developer.texi 29 KB

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423424425426427428429430431432433434435436437438439440441442443444445446447448449450451452453454455456457458459460461462463464465466467468469470471472473474475476477478479480481482483484485486487488489490491492493494495496497498499500501502503504505506507508509510511512513514515516517518519520521522523524525526527528529530531532533534535536537538539540541542543544545546547548549550551552553554555556557558559560561562563564565566567568569570571572573574575576577578579580581582583584585586587588589590591592593594595596597598599600601602603604605606607608609610611612613614615616617618619620621622623624625626627628629630631632633634635636637638639640641642643644645646647648649650651652653654655656657658659660661662663664665666667668669670671672673674675676677678679680681682683684685686687688689690691692693694695696697698699700701702703704705706707708709710711712713714715716717718719720721722723724725726727728729730731732733734735736737738739740741742743744745746747748749750751752753754755756757758759760761762763764765766767768769770771772773774775776777778779780781782783784785786787788789790791792793794795796797798799800801802803804805806807808809810811812813814815816817818819820821822823824825826827828829830831832833834835836837838839840841842843844845
  1. \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
  2. @documentencoding UTF-8
  3. @settitle Developer Documentation
  4. @titlepage
  5. @center @titlefont{Developer Documentation}
  6. @end titlepage
  7. @top
  8. @contents
  9. @chapter Developers Guide
  10. @section Notes for external developers
  11. This document is mostly useful for internal FFmpeg developers.
  12. External developers who need to use the API in their application should
  13. refer to the API doxygen documentation in the public headers, and
  14. check the examples in @file{doc/examples} and in the source code to
  15. see how the public API is employed.
  16. You can use the FFmpeg libraries in your commercial program, but you
  17. are encouraged to @emph{publish any patch you make}. In this case the
  18. best way to proceed is to send your patches to the ffmpeg-devel
  19. mailing list following the guidelines illustrated in the remainder of
  20. this document.
  21. For more detailed legal information about the use of FFmpeg in
  22. external programs read the @file{LICENSE} file in the source tree and
  23. consult @url{https://ffmpeg.org/legal.html}.
  24. @section Contributing
  25. There are 3 ways by which code gets into FFmpeg.
  26. @itemize @bullet
  27. @item Submitting patches to the main developer mailing list.
  28. See @ref{Submitting patches} for details.
  29. @item Directly committing changes to the main tree.
  30. @item Committing changes to a git clone, for example on github.com or
  31. gitorious.org. And asking us to merge these changes.
  32. @end itemize
  33. Whichever way, changes should be reviewed by the maintainer of the code
  34. before they are committed. And they should follow the @ref{Coding Rules}.
  35. The developer making the commit and the author are responsible for their changes
  36. and should try to fix issues their commit causes.
  37. @anchor{Coding Rules}
  38. @section Coding Rules
  39. @subsection Code formatting conventions
  40. There are the following guidelines regarding the indentation in files:
  41. @itemize @bullet
  42. @item
  43. Indent size is 4.
  44. @item
  45. The TAB character is forbidden outside of Makefiles as is any
  46. form of trailing whitespace. Commits containing either will be
  47. rejected by the git repository.
  48. @item
  49. You should try to limit your code lines to 80 characters; however, do so if
  50. and only if this improves readability.
  51. @item
  52. K&R coding style is used.
  53. @end itemize
  54. The presentation is one inspired by 'indent -i4 -kr -nut'.
  55. The main priority in FFmpeg is simplicity and small code size in order to
  56. minimize the bug count.
  57. @subsection Comments
  58. Use the JavaDoc/Doxygen format (see examples below) so that code documentation
  59. can be generated automatically. All nontrivial functions should have a comment
  60. above them explaining what the function does, even if it is just one sentence.
  61. All structures and their member variables should be documented, too.
  62. Avoid Qt-style and similar Doxygen syntax with @code{!} in it, i.e. replace
  63. @code{//!} with @code{///} and similar. Also @@ syntax should be employed
  64. for markup commands, i.e. use @code{@@param} and not @code{\param}.
