[bug-grep] submitting patches

[Stepan Kasal]

Hi again.

On Thu, Nov 11, 2004 at 10:03:25PM -0400, Tony Abou-Assaleh wrote:
> I'm new to open-source devel.

Welcome!  We need new people with fresh ideas.

> When reporting small (and big?) issues, like
> this one, should I be including a patch?

As a general rule, you should always include a patch, because
1) it is the most precise possible expression of the change
2) you do some work instead of the maintainer, thus you donate more to the
project.

An example:
With the change bug-gnu-utils --> bug-grep, you also have to change the
mail in the .po files (you'd find them by ``grep -r'' ;-), and you have to
remove the notices saying that subject should mention ``grep''.
The more of these you find and incorporate into your patch, the less is the
probability that the maintainer forgets to do it.

It's also very nice if you write a ChangeLog entry describing your change.
As the entry contains your name and mail, you have the best control over
these this way.  (Some people don't want to publish their mail, for example.)

OTOH, it's better to send a quick mail then to put the issue off and
eventually forget about it.  Perhaps you don't have time or mood to prepare
the patch.  Thus we are also grateful for any bug report.

And, of course, there are languages which some people don't want to patch
(autoconf, automake, ...).  In this case, you also post the bug report
without patch.

And, last but not least, there is always a danger that your patch will be
rejected.  To minimize the risk, it's often very good idea to ask the
maintainer about his opinion before investing huge amount of work.

Arnold, you are an experienced maintainner, have I forgotten something?

Have a nice day,
        Stepan Kasal