From 916b5eba0d5d1a80b5b67669506417ef9fefafb4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: =?UTF-8?q?Ludovic=20Court=C3=A8s?= <ludo@gnu.org>
Date: Sat, 13 May 2017 22:24:51 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] doc: Document the branching and rebuild scheduling strategy.
* doc/contributing.texi (Submitting Patches): Document the branching
scheme.
---
doc/contributing.texi | 27 ++++++++++++++++++++++++---
1 file changed, 24 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/contributing.texi b/doc/contributing.texi
index 8465745ee99..925c584e429 100644
--- a/doc/contributing.texi
+++ b/doc/contributing.texi
@@ -345,9 +345,30 @@ For important changes, check that dependent package (if applicable) are
not affected by the change; @code{guix refresh --list-dependent
@var{package}} will help you do that (@pxref{Invoking guix refresh}).
-Packages with roughly 100 dependents or more usually have to be
-committed to a separate branch. That branch can then be built
-separately by our build farm, and later merged into @code{master} once
+@c See <https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2016-10/msg00933.html>.
+@cindex branching strategy
+@cindex rebuild scheduling strategy
+Depending on the number of dependent packages and thus the amount of
+rebuilding induced, commits go to different branches, along these lines:
+
+@table @asis
+@item 300 dependent packages or less
+@code{master} branch (non-disruptive changes).
+
+@item between 300 and 1,200 dependent packages
+@code{staging} branch (non-disruptive changes). This branch is intended
+to be merged in @code{master} every 3 weeks or so. Topical changes
+(e.g., an update of the GNOME stack) can instead go to a specific branch
+(say, @code{gnome-updates}).
+
+@item more than 1,200 dependent packages
+@code{core-updates} branch (may include major and potentially disruptive
+changes). This branch is intended to be merged in @code{master} every
+2.5 months or so.
+@end table
+
+All these branches are tracked by our build farm
+and merged into @code{master} once
everything has been successfully built. This allows us to fix issues
before they hit users, and to reduce the window during which pre-built
binaries are not available.
--
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