  65. @example
  66. /**
  67. * @@file
  68. * MPEG codec.
  69. * @@author ...
  70. */
  71. /**
  72. * Summary sentence.
  73. * more text ...
  74. * ...
  75. */
  76. typedef struct Foobar @{
  77. int var1; /**< var1 description */
  78. int var2; ///< var2 description
  79. /** var3 description */
  80. int var3;
  81. @} Foobar;
  82. /**
  83. * Summary sentence.
  84. * more text ...
  85. * ...
  86. * @@param my_parameter description of my_parameter
  87. * @@return return value description
  88. */
  89. int myfunc(int my_parameter)
  90. ...
  91. @end example
  92. @subsection C language features
  93. FFmpeg is programmed in the ISO C90 language with a few additional
  94. features from ISO C99, namely:
  95. @itemize @bullet
  96. @item
  97. the @samp{inline} keyword;
  98. @item
  99. @samp{//} comments;
  100. @item
  101. designated struct initializers (@samp{struct s x = @{ .i = 17 @};});
  102. @item
  103. compound literals (@samp{x = (struct s) @{ 17, 23 @};}).
  104. @item
  105. Implementation defined behavior for signed integers is assumed to match the
  106. expected behavior for two's complement. Non representable values in integer
  107. casts are binary truncated. Shift right of signed values uses sign extension.
  108. @end itemize
  109. These features are supported by all compilers we care about, so we will not
  110. accept patches to remove their use unless they absolutely do not impair
  111. clarity and performance.
  112. All code must compile with recent versions of GCC and a number of other
  113. currently supported compilers. To ensure compatibility, please do not use
  114. additional C99 features or GCC extensions. Especially watch out for:
  115. @itemize @bullet
  116. @item
  117. mixing statements and declarations;
  118. @item
  119. @samp{long long} (use @samp{int64_t} instead);
  120. @item
  121. @samp{__attribute__} not protected by @samp{#ifdef __GNUC__} or similar;
  122. @item
  123. GCC statement expressions (@samp{(x = (@{ int y = 4; y; @})}).
  124. @end itemize
  125. @subsection Naming conventions
  126. All names should be composed with underscores (_), not CamelCase. For example,
  127. @samp{avfilter_get_video_buffer} is an acceptable function name and
  128. @samp{AVFilterGetVideo} is not. The exception from this are type names, like
  129. for example structs and enums; they should always be in CamelCase.
  130. There are the following conventions for naming variables and functions:
  131. @itemize @bullet
  132. @item
  133. For local variables no prefix is required.
  134. @item
  135. For file-scope variables and functions declared as @code{static}, no prefix
  136. is required.
  137. @item
  138. For variables and functions visible outside of file scope, but only used
  139. internally by a library, an @code{ff_} prefix should be used,
  140. e.g. @samp{ff_w64_demuxer}.
  141. @item
  142. For variables and functions visible outside of file scope, used internally
  143. across multiple libraries, use @code{avpriv_} as prefix, for example,
  144. @samp{avpriv_aac_parse_header}.
  145. @item
  146. Each library has its own prefix for public symbols, in addition to the
  147. commonly used @code{av_} (@code{avformat_} for libavformat,
  148. @code{avcodec_} for libavcodec, @code{swr_} for libswresample, etc).
  149. Check the existing code and choose names accordingly.
  150. Note that some symbols without these prefixes are also exported for
  151. retro-compatibility reasons. These exceptions are declared in the
  152. @code{lib<name>/lib<name>.v} files.
  153. @end itemize
  154. Furthermore, name space reserved for the system should not be invaded.
  155. Identifiers ending in @code{_t} are reserved by
  156. @url{http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/007904975/functions/xsh_chap02_02.html#tag_02_02_02, POSIX}.
  157. Also avoid names starting with @code{__} or @code{_} followed by an uppercase
  158. letter as they are reserved by the C standard. Names starting with @code{_}
  159. are reserved at the file level and may not be used for externally visible
  160. symbols. If in doubt, just avoid names starting with @code{_} altogether.
