annotate README.rst @ 5416:e2fb20dd0df7

readme: link to ChangesetEvolution, reword a couple of list items

=============================
Mutable History For Mercurial
=============================

Evolve Extension
================

This package supplies the evolve extension for Mercurial,

**The full implementation of the changeset evolution concept is still in
progress.**  Please subscribe to the `evolve-testers mailing list
<https://www.mercurial-scm.org/mailman/listinfo/evolve-testers>`_ to stay up to
date with changes.

This extension:

* enables the "`changeset evolution`_" feature of core Mercurial,

* provides a set of commands to rewrite history in a distributed way,

* issues various warning messages when "troubles" from changeset evolution
  appear in your repository,

* provides an ``hg evolve`` command to deal with such troubles,

* improves performance of obsolescence marker exchange and discovery during
  push and pull.

.. _`changeset evolution`: https://www.mercurial-scm.org/wiki/ChangesetEvolution

Documentation
-------------

We recommend reading the documentation first. An online version is available
here:

    https://www.mercurial-scm.org/doc/evolution/

How to Install
==============

Using Pip
---------

You can install the latest released version using pip::

    $ pip install --user hg-evolve

Then enable it in your hgrc::

    $ hg config --edit # add these two lines:
    [extensions]
    evolve =

From Source
-----------

To install a local version from source::

    $ hg clone https://www.mercurial-scm.org/repo/evolve/
    $ cd evolve
    # optionally `hg update <target revision>`
    $ pip install --user .

Then enable it in your hgrc::

    $ hg config --edit # add these two lines:
    [extensions]
    evolve =

Documentation lives in ``doc/``.

Server-only Setup
=================

It is possible to enable a smaller subset of the extensions aimed at server
serving repository. It skips the additions of the new commands and local UI
messages that might add performance overheads. To use the server only
extension, install the package and use::

    $ hg config --edit # add these two lines:
    [extensions]
    evolve.serveronly =

Extension Purpose
=================

The goal of this extension is to provide an appropriate place for code and
concept related to changeset evolution to mature. In this extension we allow
for hackier code, unlocking quick experimentation and faster iterations.

In addition, the evolve extensions support a wider set of Mercurial version,
allowing us to reach a larger user base for feedback. The Evolve extension is
not tight to the Mercurial release cycle and can release new feature and bug
fix at a higher rate if necessary.

Once a concept is ready enough, its implementation is moved into Mercurial
core. The maturation period helped us to get a clearer picture of what was
needed. During the upstreaming process, we can use this clearer picture to
clean up the code and upgrade it to an appropriate quality for Mercurial core.

Python 3 Support
================

Mercurial announced beta support for Python 3 starting with its 5.0 release.
Since 9.1.0, ``evolve`` has beta support for Python 3.6+.

Support will stay in beta while Mercurial's support for Python 3 remains in
beta and until it is a bit more battle-tested.

How to Contribute
=================

Discussion happens on the #hg-evolve IRC on freenode_.

.. _freenode: https://freenode.net/

Bugs are to be reported on the Mercurial's bug tracker (component:
`evolution`_).

.. _evolution: https://bz.mercurial-scm.org/buglist.cgi?component=evolution&query_format=advanced&resolution=---

The recommended way is to create Merge Request on
https://foss.heptapod.net/mercurial/evolve. To do so, create an account and
request access. You'll then be able to create topic based merge request.

Alternatively, you can use the patchbomb extension to send email to `mercurial
devel <https://www.mercurial-scm.org/mailman/listinfo/mercurial-devel>`_.
Please make sure to use the evolve-ext flag when doing so. You can use a
command like this::

    $ hg email --to [e-mail] --flag evolve-ext --rev '<your patches>'

For guidelines on the patch description, see the `official Mercurial guideline`_.

.. _`official Mercurial guideline`: https://mercurial-scm.org/wiki/ContributingChanges#Patch_descriptions

Please don't forget to update and run the tests when you fix a bug or add a
feature. To run the tests, you need a working copy of Mercurial, say in
$HGSRC::

    $ cd tests
    $ python $HGSRC/tests/run-tests.py

When certain blocks of code need to cope with API changes in core Mercurial,
they should have comments in the ``hg <= x.y (commit hash)`` format. For
example, if a function needs another code path because of changes introduced in
02802fa87b74 that was first included in Mercurial 5.3, then the comment should
be::

    # hg <= 5.2 (02802fa87b74)

See also tests/test-check-compat-strings.t.

Branch policy
-------------

The evolve tests are highly impacted by changes in core. To deal with this, we
use named branches.

There are two main branches: "stable" and "default". Tests on these branches
are supposed to pass with the corresponding "default" and "stable" branch from
core Mercurial. The documentation is built from the tip of stable.

In addition, we have compatibility branches to check tests on older versions of
Mercurial. They are the "mercurial-x.y" branches. They are used to apply
expected test changes only, no code changes should happen there.

Test output changes from a changeset in core should add the following line to
their patch description::

    CORE-TEST-OUTPUT-UPDATE: <changeset hash>

Format-source config
====================

Format source helps smooth out the pain of merging after auto-formatting.
Follow the instructions for install here:

.. _`format-source`: https://foss.heptapod.net/mercurial/format-source

Then update both your global and repo config files::

    $ hg config --local --edit # add these lines:
    [extensions]
    formatsource =

    [format-source]
    byteify-strings = python3 ~/workspace/octobus/mercurial-devel/contrib/byteify-strings.py --dictiter --treat-as-kwargs kwargs opts commitopts TROUBLES --allow-attr-methods
    byteify-strings:mode.input = file
    byteify-strings:mode.output = pipe

Release Checklist
=================

* make sure the tests are happy on all supported versions,

  You can use the `contrib/merge-test-compat.sh` to merge with the test
  compatibility branches.

* make sure there is no code difference between the compat branches and stable
  (no diff within `hgext3rd/`),

* update the `testedwith` variable for all extensions (remove '.dev'):

  - hgext3rd/evolve/metadata.py
  - hgext3rd/topic/__init__.py
  - hgext3rd/pullbundle.py

* make sure the changelog is up to date,

* add a date to the changelog entry for the target version,

* update the `__version__` field of all relevant extensions:

  - hgext3rd/evolve/metadata.py
  - hgext3rd/topic/__init__.py
  - hgext3rd/pullbundle.py (if touched)

* create a new Debian entry:

  - debchange --newversion x.y.z-1 "new upstream release"
  - debchange --release

* sanity check install and sdist targets of setup.py:

  - python setup.py install --home=$(mktemp -d)
  - python setup.py sdist

* tag the commit,

* push and publish the tag,

* upload the tarball to PyPI,

* make an announcement on [e-mail] (possibly on
  [e-mail] too),

* bump versions of all extensions and add '.dev' (see existing commits as an
  example):

  - hgext3rd/evolve/metadata.py
  - hgext3rd/topic/__init__.py
  - hgext3rd/pullbundle.py

  The version we use on the stable branch during development should be
  `x.y.z+1.dev`. The version of the default branch should be `x.y+1.0.dev`.

* merge stable into default.