documentation/tools.md

   1 <!--
   2 This is part of the VimFx documentation.
   3 Copyright Simon Lydell 2015, 2016.
   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 file: `npm run gulp -- xpi`. (Note
  27    that you might need to update `npm` for this to run; try `npm update -g
  28    npm`.)
  29
  30 [Node.js]: http://nodejs.org/
  31 [gulp]: https://github.com/gulpjs/gulp
  32
  33
  34 ## Getting started
  35
  36 ### How to build and install the latest version from source
  37
  38 1. Follow the installation instructions above.
  39
  40 2. Run `npm run gulp -- xpi`.
  41
  42 3. [Open `build/VimFx.xpi` in Firefox][open-xpi].
  43
  44 Note that the built .xpi file is [unsigned].
  45
  46 [open-xpi]: installation.md#how-to-install-an-xpi-file-in-firefox
  47 [unsigned]: installation.md#what-is-a-signed-add-on
  48
  49 ### Development
  50
  51 1. Create a new [Firefox profile] for development.
  52
  53 2. Install the [Extension Auto-Installer] add-on in your development profile.
  54
  55 An easy workflow is code, `gulp`, test, repeat. (Use `gulp -t` to also run the
  56 unit tests.)
  57
  58 If you’re having problems, don’t forget to try `npm update`. Your problem might
  59 be in a dependency and already have been fixed.
  60
  61 [Firefox Profile]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
  62 [Extension Auto-Installer]: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/autoinstaller
  63
  64
  65 ## Gulp tasks
  66
  67 [gulp] is the task runner used to automate most of the common VimFx tasks.
  68
  69 The tasks are defined in [gulpfile.coffee]. They are summarized in the following
  70 sub-sections.
  71
  72 (There are a few more tasks defined in [gulpfile.coffee], but they are only used
  73 internally by other tasks.)
  74
  75 [gulpfile.coffee]: ../gulpfile.coffee
  76
  77 ### Building
  78
  79 - `gulp build` creates the `build/` directory. It is basically a copy of the
  80   `extension/` directory, with some of the files being compiled. For example,
  81   the `.coffee` files compiled to `.js`.
  82
  83 - `gulp xpi` runs `gulp build` and then zips the `build/` directory into
  84   `build/VimFx.xpi`.
  85
  86 - `gulp push` (or just `gulp`) runs `gulp xpi` and then pushes `build/VimFx.xpi`
  87   to `http://localhost:8888`, which causes the [Extension Auto-Installer] to
  88   automatically install it. (No need to restart Firefox.)
  89
  90 - Use the `--test` or `-t` option to include the unit test files. The output of
  91   the tests are `console.log`ed. See the [browser console], or start Firefox
  92   from the command line to see it.
  93
  94 - Use the `--unlisted` or `-u` option to append `-unlisted` to the extension ID.
  95   This is used when adding .xpi files to github releases.
  96
  97 - `gulp clean` removes the `build/` directory.
  98
  99 [browser console]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Browser_Console
 100
 101 ### Management
 102
 103 - `gulp lint` lints all `.coffee` files. There’s also `npm run addons-linter` to
 104   run [`addons-linter`] on a freshly built VimFx .xpi.
 105
 106 - `gulp sloc` prints comment and source code line counts.
 107
 108 - `gulp sync-locales` syncs locales. See the [“Syncing locales”][sync-locales]
 109   section below for more information.
 110
 111 [`addons-linter`]: https://github.com/mozilla/addons-linter/
 112 [sync-locales]: #syncing-locales
 113
 114 ### Helpers
 115
 116 - `gulp faster` compiles `gulpfile.coffee` to `gulpfile.js`. If you run `gulp` a
 117   lot and wish it ran faster, just tell it and it will! You’ll have to remember
 118   to re-run it whenever gulpfile.coffee is updated, though.
 119
 120 - `gulp help.html` dumps VimFx’s Keyboard Shortcuts help dialog into
 121   `help.html`. You can then open up `help.html` in Firefox and style it live
 122   using the Style Editor! You can even press the “Save” button when done to save
 123   your changes!
 124
 125 ### Release
 126
 127 See the [“Making a release”][release] section below for more information.
 128
 129 - `gulp release` tags things with a new version number.
 130
 131 - `gulp changelog` prints changelog entries from `CHANGELOG.md` as HTML to
 132   stdout.
 133
 134 - `gulp readme` prints `README.md` as HTML to stdout.
