For more information on the git code manager, see:
 
-	http://wiki.x.org/wiki/GitPage
+Sending patches
+---------------
+
+The general workflow for sending patches is to first make sure that
+git can send mail on your system. Then, 
+
+    - create a branch in your local git repository
+
+    - make your changes as one or more commits
+
+    - use the git send-email
+
+      	  git format-patch -n
+
+      command to send the patch series to pixman at lists.freedesktop.org.
+      The switch --cover-letter can be used to generate a template for a
+      description of the overall patch series.
+
+In order for your patches to be accepted, please observe the following
+guidelines:
+
+    - Make sure the test suite passes. You can run the test suite with
+      the command:
+
+      	  make check
+
+      On a modern PC it will take around two minutes to run.
+
+    - Follow the coding style described in the CODING_STYLE file
+
+    - For bug fixes, include an update to the test suite to make sure
+      the bug doesn't reappear
+
+    - For new features, add tests of the feature to the test
+      suite. Also, add a program demonstrating the new feature to the
+      /demos/ directory.
+
+    - Write desctipive commit messages. The point of commit messages
+      is to record the reason a particular change was made.
+
+      Useful information to include:
+
+      	- Benchmark results, before and after
+
+	- Description of the bug that was fixed
+
+	- Detailed rationale for any new API
+
+	- Alternative approaches that were rejected (and why they
+          don't work)
+
+	- If review comments were incorporated, a brief version
+          history describing what those changes were.
+
+Pixman has high standards for code quality and so almost everybody
+should expect to have the first versions of their patches rejected.
+
+If you think the reviewers are wrong about something, feel free to
+discuss the issue on the list. The purpose of code review is to ensure
+high code quality; it is not an exercise in compliance.
-- 
1.7.4