  161. @subsection Miscellaneous conventions
  162. @itemize @bullet
  163. @item
  164. fprintf and printf are forbidden in libavformat and libavcodec,
  165. please use av_log() instead.
  166. @item
  167. Casts should be used only when necessary. Unneeded parentheses
  168. should also be avoided if they don't make the code easier to understand.
  169. @end itemize
  170. @subsection Editor configuration
  171. In order to configure Vim to follow FFmpeg formatting conventions, paste
  172. the following snippet into your @file{.vimrc}:
  173. @example
  174. " indentation rules for FFmpeg: 4 spaces, no tabs
  175. set expandtab
  176. set shiftwidth=4
  177. set softtabstop=4
  178. set cindent
  179. set cinoptions=(0
  180. " Allow tabs in Makefiles.
  181. autocmd FileType make,automake set noexpandtab shiftwidth=8 softtabstop=8
  182. " Trailing whitespace and tabs are forbidden, so highlight them.
  183. highlight ForbiddenWhitespace ctermbg=red guibg=red
  184. match ForbiddenWhitespace /\s\+$\|\t/
  185. " Do not highlight spaces at the end of line while typing on that line.
  186. autocmd InsertEnter * match ForbiddenWhitespace /\t\|\s\+\%#\@@<!$/
  187. @end example
  188. For Emacs, add these roughly equivalent lines to your @file{.emacs.d/init.el}:
  189. @lisp
  190. (c-add-style "ffmpeg"
  191. '("k&r"
  192. (c-basic-offset . 4)
  193. (indent-tabs-mode . nil)
  194. (show-trailing-whitespace . t)
  195. (c-offsets-alist
  196. (statement-cont . (c-lineup-assignments +)))
  197. )
  198. )
  199. (setq c-default-style "ffmpeg")
  200. @end lisp
  201. @section Development Policy
  202. @enumerate
  203. @item
  204. Contributions should be licensed under the
  205. @uref{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-2.1.html, LGPL 2.1},
  206. including an "or any later version" clause, or, if you prefer
  207. a gift-style license, the
  208. @uref{http://opensource.org/licenses/isc-license.txt, ISC} or
  209. @uref{http://mit-license.org/, MIT} license.
  210. @uref{http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html, GPL 2} including
  211. an "or any later version" clause is also acceptable, but LGPL is
  212. preferred.
  213. If you add a new file, give it a proper license header. Do not copy and
  214. paste it from a random place, use an existing file as template.
  215. @item
  216. You must not commit code which breaks FFmpeg! (Meaning unfinished but
  217. enabled code which breaks compilation or compiles but does not work or
  218. breaks the regression tests)
  219. You can commit unfinished stuff (for testing etc), but it must be disabled
  220. (#ifdef etc) by default so it does not interfere with other developers'
  221. work.
  222. @item
  223. The commit message should have a short first line in the form of
  224. a @samp{topic: short description} as a header, separated by a newline
  225. from the body consisting of an explanation of why the change is necessary.
  226. If the commit fixes a known bug on the bug tracker, the commit message
  227. should include its bug ID. Referring to the issue on the bug tracker does
  228. not exempt you from writing an excerpt of the bug in the commit message.
  229. @item
  230. You do not have to over-test things. If it works for you, and you think it
  231. should work for others, then commit. If your code has problems
  232. (portability, triggers compiler bugs, unusual environment etc) they will be
  233. reported and eventually fixed.
  234. @item
  235. Do not commit unrelated changes together, split them into self-contained
  236. pieces. Also do not forget that if part B depends on part A, but A does not
  237. depend on B, then A can and should be committed first and separate from B.
  238. Keeping changes well split into self-contained parts makes reviewing and
  239. understanding them on the commit log mailing list easier. This also helps
  240. in case of debugging later on.
