@@ -156,25 +156,65 @@ <H3 id="item1.4">1.4) What do I do after choosing an item to
156156
157157< H3 id ="item1.5 "> 1.5) I've developed a patch, what next?</ H3 >
158158
159- < P > Generate the patch in contextual diff format. If you are
160- unfamiliar with this, you might find the script
161- < I > src/tools/makediff/difforig</ I > useful. Unified diffs are
162- only preferrable if the file changes are single-line changes and
163- do not rely on the surrounding lines.</ P >
164-
165- < P > Ensure that your patch is generated against the most recent
166- version of the code. If it is a patch adding new functionality, the
167- most recent version is CVS HEAD; if it is a bug fix, this will be
168- the most recently version of the branch which suffers from the bug
169- (for more on branches in PostgreSQL, see< A href =
170- "#1.15 "> 1.15</ A > ).</ P >
171-
172- < P > Finally, submit the patch to pgsql-patches@postgresql.org. It
159+ < P > You will need to submit the patch to pgsql-patches@postgresql.org. It
173160 will be reviewed by other contributors to the project and will be
174- either accepted or sent back for further work. Also, please try to
175- include documentation changes as part of the patch. If you can't do
176- that, let us know and we will manually update the documentation when
177- the patch is applied.</ P >
161+ either accepted or sent back for further work. To help ensure your patch
162+ is reviewed and committed in a timely fashion, please try to make sure your
163+ submission conforms to the following guidelines:
164+
165+ < ol >
166+ < li > Ensure that your patch is generated against the most recent version
167+ of the code, which for developers is CVS HEAD. For more on branches in
168+ PostgreSQL, see< a href ="#1.15 "> 1.15</ a > .</ li >
169+
170+ < li > Try to make your patch as readable as possible by following the
171+ project's code-layout conventions. This makes it easier for the
172+ reviewer, and there's no point in trying to layout things
173+ differently than pgindent. Also avoid unnecessary whitespace
174+ changes because they just distract the reviewer, and formatting
175+ changes will be removed by the next run of pgindent.</ li >
176+
177+ < li > The patch should be generated in contextual diff format (< i > diff
178+ -c</ i > and should be applicable from the root directory. If you are
179+ unfamiliar with this, you might find the script
180+ < I > src/tools/makediff/difforig</ I > useful. (Unified diffs are only
181+ preferable if the file changes are single-line changes and do not
182+ rely on surrounding lines.)</ li >
183+
184+ < li > PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD license, so any submissions must
185+ conform to the BSD license to be included. If you use code that is
186+ available under some other license that is BSD compatible (eg. public
187+ domain) please note that code in your email submission</ li >
188+
189+ < li > Confirm that your changes can pass the regression tests. If your
190+ changes are port specific, please list the ports you have tested it
191+ on.</ li >
192+
193+ < li > Provide an implementation overview, preferably in code comments.
194+ Following the surrounding code commenting style is usually a good
195+ approach.</ li >
196+
197+ < li > New feature patches should also be accompanied by documentation
198+ patches. If you need help checking the SQL standard, see< a href =
199+ "#1.16 "> 1.16</ a > .</ li >
200+
201+ < li > If you are adding a new feature, confirm that it has been tested
202+ thoughly. Try to test the feature in all conceivable
203+ scenarios.</ li >
204+
205+ < li > If it is a performance patch, please provide confirming test
206+ results to show the benefit of your patch. It is OK to post patches
207+ without this information, though the patch will not be applied until
208+ somebody has tested the patch and found a significant performance
209+ improvement.</ li >
210+ </ ol >
211+
212+ < p > Even if you pass all of the above, the patch might still be
213+ rejected for other reasons. Please be prepared to listen to comments
214+ and make modifications.</ p >
215+
216+ < p > You will be notified via email when the patch is applied, and
217+ your name will appear in the next version of the release notes.</ p >
178218
179219< H3 id ="item1.6 "> 1.6) Where can I learn more about the
180220 code?</ H3 >