#LyX 2.2 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/ \lyxformat 504 \begin_document \begin_header \save_transient_properties true \origin /systemlyxdir/doc/ \textclass scrartcl \options BCOR8mm,captions=tableheading \use_default_options false \begin_modules logicalmkup \end_modules \maintain_unincluded_children false \language english \language_package default \inputencoding auto \fontencoding global \font_roman "lmodern" "default" \font_sans "lmss" "default" \font_typewriter "lmtt" "default" \font_math "auto" "auto" \font_default_family default \use_non_tex_fonts false \font_sc false \font_osf false \font_sf_scale 100 100 \font_tt_scale 100 100 \graphics default \default_output_format pdf2 \output_sync 0 \bibtex_command default \index_command default \paperfontsize 12 \spacing single \use_hyperref true \pdf_title "LyX's Development manual" \pdf_author "LyX Team" \pdf_subject "LyX's development documentation" \pdf_keywords "LyX, Documentation, Development" \pdf_bookmarks true \pdf_bookmarksnumbered true \pdf_bookmarksopen true \pdf_bookmarksopenlevel 1 \pdf_breaklinks false \pdf_pdfborder false \pdf_colorlinks true \pdf_backref false \pdf_pdfusetitle false \pdf_quoted_options "linkcolor=black, citecolor=black, urlcolor=blue, filecolor=blue, pdfpagelayout=OneColumn, pdfnewwindow=true, pdfstartview=XYZ, plainpages=false" \papersize a4paper \use_geometry false \use_package amsmath 1 \use_package amssymb 1 \use_package cancel 0 \use_package esint 0 \use_package mathdots 1 \use_package mathtools 0 \use_package mhchem 1 \use_package stackrel 0 \use_package stmaryrd 0 \use_package undertilde 0 \cite_engine basic \cite_engine_type default \biblio_style plain \use_bibtopic false \use_indices false \paperorientation portrait \suppress_date false \justification true \use_refstyle 0 \notefontcolor #0000ff \index Index \shortcut idx \color #008000 \end_index \secnumdepth 4 \tocdepth 4 \paragraph_separation indent \paragraph_indentation default \quotes_language english \papercolumns 1 \papersides 2 \paperpagestyle headings \tracking_changes false \output_changes false \html_math_output 0 \html_css_as_file 0 \html_be_strict true \end_header \begin_body \begin_layout Title Developing \SpecialChar LyX \end_layout \begin_layout Subtitle Version 2.2.x \end_layout \begin_layout Author by the \SpecialChar LyX Team \begin_inset Foot status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \noindent If you have comments or error corrections, please send them to the \SpecialChar LyX Documentatio n mailing list, \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \noindent \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset CommandInset toc LatexCommand tableofcontents \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Section Introduction \end_layout \begin_layout Standard This manual documents some aspects of \SpecialChar LyX development. It is currently rather incomplete, but will hopefully be extended in the future. Meanwhile, additional information can be found in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout development \end_layout \end_inset subfolder of the \SpecialChar LyX source code distribution. This document is not translated, since the development language of \SpecialChar LyX is English. If you want to use \SpecialChar LyX you don't need to read this manual. However, if you want to learn more about how \SpecialChar LyX is developed, or even want to participate in \SpecialChar LyX development, you may find some interesting information. \end_layout \begin_layout Section File formats \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \SpecialChar LyX uses several custom file formats for configuration files and documents. This chapter contains some background concerning these file formats. Several file formats are also described in detail in the regular user documenta tion. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection File Format Numbers \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection When is an update of the .lyx file format number needed? \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "sec:When-is-an" \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard When you are working on a new feature you may ask yourself whether it needs an update of the .lyx file format number. Whether an update is needed or not is not always obvious. Below you can find a list of reasons for file format updates with explanations: \end_layout \begin_layout Description New \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset document \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset setting Whenever you introduce a new setting that is stored in the document header, a file format update is needed. This is also true if you add a new valid value to an existing setting, e. \begin_inset space \thinspace{} \end_inset g. \begin_inset space \space{} \end_inset a new language that is stored in \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \backslash language \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Description Removed \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset document \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset setting If a certain setting becomes obsolete and gets removed, a file format update is needed. \end_layout \begin_layout Description New \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset inset Of course a new inset requires a file format update. \end_layout \begin_layout Description New \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset style in any layout file or module shipped with \SpecialChar LyX , or new shipped layout file or module. These requirements are currently under discussion and might change in the future. \end_layout \begin_layout Description Automatically \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset loaded \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset math \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset package Any new math package that is automatically loaded needs a file format update. The reason for this is that there is no true ERT inset for math formulas: Each command is parsed, and if a user happens to define a local command with the same name as a command that triggers an automatic load of a package, he needs to be able to switch off the automatic loading of that package. This switch is stored by the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout use_package \end_layout \end_inset header setting. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard If you are still unsure, please ask on the development list. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection How to update the file format number of .lyx files \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "subsec:update_lyx_files" \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Once you came to the conclusion that a file format update is needed you should use the following procedure to perform the update: \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Implement and test the new feature, including the reading and writing of .lyx files. Note that any file produced at this stage does not use a valid format, so do not use this version of \SpecialChar LyX for working on any important documents. