documentation/tools.md

   1 <!--
   2 This is part of the VimFx documentation.
   3 Copyright Simon Lydell 2015.
   4 See the file README.md for copying conditions.
   5 -->
   6
   7 # Tools
   8
   9 This section describes how to install and use the tools needed to:
  10
  11 - Build VimFx from source
  12 - Lint code
  13 - Sync locales
  14 - Prepare releases
  15
  16
  17 ## Installation
  18
  19 1. Install [Node.js].
  20
  21 2. Run `npm install` to download dependencies and development dependencies.
  22
  23 3. Optional: Run `npm install -g gulp` to be able to run [`gulp`][gulp] tasks.
  24
  25    If you prefer not to install gulp globally, you can use `npm run gulp`
  26    instead. For example, to create an `.xpi`: `npm run gulp -- xpi`. (Note that
  27    you might need to update `npm` for this to run; try `npm update -g npm`.)
  28
  29 [Node.js]: http://nodejs.org/
  30 [gulp]: https://github.com/gulpjs/gulp
  31
  32 ## Getting started
  33
  34 ### How to build and install the latest version from source
  35
  36 1. Follow the installation instructions above.
  37
  38 2. Run `npm run gulp -- xpi`.
  39
  40 3. Install `build/VimFx.xpi` in Firefox by doing one of the following:
  41
  42    - Dragging and dropping it.
  43    - Pressing ctrl+o and choosing it.
  44    - Using “Install from file…” in the top-right menu in the Add-ons Manager.
  45
  46 ### Development
  47
  48 1. Create a new [Firefox profile] for development.
  49
  50 2. Install the [Extension Auto-Installer] add-on in your development profile.
  51
  52 An easy workflow is code, `gulp`, test, repeat. (Use `gulp -t` to also run the
  53 unit tests.)
  54
  55 If you’re having problems, don’t forget to try `npm update`. Your problem might
  56 be in a dependency and already have been fixed.
  57
  58 [Firefox Profile]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
  59 [Extension Auto-Installer]: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/autoinstaller
  60
  61
  62 ## Gulp tasks
  63
  64 [gulp] is the task runner used to automate most of the common VimFx tasks.
  65
  66 The tasks are defined in [gulpfile.coffee]. They are summarized in the follwing
  67 sub-sections.
  68
  69 (There are a few more tasks defined in [gulpfile.coffee], but they are only used
  70 internally by other tasks.)
  71
  72 [gulpfile.coffee]: ../gulpfile.coffee
  73
  74 ### Building
  75
  76 - `gulp build` creates the `build/` directory. It is basically a copy of the
  77   `extension/` directory, with some of the files being compiled. For example,
  78   the `.coffee` files compiled to `.js`.
  79
  80 - `gulp xpi` runs `gulp build` and then zips the `build/` directory into
  81   `build/VimFx.xpi`.
  82
  83 - `gulp push` (or just `gulp`) runs `gulp xpi` and then pushes `build/VimFx.xpi`
  84   to `http://localhost:8888`, which causes the [Extension Auto-Installer] to
  85   automatically install it. (No need to restart Firefox.)
  86
  87 - Use the `--test` or `-t` option to include the unit test files. The output of
  88   the tests are `console.log`ed. See the browser console, or start Firefox from
  89   the command line to see it.
  90
  91 - `gulp clean` removes the `build/` directory.
  92
  93 ### Management
  94
  95 - `gulp lint` lints all `.coffee` files.
  96
  97 - `gulp sloc` prints comment and source code line counts.
  98
  99 - `gulp sync-locales` syncs locales. See the [“Syncing locales”][sync-locales]
 100   section below for more information.
 101
 102 [sync-locales]: #syncing-locales
 103
 104 ### Helpers
 105
 106 - `gulp faster` compiles `gulpfile.coffee` to `gulpfile.js`. If you run `gulp` a
 107   lot and wish it ran faster, just tell it and it will! You’ll have to remember
 108   to re-run it whenever gulpfile.coffee is updated, though.