  241. Also if you have doubts about splitting or not splitting, do not hesitate to
  242. ask/discuss it on the developer mailing list.
  243. @item
  244. Do not change behavior of the programs (renaming options etc) or public
  245. API or ABI without first discussing it on the ffmpeg-devel mailing list.
  246. Do not remove functionality from the code. Just improve!
  247. Note: Redundant code can be removed.
  248. @item
  249. Do not commit changes to the build system (Makefiles, configure script)
  250. which change behavior, defaults etc, without asking first. The same
  251. applies to compiler warning fixes, trivial looking fixes and to code
  252. maintained by other developers. We usually have a reason for doing things
  253. the way we do. Send your changes as patches to the ffmpeg-devel mailing
  254. list, and if the code maintainers say OK, you may commit. This does not
  255. apply to files you wrote and/or maintain.
  256. @item
  257. We refuse source indentation and other cosmetic changes if they are mixed
  258. with functional changes, such commits will be rejected and removed. Every
  259. developer has his own indentation style, you should not change it. Of course
  260. if you (re)write something, you can use your own style, even though we would
  261. prefer if the indentation throughout FFmpeg was consistent (Many projects
  262. force a given indentation style - we do not.). If you really need to make
  263. indentation changes (try to avoid this), separate them strictly from real
  264. changes.
  265. NOTE: If you had to put if()@{ .. @} over a large (> 5 lines) chunk of code,
  266. then either do NOT change the indentation of the inner part within (do not
  267. move it to the right)! or do so in a separate commit
  268. @item
  269. Always fill out the commit log message. Describe in a few lines what you
  270. changed and why. You can refer to mailing list postings if you fix a
  271. particular bug. Comments such as "fixed!" or "Changed it." are unacceptable.
  272. Recommended format:
  273. @example
  274. area changed: Short 1 line description
  275. details describing what and why and giving references.
  276. @end example
  277. @item
  278. Make sure the author of the commit is set correctly. (see git commit --author)
  279. If you apply a patch, send an
  280. answer to ffmpeg-devel (or wherever you got the patch from) saying that
  281. you applied the patch.
  282. @item
  283. When applying patches that have been discussed (at length) on the mailing
  284. list, reference the thread in the log message.
  285. @item
  286. Do NOT commit to code actively maintained by others without permission.
  287. Send a patch to ffmpeg-devel instead. If no one answers within a reasonable
  288. timeframe (12h for build failures and security fixes, 3 days small changes,
  289. 1 week for big patches) then commit your patch if you think it is OK.
  290. Also note, the maintainer can simply ask for more time to review!
  291. @item
  292. Subscribe to the ffmpeg-cvslog mailing list. The diffs of all commits
  293. are sent there and reviewed by all the other developers. Bugs and possible
  294. improvements or general questions regarding commits are discussed there. We
  295. expect you to react if problems with your code are uncovered.
  296. @item
  297. Update the documentation if you change behavior or add features. If you are
  298. unsure how best to do this, send a patch to ffmpeg-devel, the documentation
  299. maintainer(s) will review and commit your stuff.
  300. @item
  301. Try to keep important discussions and requests (also) on the public
  302. developer mailing list, so that all developers can benefit from them.
  303. @item
  304. Never write to unallocated memory, never write over the end of arrays,
  305. always check values read from some untrusted source before using them
  306. as array index or other risky things.
  307. @item
  308. Remember to check if you need to bump versions for the specific libav*
  309. parts (libavutil, libavcodec, libavformat) you are changing. You need
  310. to change the version integer.
  311. Incrementing the first component means no backward compatibility to
  312. previous versions (e.g. removal of a function from the public API).
  313. Incrementing the second component means backward compatible change
  314. (e.g. addition of a function to the public API or extension of an
  315. existing data structure).
  316. Incrementing the third component means a noteworthy binary compatible
  317. change (e.g. encoder bug fix that matters for the decoder). The third
  318. component always starts at 100 to distinguish FFmpeg from Libav.
