~launchpad-pqm/launchpad/devel

====================

README for Launchpad

====================

Launchpad is an open source suite of tools that help people and teams to work

together on software projects.  Unlike many open source projects, Launchpad

isn't something you install and run yourself (although you are welcome to do

so), instead, contributors help make <https://launchpad.net> better.

Launchpad is a project of Canonical <http://www.canonical.com> and has

received many contributions from many wonderful people

<https://dev.launchpad.net/Contributions>.

If you want help using Launchpad, then please visit our help wiki at:

    https://help.launchpad.net

If you'd like to contribute to Launchpad, have a look at:

    https://dev.launchpad.net

Alternatively, have a poke around in the code, which you probably already know

how to get if you are reading this file.

Getting started

===============

There's a full guide for getting up-and-running with a development Launchpad

environment at <https://dev.launchpad.net/Getting>.  When you are ready to

submit a patch, please consult <https://dev.launchpad.net/PatchSubmission>.

Our bug tracker is at <https://bugs.launchpad.net/launchpad/> and you can get

the source code any time by doing:

  $ bzr branch lp:launchpad

Navigating the tree

-------------------

The Launchpad tree is big, messy and changing.  Sorry about that.  Don't panic

though, it can sense fear.  Keep a firm grip on `grep` and pay attention to

these important top-level folders:

  bin/, utilities/

    Where you will find scripts intended for developers and admins.  There's

    no rhyme or reason to what goes in bin/ and what goes in utilities/, so

    take a look in both. bin/ will be empty in a fresh checkout, the actual

    content lives in 'buildout-templates'.

  configs/

    Configuration files for various kinds of Launchpad instances.

    'development' and 'testrunner' are of particular interest to developers.

  cronscripts/

    Scripts that are run on actual production instances of Launchpad as

    cronjobs.

  daemons/

    Entry points for various daemons that form part of Launchpad

  database/

    Our database schema, our sample data, and some other stuff that causes

    fear.

  doc/

    General system-wide documentation. You can also find documentation on

    <https://dev.launchpad.net>, in docstrings and in doctests.

  lib/

    Where the vast majority of the code lives, along with our templates, tests

    and the bits of our documentation that are written as doctests. 'lp' and

    'canonical' are the two most interesting packages. Note that 'canonical'

    is deprecated in favour of 'lp'.  To learn more about how the 'lp' package

    is laid out, take a look at its docstring.

  Makefile

    Ahh, bliss.  The Makefile has all sorts of goodies.  If you spend any

    length of time hacking on Launchpad, you'll use it often.  The most

    important targets are 'make clean', 'make compile', 'make schema', 'make

    run' and 'make run_all'.

  scripts/

    Scripts that are run on actual production instances of Launchpad,

    generally triggered by some automatic process.

You can spend years hacking on Launchpad full-time and not know what all of

the files in the top-level directory are for.  However, here's a guide to some

of the ones that come up from time to time.

  buildout-templates/

    Templates that are generated into actual files, normally bin/ scripts,

    when buildout is run. If you want to change the behaviour of bin/test,

    look here.

  bzrplugins/

    Bazaar plugins used in running Launchpad.

  sourcecode/

    A directory into which we symlink branches of some of Launchpad's

    dependencies.  Don't ask.

  zcml/

    Various configuration files for the Zope services. Angels fear to tread.