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Describe the new format in \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout development/FORMAT \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Update the \SpecialChar LyX file format number in \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/version.h \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Update the range of file formats in the array \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout format_relation \end_layout \end_inset in \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout lib/lyx2lyx/LyX.py \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Add an entry to both format lists (for conversion and reversion) in \begin_inset Newline newline \end_inset \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout lib/lyx2lyx/lyx_2_2.py \end_layout \end_inset . Add a conversion routine if needed (e. \begin_inset space \thinspace{} \end_inset g. \begin_inset space \space{} \end_inset a new header setting always needs a conversion that adds the new setting, a new document language does not need one). Add a reversion routine if needed. While the conversion routine is required to produce a document that is equivalent to the old version, the requirements of the reversion are not that strict. If possible, try to produce a proper reversion, using ERT if needed, but for some features this might be too complicated. In this case, the minimum requirement of the reversion routine is that it produces a valid document which can be read by an older \SpecialChar LyX . If absolutely needed, even data loss is allowed for the reversion. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Since tex2lyx has several implicit file format dependencies caused by sharing code with \SpecialChar LyX , updating the file format of .lyx files produced by tex2lyx at the same time as updating the main .lyx file format is strongly recommended. Therefore, a compiler warning will be issued if the \SpecialChar LyX and tex2lyx .lyx file format numbers differ. In many cases the tex2lyx update requires only the first and last item of the list below: \begin_inset Separator parbreak \end_inset \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Enumerate Update the tex2lyx file format number in \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/version.h \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate If the lyx2lyx conversion from the old to the new format is empty, or if tex2lyx does not yet output the changed feature, you do not need any further tex2lyx changes. Otherwise, search for the changed feature in tex2lyx, and adjust the output according to the lyx2lyx changes. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Update the tex2lyx test references as described in \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand formatted reference "sec:Updating-test-references" \end_inset . \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Enumerate If you did not implement full tex2lyx support of the new feature, add a line to \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/TODO.txt \end_layout \end_inset describing the missing bits. Note that it is perfectly fine if you do not add full tex2lyx support for a new feature: The updating recommendation above is only issued for the syntax of the produced .lyx file. It is no problem if some features supported by \SpecialChar LyX are still output as ERT by tex2lyx, since the problems in the past that resulted in the update recommendation were related to mixed version syntax, not ERT. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate It would be nice if you could create a .lyx test file which contains instances of all changed or added features. This could then be used to test lyx2lyx and tex2lyx. Unfortunately it has not yet been decided how to collect such examples, so please ask on the development list if you want to create one. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "enu:updatefiles" \end_inset Update LyX's .lyx documentation files to the new format. The developer who makes the change knows best what changes to expect when inspecting the resulting diff. Because of this, you might be able to catch a bug in the lyx2lyx code that updates the format just by taking a quick scan through the large diff that is the result \begin_inset Note Note status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout Another advantage is that if later we suspect a bug in lyx2lyx we can easily see which layout update made an unexpected change by looking at the git log of a .lyx file that suffers the problem. \end_layout \end_inset . To do this, first make sure that there are no changes to the git repository that you will not want to commit (this is needed because it will be convenient to commit with the command \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout git commit -a \end_layout \end_inset ). Then run the following command in the root folder of the source: \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout python development/tools/updatedocs.py \end_layout \end_inset . Then, revert the change to \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout LFUNs.lyx \end_layout \end_inset because that file is meant to be generated separately: \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout git checkout lib/doc/LFUNs.lyx \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Note Note status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout TODO: this step should be done within updatedocs.py \end_layout \end_inset . Look at the resulting changes using the command \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout git diff \end_layout \end_inset . If anything looks surprising, please investigate. Finally, commit using \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout git commit -a \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection Updating the file format number of layout files \end_layout \begin_layout Standard See step \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "enu:updatefiles" \end_inset in section \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "subsec:update_lyx_files" \end_inset but instead of the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout updatedocs.py \end_layout \end_inset command, use this command: \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout python development/tools/updatelayouts.py \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Note that we do not update the local layout of our \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout .lyx \end_layout \end_inset files because users would then not be able to export to older formats. For example, if a 2.2.0 user exported a template to 2.1.x format and tried to open the file in LyX 2.1.x, there would be an error because the file would contain a local layout whose format is too new. The root reason for this is that we do not support converting layouts to older layout formats, as we do for the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout .lyx \end_layout \end_inset file format. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection Updating the file format number of bind/ui files \end_layout \begin_layout Standard See step \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "enu:updatefiles" \end_inset in section \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "subsec:update_lyx_files" \end_inset but instead of the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout updatedocs.py \end_layout \end_inset command, use this command: \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout bash development/tools/updatelfuns.sh \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection Backporting new styles to the stable version \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Starting with the stable \SpecialChar LyX 2.1 branch, there is a mechanism in place to backport new styles to the stable version without the need to update the file format. The basic idea is that the new style definition is automatically copied to the document preamble, so that it can even be used by older minor revisions that did not yet include the style. To backport a new style to the stable version, the following steps are needed: \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Add the line \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ForceLocal -1 \end_layout \end_inset to the style definition in the development version. