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spec_16.txt
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spec_16.txt
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The Collective Code Construction Contract (C4) is an evolution of the github.com [http://help.github.com/send-pull-requests/ Fork + Pull Model], aimed at providing an optimal collaboration model for free software projects. C4 is derived from the ZeroMQ contribution policy of early 2012.
* Name: rfc.zeromq.org/spec:16/C4
* Editor: Pieter Hintjens <[email protected]>
++ Language
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119[((bibcite rfc2119))].
++ Goals
C4 is meant to provide a reusable optimal collaboration model for open source software projects. It has these specific goals:
* To maximize the scale of the community around a project, by reducing the friction for new Contributors and creating a scaled participation model with strong positive feedbacks;
* To relieve dependencies on key individuals by separating different skill sets so that there is a larger pool of competence in any required domain;
* To allow the project to develop faster and more accurately, by increasing the diversity of the decision making process;
* To support the natural life cycle of project versions from experimental through to stable, by allowing safe experimentation, rapid failure, and isolation of stable code;
* To reduce the internal complexity of project repositories, thus making it easier for Contributors to participate and reducing the scope for error;
* To enforce collective ownership of the project, which increases economic incentive to Contributors and reduces the risk of hijack by hostile entities.
++ Design
+++ Preliminaries
* The project SHALL use the git distributed revision control system.
* The project SHALL be hosted on github.com or equivalent, herein called the "Platform".
* The project SHALL use the Platform issue tracker.
* The project SHOULD have clearly documented guidelines for code style.
* A "Contributor" is a person who wishes to provide a patch, being a set of commits that solve some clearly identified problem.
* A "Maintainer" is a person who merge patches to the project. Maintainers are not developers; their job is to enforce process.
* Contributors SHALL NOT have commit access to the repository unless they are also Maintainers.
* Maintainers SHALL have commit access to the repository.
* Everyone, without distinction or discrimination, SHALL have an equal right to become a Contributor under the terms of this contract.
+++ Licensing and Ownership
* The project SHALL use the GPLv3 or a variant thereof (LGPL, AGPL).
* All contributions to the project source code ("patches") SHALL use the same license as the project.
* All patches are owned by their authors. There SHALL NOT be any copyright assignment process.
* The project SHALL be owned collectively by all its Contributors.
* Each Contributor SHALL be responsible for identifying themselves in the project Contributor list.
+++ Patch Requirements
* Maintainers and Contributors MUST have a Platform account and SHOULD use their real names or a well-known alias.
* A patch SHOULD be a minimal and accurate answer to exactly one identified and agreed problem.
* A patch MUST adhere to the code style guidelines of the project if these are defined.
* A patch MUST adhere to the "Evolution of Public Contracts" guidelines defined below.
* A patch SHALL NOT include non-trivial code from other projects unless the Contributor is the original author of that code.
* A patch MUST compile cleanly on at least the most important target platforms.
* A "Correct Patch" is one that satisfies the above requirements.
+++ Development Process
* Change on the project SHALL be governed by the pattern of accurately identifying problems and applying minimal, accurate solutions to these problems.
* To initiate changes, a user SHALL log an issue on the project Platform issue tracker.
* The user SHOULD write the issue by describing the problem they face or observe.
* The user SHOULD seek consensus on the accuracy of their observation, and the value of solving the problem.
* Users SHALL NOT log feature requests, ideas, suggestions, or any solutions to problems that are not explicitly documented and provable.
* Thus, the release history of the project SHALL be a list of meaningful issues logged and solved.
* To work on an issue, a Contributor SHALL fork the project repository and then work on their forked repository.
* To submit a patch, a Contributor SHALL create a Platform pull request back to the project.
* A Contributor SHALL NOT commit changes directly to the project.
* To discuss a patch, people MAY comment on the Platform pull request, on the commit, or elsewhere.
* To accept or reject a patch, a Maintainer SHALL use the Platform interface.
* Maintainers SHALL NOT accept their own patches.
* Maintainers SHALL NOT make value judgments on correct patches.
* Maintainers SHALL merge correct patches rapidly.
* The Contributor MAY tag an issue as "Ready" after making a pull request for the issue.
* The user who created an issue SHOULD close the issue after checking the patch is successful.
* Maintainers SHOULD ask for improvements to incorrect patches and SHOULD reject incorrect patches if the Contributor does not respond constructively.
* Any Contributor who has value judgments on a correct patch SHOULD express these via their own patches.
* Maintainers MAY commit changes to non-source documentation directly to the project.
+++ Creating Stable Releases
* The project SHALL have one branch ("master") that always holds the latest in-progress version and SHOULD always build.
* The project SHALL NOT use topic branches for any reason. Personal forks MAY use topic branches.
* To make a stable release someone SHALL fork the repository by copying it and thus become maintainer of this repository.
* Forking a project for stabilization MAY be done unilaterally and without agreement of project maintainers.
* Maintainers of the stabilization project SHALL maintain it through pull requests which MAY cherry-pick patches from the forked project.
* A patch to a repository declared "stable" SHALL be accompanied by a reproducible test case.
* A stabilization repository SHOULD progress through these phases: "unstable", "candidate", "stable", and then "legacy". That is, the default behavior of stabilization repositories is to die.
+++ Evolution of Public Contracts
* All Public Contracts (APIs or protocols) SHOULD be documented.
* All Public Contracts SHALL use Semantic Versioning[((bibcite semver))].
* All Public Contracts SHOULD have space for extensibility and experimentation.
* A patch that modifies a Public Contract SHOULD not break existing applications unless there is prior consensus on the value of doing this.
* A patch that introduces new features to a Public Contract SHOULD do so using new names.
* Old names SHOULD be deprecated in a systematic fashion by marking new names as "experimental" until they are stable, then marking the old names as "deprecated".
* When sufficient time has passed, old deprecated names SHOULD be marked "legacy" and eventually removed.
* Old names SHALL NOT be reused by new features.
* When old names are removed, their implementations MUST provoke an exception (assertion) if used by applications.
++ References
[[bibliography]]
: rfc2119 : "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels" - [http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2119 ietf.org]
: fandos : "Definition of a Free and Open Standard" - [http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition digistan.org]
: coss : "Consensus Oriented Specification System" - [http://www.digistan.org/spec:1/COSS digistan.org]
: semver : "Semantic Versioning 2.0.0-rc.1" - [http://semver.org/ semver.org]
[[/bibliography]]