VTK/Git
VTK version tracking and development is hosted by Git.
Official Repository
One may browse the repository online using the Gitweb interface at http://vtk.org/gitweb.
Cloning
One may clone the repository using git clone through the native git protocol:
$ git clone git://vtk.org/VTK.git VTK
or through the (less efficient) http protocol:
$ git clone http://vtk.org/VTK.git VTK
All further commands work inside the local copy of the repository created by the clone:
$ cd VTK
For VTKData the URLs are
git://vtk.org/VTKData.git http://vtk.org/VTKData.git
Branches
At the time of this writing the repository has the following branches:
- master: Development (default)
- hooks: Local commit hooks (place in .git/hooks)
Release branches converted from CVS have been artificially merged into master. Actual releases have tags named by the release version number.
Development
We provide here a brief introduction to VTK development with Git. See the Resources page for further information such as Git tutorials.
Introduction
We require all commits in VTK to record valid author/committer name and email information. Use git config to introduce yourself to Git:
$ git config --global user.name "Your Name" $ git config --global user.email "you@yourdomain.com"
Note that "Your Name" is your real name (e.g. "John Doe", not "jdoe"). While you're at it, optionally enable color output from Git commands:
$ git config --global color.ui auto
The --global option stores the configuration settings in ~/.gitconfig in your home directory so that they apply to all repositories.
Hooks
The hooks branch provides local commit hooks to be placed in .git/hooks.
It is shared by many public.kitware.com repositories.
See the general hooks information page to set up your local hooks.
Workflow
We've chosen to approximate our previous CVS-based development workflow after the initial move to Git, at least while things get settled. The basic rule is to rebase your work on origin/master before pushing:
git fetch origin git rebase origin/master
or
git pull --rebase
The server will refuse your push if it contains any merges. Later we will move to a full branchy workflow based on topic branches.
We already provide support for topic branches and merges through the VTK Topic Stage described in the next section.
Topic Stage
We provide a "VTK Topic Stage" repository to which developers may publish arbitrary topic branches and request automatic merges.
The topic stage URLs are
git://vtk.org/stage/VTK.git(clone, fetch)http://vtk.org/stage/VTK.git(clone, fetch, gitweb)git@vtk.org:stage/VTK.git(push)
See our Topic Stage Workflow documentation for general instructions.
(Currently VTK does not have a next branch. Just skip that part of the instructions and merge directly to master.)
When accessing the VTK stage, one may optionally substitute
"ssh git@vtk.org stage VTK ..."
for
"ssh git@public.kitware.com stage <repo> ..."
in the ssh command-line interface.
| Stage Usage Summary | |
|---|---|
|
Initial Setup: |
$ git remote add stage git://vtk.org/stage/VTK.git $ git config remote.stage.pushurl git@vtk.org:stage/VTK.git |
|
Fetch Staged Topics: |
$ git fetch stage --prune |
|
Create Local Topic: |
$ git checkout -b topic-name origin/master $ edit files $ git commit |
|
Stage Current Topic: |
$ git push stage HEAD |
|
Print Staged Topics: |
$ ssh git@vtk.org stage VTK print |
|
Merge Staged Topic: |
$ ssh git@vtk.org stage VTK merge topic-name |
Note that the stage implementation is not VTK-specific and is used for other projects too. If the merge attempt conflicts it may print instructions for performing the merge manually. Ignore these instructions; you will not be able to push the merge commit directly. Instead, identify the commit that conflicts with yours, merge it into your topic locally, push the topic to the stage again, and then repeat the merge request.
Publishing
Pushing
Authorized developers may publish work directly to vtk.org/VTK.git using Git's SSH protocol.
To request access, fill out the Kitware Password form.
See the push instructions for details.
For VTK, configure the push URL:
git config remote.origin.pushurl git@vtk.org:VTK.git
For VTKData, configure the push URL:
git config remote.origin.pushurl git@vtk.org:VTKData.git
Update Hook
The vtk.org repository has an update hook.
When someone tries to push changes to the repository it checks the commits as documented here.
Patches
Submitting a patch
If you are an external contributor without push access, you can submit a patch to the vtk-developers mailing list.
- subscribe to the vtk-developers mailing list: http://www.vtk.org/mailman/listinfo/vtk-developers
- prepare your patch:
# 1. pull from the central repository with rebase, not merge $ cd VTK $ git pull --rebase
# 2. create the patch $ git format-patch
3. send the patch to the vtk-developers list
A contributor with push access will be able to apply the patch and push it to the central repository. See the following section to apply a patch #Applying_a_patch .
ref: Everyday GIT: Individual Developer (Participant)
Applying a patch
When you receive a patch by email, you can apply it locally with:
$ cd VTK $ git am -3 -i -s -u patch.txt
If the following error happens:
Patch format detection failed.
It means the patch was not generated with git format-patch but with git show
To apply a patch generated with git show, use
$ cd VTK $ git apply --whitespace=fix patch.txt
Now you have applied the patch, you can review it and test it.
If you are a contributor with push access, you can decide to reject or accept the patch and maybe apply additional commits. At this point, you are ready to publish the patch to the central repository #Publishing .
Troubleshooting
fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly
- If git push fails with "fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly", you probably forgot to set the push url with "git config" see #Pushing.
Restoring files locally
Q: "I cloned the VTK repository. Now I "rm -rf Hybrid". How do I get it back?"
A: git checkout Hybrid
Q: "I modified a file locally. I want to revert it."
A: git checkout myfile.cxx
Resources
Additional information about Git may be obtained at sites listed here.
