Dear
Eclipse Committers
We would
like to encourage more participation in the creation of the packages created
by the Eclipse Packaging Project. The goal is
to 1) encourage more cross-project testing of the existing four packages, and
2) encourage the creation of packages in addition to the existing four that
were created last year. A framework for doing this was discussed
at a recent Planning
Council meeting and this
document is to provide addition details.
- Creation
of a Package
To create
a package a project leader or committer must agree to be a package
maintainer. The package maintainer is responsible for defining the
contents of the package and arrange for testing of the
package.
To define
a package the package maintainer will need to specify the package contents
based on the EPP package
configuration file format. The package maintainer will need to
store this file in their cvs repository and then inform the EPP team, via a
bugzilla entry, the location of the file. The EPP team will then
begin to automatically build the package based on the config
file.
- What can
be included in a Package?
· Packages
must only contain code from Eclipse projects
· Packages
should usually only contain code from projects that have passed their 1.0
creation review, and if exceptions are found, the code must still have passed
an Eclipse Release Review.
· Packages
should attempt to include code from a variety of projects, while maintaining a
coherent theme to the package, balanced with download and install size,
fitting with the desires and suggestions of the
community.
- Testing
of a Package
The
package maintainer is responsible for testing the package. The
package maintainer should arrange for a number of committers and community
members to act as testers. The type and degree of testing may vary but
is expected to at least confirm that all the projects basically work together
with no immediate problems introduced by being packaged together. In all cases
the type of testing and test cases should be documented. EPP will define
a process for each package maintainer to identify that the package has been
tested, the type of testing and that the package is ready for
download.
- Publishing of
Packages
A new web
site will be created to publish the different packages. This new
web site will be directly accessible from the download page. The
packaging page will show all the available packages and use social networking
techniques to influence the order and display of the packages. For
instance, the number of time a package is download will be visible, the names
of the project maintainers and testers will be associated with the project or
maybe individuals can vote/recommend a package. The Eclipse Foundation
will also continue to list 4-5 packages directly on the download
page.
How to Get
Started?
If you
would like to create a package, we ask that you open a bugzilla request for
EPP, using the ‘package content’ component. In the bugzilla bug,
please specify a description of the package you would like to create,
including the intended targeted user and the feature set of the package. You
will then need to create a package configuration file together with the EPP
team and then specify the location of the file. You will then need
to create an package configuration file and then specify the location of the
file. Please add this location to the bugzilla request. EPP
builds the packages on a nightly basis, so once your package is defined, we
will start building it.
EPP is
also releasing packages for each milestone and release candidate for Ganymede.
If you would like your package to be built for M5, we ask that you
please have it defined before February 11.
We are
just starting this process so your feedback and support is
welcome. It will take sometime to make it perfect but the
intention is to have a number of packages available in time for the Ganymede
release.
Thanks for
your support,
Ian
Skerrett
Director of
Marketing
Eclipse
Foundation
613-224-9461 ext.
227
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