 135
 136 Tip: Add `--silent` at the end of the gulp command to suppress gulp’s standard
 137 progress output, allowing to pipe stdout to the clipboard.
 138
 139 [release]: #making-a-release
 140
 141
 142 ## Syncing locales
 143
 144 This is usually not done by translators, but by developers who change, add or
 145 remove features that involves localized text.
 146
 147 If you add, remove or reorder translations in a file, do so in _one_ of the
 148 locales (one that is easy for you to test—but always write new translations in
 149 English!). If you modified the en-US locale, run `gulp sync-locales --en-US` (or
 150 just `gulp sync-locales`). Substitute “en-US” with a locale of choice if needed.
 151 That rewrites all other locales so that:
 152
 153 - Old translations are removed.
 154 - New translations are added (in English).
 155 - All translations appear in the same order.
 156
 157 If you modify an existing translation in a file and want to update all other
 158 locales to use the new wording:
 159
 160 - If possible, edit all other locales by hand to save as much translated text as
 161   possible.
 162
 163 - Otherwise:
 164
 165   1. Before modifying existing translations, copy the file in question and add
 166      the extension `.old` to the filename. For example, copy a
 167      `vimfx.properties` file to `vimfx.properties.old`.
 168   2. Make your modifications (in for example `vimfx.properties`, leaving
 169      `vimfx.properties.old` intact).
 170   3. Run `gulp sync-locales`. It does the same thing as before, except that if a
 171      translation has changed compared to an `.old`-file, the newly changed
 172      translation is used in all locales, replacing what was there before.
 173   4. Remove the `.old`-file.
 174
 175 Note that `gulp sync-locales` requires every translation to be in a single line.
 176 In other words, do not line-wrap translations. Also don’t bother adding comments
 177 when translating locale files, since they’ll likely be removed by `gulp
 178 sync-locales`.
 179
 180 If you run `gulp sync-locales` with “en-US” as the base locale, a report is
 181 printed telling how complete all other locales are. Add `--sv-SE?` (note the
 182 question mark) to restrict the report to the “sv-SE” locale (you can of course
 183 substitute with any other locale). In that case, every line (including line
 184 number) that don’t differ compared to “en-US” is also be printed.
 185
 186
 187 ## Making a release
 188
 189 Before making a release, it might be wise to:
 190
 191 - Run `npm update` and/or `npm outdated` to see if there are any updates to
 192   dependencies. Investigate what’s new and test!
 193 - Run `gulp sync-locales` to make sure that no translation has been left behind.
 194 - Inspect the `build/` directory to see that nothing strange has been included
 195   or generated by `gulp build`.
 196
 197 Steps:
 198
 199 1. Add a list of changes since the last version at the top of `CHANGELOG.md`.
 200
 201 2. Update the version in `package.json` ([versioning guidelines]), the minimum
 202    Firefox version (if needed) and the maximum Firefox version (ideally to the
 203    latest nightly). See [valid Firefox versions].
 204
 205 3. Run `gulp release`, which does the following for you:
 206
 207   - Adds a heading with the new version number and today’s date at the top of
 208     CHANGELOG.md.
 209   - Commits CHANGELOG.md and package.json.
 210   - Tags the commit.
 211
 212 4. Run `gulp xpi` to rebuild with the new version number.
 213
 214 5. Try the just build version, just to be sure.
 215
 216 6. Publish on addons.mozilla.org. Add the release notes list as HTML. `gulp
 217    changelog` prints the latest changelog entry as HTML. `gulp changelog -2`
 218    prints the latest two (etc). The latter is useful if publishing a new version
 219    before the last published version had been reviewed; then the new version
 220    should contain both changelog entries.
 221
 222 7. Push to github. Don’t forget to push the tag! (It’s better to do this after
 223    the publish on addons.mozilla.org, because sometimes its validator complains.
 224    This saves some commits.)
 225
 226 8. Make a “release” out of the new tag on github, and attach an .xpi to it:
 227
 228    1. Create the .xpi by running `gulp xpi --unlisted`.
 229    2. Sign it on AMO.
 230    3. Attach to the release.
 231
 232 The idea is to use the contents of `README.md` as the add-on description on
 233 addons.mozilla.org. You can print it as HTML by running `gulp readme`.
 234
 235 [versioning guidelines]: CONTRIBUTING_CODE.md#versioning-and-branches
 236 [valid Firefox versions]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/pages/appversions/