 109
 110 - `gulp help.html` dumps VimFx’s Keyboard Shortcuts dialog into `help.html`. You
 111   can then open up `help.html` in Firefox and style it live using the Style
 112   Editor! You can even press the “Save” button when done to save your changes!
 113
 114 ### Release
 115
 116 See the [“Making a release”][release] section below for more information.
 117
 118 - `gulp release` tags things with a new version number.
 119
 120 - `gulp changelog` prints changelog entries from `CHANGELOG.md` as HTML to
 121   stdout.
 122
 123 - `gulp readme` prints `README.md` as HTML to stdout.
 124
 125 [release]: #making-a-release
 126
 127
 128 ## Syncing locales
 129
 130 This is usually not done by translators, but by developers who change, add or
 131 remove features that involves localized text.
 132
 133 If you add, remove or reorder translations in a file, do so in _one_ of the
 134 locales (one that is easy for you to test—but always write new translations in
 135 English!). If you modified the en-US locale, run `gulp sync-locales --en-US` (or
 136 just `gulp sync-locales`). Substitute “en-US” with a locale of choice if needed.
 137 That rewrites all other locales so that:
 138
 139 - Old translations are removed.
 140 - New translations are added (in English).
 141 - All translations appear in the same order.
 142
 143 If you modify an existing translation in a file and want to update all other
 144 locales to use the new wording:
 145
 146 - If possible, edit all other locales by hand to save as much translated text as
 147   possible.
 148
 149 - Otherwise:
 150
 151   1. Before modifying existing translations, copy the file in question and add
 152      the extension `.old` to the filename. For example, copy a
 153      `vimfx.properties` file to `vimfx.properties.old`.
 154   2. Make your modifications (in for example `vimfx.properties`, leaving
 155      `vimfx.properties.old` intact).
 156   3. Run `gulp sync-locales`. It does the same thing as before, except that if a
 157      translation has changed compared to an `.old`-file, the newly changed
 158      translation is used in all locales, replacing what was there before.
 159   4. Remove the `.old`-file.
 160
 161 Note that `gulp sync-locales` requires every translation to be in a single line.
 162 In other words, do not line-wrap translations. Also don’t bother adding comments
 163 when translating locale files, since they’ll likely be removed by `gulp
 164 sync-locales`.
 165
 166
 167 ## Making a release
 168
 169 Before making a release, it might be wise to:
 170
 171 - Run `npm update` and/or `npm outdated` to see if there are any updates to
 172   dependencies. Investigate what’s new and test!
 173 - Run `gulp sync-locales` to make sure that no translation has been left behind.
 174 - Inspect the `build/` directory to see that nothing strange has been included
 175   or generated by `gulp build`.
 176
 177 Steps:
 178
 179 1. Add a list of changes since the last version at the top of `CHANGELOG.md`.
 180
 181 2. Update the version in `package.json` (see `CONTRIBUTING-CODE.md` about
 182    versioning), the minimum Firefox version (if needed) and the maximum Firefox
 183    version (ideally to the latest nightly). See [valid Firefox versions].
 184
 185 3. Run `gulp release`, which does the following for you:
 186
 187   - Adds a heading with the new version number and today’s date at the top of
 188     CHANGELOG.md.
 189   - Commits CHANGELOG.md and package.json.
 190   - Tags the commit.
 191
 192 4. Run `gulp xpi` to rebuild with the new version number.
 193
 194 5. Push to github. Don’t forget to push the tag!
 195
 196 6. Make a “release” out of the new tag on github, and attach VimFx.xpi to it.
 197
 198 7. Publish on addons.mozilla.org. Add the release notes list as HTML. `gulp
 199    changelog` prints the latest changelog entry as HTML. `gulp changelog -2`
 200    prints the latest two (etc). The latter is useful if publishing a new version
 201    before the last published version had been reviewed; then the new version
 202    should contain both changelog entries.
 203
 204 The idea is to use the contents of `README.md` as the add-on descripton on
 205 addons.mozilla.org. You can print it as HTML by runnning `gulp readme`.
 206
 207 [valid Firefox versions]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/pages/appversions/