  319. @item
  320. Compiler warnings indicate potential bugs or code with bad style. If a type of
  321. warning always points to correct and clean code, that warning should
  322. be disabled, not the code changed.
  323. Thus the remaining warnings can either be bugs or correct code.
  324. If it is a bug, the bug has to be fixed. If it is not, the code should
  325. be changed to not generate a warning unless that causes a slowdown
  326. or obfuscates the code.
  327. @item
  328. Make sure that no parts of the codebase that you maintain are missing from the
  329. @file{MAINTAINERS} file. If something that you want to maintain is missing add it with
  330. your name after it.
  331. If at some point you no longer want to maintain some code, then please help in
  332. finding a new maintainer and also don't forget to update the @file{MAINTAINERS} file.
  333. @end enumerate
  334. We think our rules are not too hard. If you have comments, contact us.
  335. @section Code of conduct
  336. Be friendly and respectful towards others and third parties.
  337. Treat others the way you yourself want to be treated.
  338. Be considerate. Not everyone shares the same viewpoint and priorities as you do.
  339. Different opinions and interpretations help the project.
  340. Looking at issues from a different perspective assists development.
  341. Do not assume malice for things that can be attributed to incompetence. Even if
  342. it is malice, it's rarely good to start with that as initial assumption.
  343. Stay friendly even if someone acts contrarily. Everyone has a bad day
  344. once in a while.
  345. If you yourself have a bad day or are angry then try to take a break and reply
  346. once you are calm and without anger if you have to.
  347. Try to help other team members and cooperate if you can.
  348. The goal of software development is to create technical excellence, not for any
  349. individual to be better and "win" against the others. Large software projects
  350. are only possible and successful through teamwork.
  351. If someone struggles do not put them down. Give them a helping hand
  352. instead and point them in the right direction.
  353. Finally, keep in mind the immortal words of Bill and Ted,
  354. "Be excellent to each other."
  355. @anchor{Submitting patches}
  356. @section Submitting patches
  357. First, read the @ref{Coding Rules} above if you did not yet, in particular
  358. the rules regarding patch submission.
  359. When you submit your patch, please use @code{git format-patch} or
  360. @code{git send-email}. We cannot read other diffs :-).
  361. Also please do not submit a patch which contains several unrelated changes.
  362. Split it into separate, self-contained pieces. This does not mean splitting
  363. file by file. Instead, make the patch as small as possible while still
  364. keeping it as a logical unit that contains an individual change, even
  365. if it spans multiple files. This makes reviewing your patches much easier
  366. for us and greatly increases your chances of getting your patch applied.
  367. Use the patcheck tool of FFmpeg to check your patch.
  368. The tool is located in the tools directory.
  369. Run the @ref{Regression tests} before submitting a patch in order to verify
  370. it does not cause unexpected problems.
  371. It also helps quite a bit if you tell us what the patch does (for example
  372. 'replaces lrint by lrintf'), and why (for example '*BSD isn't C99 compliant
  373. and has no lrint()')
  374. Also please if you send several patches, send each patch as a separate mail,
  375. do not attach several unrelated patches to the same mail.
  376. Patches should be posted to the
  377. @uref{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-devel, ffmpeg-devel}
  378. mailing list. Use @code{git send-email} when possible since it will properly
  379. send patches without requiring extra care. If you cannot, then send patches
  380. as base64-encoded attachments, so your patch is not trashed during
  381. transmission.
  382. Your patch will be reviewed on the mailing list. You will likely be asked
  383. to make some changes and are expected to send in an improved version that
  384. incorporates the requests from the review. This process may go through
  385. several iterations. Once your patch is deemed good enough, some developer
  386. will pick it up and commit it to the official FFmpeg tree.
  387. Give us a few days to react. But if some time passes without reaction,
  388. send a reminder by email. Your patch should eventually be dealt with.
