Contributors who give frequent and valuable contributions to a subproject of GeoTools can have their status promoted to that of a formal "Committer" to GeoTools.

Responsibilities

A Committer has write access to the whole source code repository which entails certain responsibilities.

• Committers must coordinate their efforts with the maintainers of any modules they wish to modify or extend, i.e. committers need to ask permission. Contact details for each module's maintainer can be found in the source code as part of the pom.xml file or in the Module Matrix. If committers are working in their own module, then they are themselves maintainers of that module and they can do as they wish in that module only.

• Committers are expected to follow GeoTools conventions. They are required to read this developer's guide. Committers are responsible for any code they submit which means they are required to know and correctly document the origin of any code they submit and required to ensure they are legally allowed to submit and share that code.

• Committers are required to submit clean code. Code formatting should follow the project guidelines.

• Committers must not submit data files without prior approval. We want to include only the minimal amount of data necessary, and have that all contained in the sample-data module. If new data is needed in that module, we can add the data there.

Otherwise, Committers have one primordial responsibility:

• Thou shalt not break the build.

This means that all code should be run through a full maven install and test cycle

mvn clean install

prior to commit. Yes, this takes time; yes, it is necessary.

Process

In order for a Contributor to become a Committer, another Committer can nominate that Contributor or the Contributor can ask for Committer status. Once a Contributor is nominated, all existing committers will vote. If there are at least 3 positive votes and no negative votes, the Contributor will be considered a Committer and can gain write access to the source code repository.

GeoTools Contributor Agreement

Geotools has adopted a formal policy as part of the process of joining the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). All new contributors will be required to transfer copyright to the foundation.

Contributors wishing to become Committers must print out a copy of the copyright assignment document and either sign it themselves or have their employer sign the document, depending on the circumstances governing when and where the Contributor develops the code. It is up to the Contributor to understand the legal status of the code which the Contributor produces. The document should be sent to the address on the first page of the document. Any questions should be addressed to the developers' mailing list.

Welcome letter

This is an example offer letter that should be sent to the volunteer after 3 positive votes have been received:

Attachment:

• GeotoolsAssignmentToOSGeo.pdf

Getting write access to the repository

Once we have confirmation that you have sent in the document any GeoTools committer can grant you access to the project:

1. Create an osgeo login id using this page:
   http://www.osgeo.org/osgeo_userid/
2. Send an email with your id to the mailing list (or any GeoTools committer you know) and they can add you using the following link:
   https://www.osgeo.org/cgi-bin/auth/ldap_group.py?group=geotools

For more information on the OSGeo SVN Repository facilities you can visit http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Subversion

Lapses due to Inactivity

At times, Committers may go inactive for a variety of reasons. A Committer who has been inactive for 12 months or more may lose their status as a Committer. Getting access back is as simple as re-requesting it on the project's Developer mailing list.