Re: Request for clarification on how a contribution to gcc can be made

[Ian Lance Taylor <iant at google dot com>]

Thomas Klein <th.r.klein@web.de> writes:

> To me it looks like that what is described in the online document
> <http://gcc.gnu.org/contribute.html>  is either not correct or is
> being misinterpreted at least by me.
> It's not clear to me at which point the FSF is trusting an individual
> (or organization or company) and why it is mistrusting an individual
> per default.
> Is there a way to suggest a code changes.
> What kind of paper work is required for small code changes and what
> for huge code changes.
> If a potential change is reviewed and accepted by a maintainer, who
> has to commit the change and when are they made.
> (In assumption the person who is asking for a change usually did not
> have svn write permission.)
> A clarification at GCC side would reduce frustration for people like me.

Can you suggest specific items that need to be clarified?  I'm not sure
how to move from your comments to changes in the documentation.

E.g., you say:

> It's not clear to me at which point the FSF is trusting an individual
> (or organization or company) and why it is mistrusting an individual
> per default.

When I look at http://gcc.gnu.org/contribute.html , it seems fairly
clear that there are "Legal Prerequisites" which must be satisfied for
the FSF to trust an individual.  It seems clear that the requirements
come from the FSF, not from the GCC project, and the web page links to
the FSF site for an explanation.

So, while we certainly want to improve the documentation, I think some
more specific suggestions will help us do so.  Thanks.

Ian