  389. @section New codecs or formats checklist
  390. @enumerate
  391. @item
  392. Did you use av_cold for codec initialization and close functions?
  393. @item
  394. Did you add a long_name under NULL_IF_CONFIG_SMALL to the AVCodec or
  395. AVInputFormat/AVOutputFormat struct?
  396. @item
  397. Did you bump the minor version number (and reset the micro version
  398. number) in @file{libavcodec/version.h} or @file{libavformat/version.h}?
  399. @item
  400. Did you register it in @file{allcodecs.c} or @file{allformats.c}?
  401. @item
  402. Did you add the AVCodecID to @file{avcodec.h}?
  403. When adding new codec IDs, also add an entry to the codec descriptor
  404. list in @file{libavcodec/codec_desc.c}.
  405. @item
  406. If it has a FourCC, did you add it to @file{libavformat/riff.c},
  407. even if it is only a decoder?
  408. @item
  409. Did you add a rule to compile the appropriate files in the Makefile?
  410. Remember to do this even if you're just adding a format to a file that is
  411. already being compiled by some other rule, like a raw demuxer.
  412. @item
  413. Did you add an entry to the table of supported formats or codecs in
  414. @file{doc/general.texi}?
  415. @item
  416. Did you add an entry in the Changelog?
  417. @item
  418. If it depends on a parser or a library, did you add that dependency in
  419. configure?
  420. @item
  421. Did you @code{git add} the appropriate files before committing?
  422. @item
  423. Did you make sure it compiles standalone, i.e. with
  424. @code{configure --disable-everything --enable-decoder=foo}
  425. (or @code{--enable-demuxer} or whatever your component is)?
  426. @end enumerate
  427. @section patch submission checklist
  428. @enumerate
  429. @item
  430. Does @code{make fate} pass with the patch applied?
  431. @item
  432. Was the patch generated with git format-patch or send-email?
  433. @item
  434. Did you sign off your patch? (git commit -s)
  435. See @url{http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git;a=blob_plain;f=Documentation/SubmittingPatches} for the meaning
  436. of sign off.
  437. @item
  438. Did you provide a clear git commit log message?
  439. @item
  440. Is the patch against latest FFmpeg git master branch?
  441. @item
  442. Are you subscribed to ffmpeg-devel?
  443. (the list is subscribers only due to spam)
  444. @item
  445. Have you checked that the changes are minimal, so that the same cannot be
  446. achieved with a smaller patch and/or simpler final code?
  447. @item
  448. If the change is to speed critical code, did you benchmark it?
  449. @item
  450. If you did any benchmarks, did you provide them in the mail?
  451. @item
  452. Have you checked that the patch does not introduce buffer overflows or
  453. other security issues?
  454. @item
  455. Did you test your decoder or demuxer against damaged data? If no, see
  456. tools/trasher, the noise bitstream filter, and
  457. @uref{http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/zzuf, zzuf}. Your decoder or demuxer
  458. should not crash, end in a (near) infinite loop, or allocate ridiculous
  459. amounts of memory when fed damaged data.
  460. @item
  461. Did you test your decoder or demuxer against sample files?
  462. Samples may be obtained at @url{https://samples.ffmpeg.org}.
  463. @item
  464. Does the patch not mix functional and cosmetic changes?
  465. @item
  466. Did you add tabs or trailing whitespace to the code? Both are forbidden.
  467. @item
  468. Is the patch attached to the email you send?
  469. @item
  470. Is the mime type of the patch correct? It should be text/x-diff or
  471. text/x-patch or at least text/plain and not application/octet-stream.
  472. @item
  473. If the patch fixes a bug, did you provide a verbose analysis of the bug?
  474. @item
  475. If the patch fixes a bug, did you provide enough information, including
  476. a sample, so the bug can be reproduced and the fix can be verified?
  477. Note please do not attach samples >100k to mails but rather provide a
  478. URL, you can upload to ftp://upload.ffmpeg.org.
  479. @item
  480. Did you provide a verbose summary about what the patch does change?
  481. @item
  482. Did you provide a verbose explanation why it changes things like it does?
  483. @item
  484. Did you provide a verbose summary of the user visible advantages and
  485. disadvantages if the patch is applied?
  486. @item
  487. Did you provide an example so we can verify the new feature added by the
  488. patch easily?
  489. @item
  490. If you added a new file, did you insert a license header? It should be
  491. taken from FFmpeg, not randomly copied and pasted from somewhere else.
  492. @item
  493. You should maintain alphabetical order in alphabetically ordered lists as
  494. long as doing so does not break API/ABI compatibility.
  495. @item
  496. Lines with similar content should be aligned vertically when doing so
  497. improves readability.
  498. @item
  499. Consider adding a regression test for your code.
  500. @item
  501. If you added YASM code please check that things still work with --disable-yasm.
  502. @item
  503. Make sure you check the return values of function and return appropriate
  504. error codes. Especially memory allocation functions like @code{av_malloc()}
  505. are notoriously left unchecked, which is a serious problem.
  506. @item
  507. Test your code with valgrind and or Address Sanitizer to ensure it's free
  508. of leaks, out of array accesses, etc.
  509. @end enumerate
  510. @section Patch review process
  511. All patches posted to ffmpeg-devel will be reviewed, unless they contain a
  512. clear note that the patch is not for the git master branch.
  513. Reviews and comments will be posted as replies to the patch on the
  514. mailing list. The patch submitter then has to take care of every comment,
  515. that can be by resubmitting a changed patch or by discussion. Resubmitted
  516. patches will themselves be reviewed like any other patch. If at some point
  517. a patch passes review with no comments then it is approved, that can for
  518. simple and small patches happen immediately while large patches will generally
  519. have to be changed and reviewed many times before they are approved.
  520. After a patch is approved it will be committed to the repository.
  521. We will review all submitted patches, but sometimes we are quite busy so
  522. especially for large patches this can take several weeks.
  523. If you feel that the review process is too slow and you are willing to try to
  524. take over maintainership of the area of code you change then just clone
  525. git master and maintain the area of code there. We will merge each area from
  526. where its best maintained.
  527. When resubmitting patches, please do not make any significant changes
  528. not related to the comments received during review. Such patches will
  529. be rejected. Instead, submit significant changes or new features as
  530. separate patches.
  531. Everyone is welcome to review patches. Also if you are waiting for your patch
  532. to be reviewed, please consider helping to review other patches, that is a great
  533. way to get everyone's patches reviewed sooner.
  534. @anchor{Regression tests}
  535. @section Regression tests
  536. Before submitting a patch (or committing to the repository), you should at least
  537. test that you did not break anything.
  538. Running 'make fate' accomplishes this, please see @url{fate.html} for details.
  539. [Of course, some patches may change the results of the regression tests. In
  540. this case, the reference results of the regression tests shall be modified
  541. accordingly].
  542. @subsection Adding files to the fate-suite dataset
  543. When there is no muxer or encoder available to generate test media for a
  544. specific test then the media has to be included in the fate-suite.
  545. First please make sure that the sample file is as small as possible to test the
  546. respective decoder or demuxer sufficiently. Large files increase network
  547. bandwidth and disk space requirements.
  548. Once you have a working fate test and fate sample, provide in the commit
  549. message or introductory message for the patch series that you post to
  550. the ffmpeg-devel mailing list, a direct link to download the sample media.
  551. @subsection Visualizing Test Coverage
  552. The FFmpeg build system allows visualizing the test coverage in an easy
  553. manner with the coverage tools @code{gcov}/@code{lcov}. This involves
  554. the following steps:
  555. @enumerate
  556. @item
  557. Configure to compile with instrumentation enabled:
  558. @code{configure --toolchain=gcov}.
  559. @item
  560. Run your test case, either manually or via FATE. This can be either
  561. the full FATE regression suite, or any arbitrary invocation of any
  562. front-end tool provided by FFmpeg, in any combination.
  563. @item
  564. Run @code{make lcov} to generate coverage data in HTML format.
  565. @item
  566. View @code{lcov/index.html} in your preferred HTML viewer.
  567. @end enumerate
  568. You can use the command @code{make lcov-reset} to reset the coverage
  569. measurements. You will need to rerun @code{make lcov} after running a
  570. new test.
  571. @subsection Using Valgrind
  572. The configure script provides a shortcut for using valgrind to spot bugs
  573. related to memory handling. Just add the option
  574. @code{--toolchain=valgrind-memcheck} or @code{--toolchain=valgrind-massif}
  575. to your configure line, and reasonable defaults will be set for running
  576. FATE under the supervision of either the @strong{memcheck} or the
  577. @strong{massif} tool of the valgrind suite.
  578. In case you need finer control over how valgrind is invoked, use the
  579. @code{--target-exec='valgrind <your_custom_valgrind_options>} option in
  580. your configure line instead.
  581. @anchor{Release process}
  582. @section Release process
  583. FFmpeg maintains a set of @strong{release branches}, which are the
  584. recommended deliverable for system integrators and distributors (such as
  585. Linux distributions, etc.). At regular times, a @strong{release
  586. manager} prepares, tests and publishes tarballs on the
  587. @url{https://ffmpeg.org} website.
  588. There are two kinds of releases:
  589. @enumerate
  590. @item
  591. @strong{Major releases} always include the latest and greatest
  592. features and functionality.
  593. @item
  594. @strong{Point releases} are cut from @strong{release} branches,
  595. which are named @code{release/X}, with @code{X} being the release
  596. version number.
  597. @end enumerate
  598. Note that we promise to our users that shared libraries from any FFmpeg
  599. release never break programs that have been @strong{compiled} against
  600. previous versions of @strong{the same release series} in any case!
  601. However, from time to time, we do make API changes that require adaptations
  602. in applications. Such changes are only allowed in (new) major releases and
  603. require further steps such as bumping library version numbers and/or
  604. adjustments to the symbol versioning file. Please discuss such changes
  605. on the @strong{ffmpeg-devel} mailing list in time to allow forward planning.
  606. @anchor{Criteria for Point Releases}
  607. @subsection Criteria for Point Releases
  608. Changes that match the following criteria are valid candidates for
  609. inclusion into a point release:
  610. @enumerate
  611. @item
  612. Fixes a security issue, preferably identified by a @strong{CVE
  613. number} issued by @url{http://cve.mitre.org/}.
  614. @item
  615. Fixes a documented bug in @url{https://trac.ffmpeg.org}.
  616. @item
  617. Improves the included documentation.
  618. @item
  619. Retains both source code and binary compatibility with previous
  620. point releases of the same release branch.
  621. @end enumerate
  622. The order for checking the rules is (1 OR 2 OR 3) AND 4.
  623. @subsection Release Checklist
  624. The release process involves the following steps:
  625. @enumerate
  626. @item
  627. Ensure that the @file{RELEASE} file contains the version number for
  628. the upcoming release.
  629. @item
  630. Add the release at @url{https://trac.ffmpeg.org/admin/ticket/versions}.
  631. @item
  632. Announce the intent to do a release to the mailing list.
  633. @item
  634. Make sure all relevant security fixes have been backported. See
  635. @url{https://ffmpeg.org/security.html}.
  636. @item
  637. Ensure that the FATE regression suite still passes in the release
  638. branch on at least @strong{i386} and @strong{amd64}
  639. (cf. @ref{Regression tests}).
  640. @item
  641. Prepare the release tarballs in @code{bz2} and @code{gz} formats, and
  642. supplementing files that contain @code{gpg} signatures
  643. @item
  644. Publish the tarballs at @url{https://ffmpeg.org/releases}. Create and
  645. push an annotated tag in the form @code{nX}, with @code{X}
  646. containing the version number.
  647. @item
  648. Propose and send a patch to the @strong{ffmpeg-devel} mailing list
  649. with a news entry for the website.
  650. @item
  651. Publish the news entry.
  652. @item
  653. Send an announcement to the mailing list.
  654. @end enumerate
  655. @bye