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Copy the style definition to the stable version, but use \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ForceLocal 1 \end_layout \end_inset instead. If needed adjust the format to the one used by the stable version (see the customization manual for details of the layout file format). \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate For each update of the style in a later stable version, increase the argument of \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ForceLocal \end_layout \end_inset by one (in the stable version, the development version should not be touched). \end_layout \begin_layout Standard For details about the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ForceLocal \end_layout \end_inset flag see the customization manual. No \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout lyx2lyx \end_layout \end_inset support is needed for backported styles: Since the style of the development version has an infinite version number, it will always be used. Furthermore, since its version number is less than one, the style will not be written anymore to the document header for files saved by the new version. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Newpage newpage \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Section Tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Automated tests are an important tool to detect bugs and regressions in software development. Some projects like gcc even require each bug fix to be accompanied by a test case for the automatic test suite, that would detect this bug. Testing interactive features automatically is of course very hard, but core functionality like document import and export can be tested quite easily, and some tests of this kind exist. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection unit tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard There are attempts to set up a suite of unit tests for LyX. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard TODO: describe what is done and what is still to do. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection tex2lyx tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The tex2lyx tests are located in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test \end_layout \end_inset subfolder of the \SpecialChar LyX source code distribution. The actual testing is performed by the simple python script \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test/runtests.py \end_layout \end_inset . Each test consists of two files: \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout .tex \end_layout \end_inset contains the \SpecialChar LaTeX code that should be tested. \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout .lyx.lyx \end_layout \end_inset contains the expected output of tex2lyx. When a test is run, the actual produced output is compared with the stored reference output. The test passes if both are identical. The test machinery is also able to generate a file \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout .lyx.tex \end_layout \end_inset by exporting the produced .lyx file with \SpecialChar LyX again. This may be useful for roundtrip comparisons. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection Running the tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The tex2lyx tests can be run in several ways. When in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx \end_layout \end_inset subfolder of the build directory, the commands \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest \end_layout \end_inset (cmake, all platforms), \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout make test \end_layout \end_inset (cmake, when using a make based build system and not MSVC) or \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout make alltests \end_layout \end_inset (autotools) will run the tex2lyx tests. Alternatively, in the root of the build directory, the command \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -R tex2lyx \end_layout \end_inset runs all tests whose names match the regex \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset tex2lyx \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset . Another way to run the tex2lyx tests in the root build directory is to instead use the command \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -L '(cmplyx|roundtrip)' \end_layout \end_inset , which runs all tests categorized with the label \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset roundtrip \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset or \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset cmplyx \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset . If a test fails, the differences between the expected and actual results are output in unified diff format. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection Updating test references \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "sec:Updating-test-references" \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard In some cases a changed tex2lyx output is not a test failure, but wanted, e. \begin_inset space \thinspace{} \end_inset g. \begin_inset space \space{} \end_inset if a tex2lyx bug was fixed, or a new feature was added. In these cases the stored references need to be updated. To do so if using autotools, call \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout make updatetests \end_layout \end_inset in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx \end_layout \end_inset subdirectory of the build directory. If instead using CMake, call \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout make updatetex2lyxtests \end_layout \end_inset in the build directory or in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test \end_layout \end_inset subdirectory of the build directory. \begin_inset Foot status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout Note that this is a case where a make target in the build directory can affect the source directory, which might not be advisable. \end_layout \end_inset On Windows do the following: \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize Assure that the path to the python.exe is in your system PATH variable. \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize Double-click on the file \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout updatetex2lyxtests.vcxproj \end_layout \end_inset in the build directory or in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test \end_layout \end_inset subdirectory of your build directory. \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize In the appearing MSVC program right-click on the project \family sans updatetex2lyxtests \family default in the project explorer and chose \family sans Create \family default . \end_layout \begin_layout Standard For convenience, these commands also produce re-exported roundtrip .lyx.tex files. Please examine the changed output carefully before committing the changed files to the repository: Since the test machinery does not do a roundtrip test .tex \begin_inset Formula $\Rightarrow$ \end_inset .lyx \begin_inset Formula $\Rightarrow$ \end_inset .tex, and does not compare the produced dvi or pdf output, it assumes that the stored .lyx reference produces correct output if processed by \SpecialChar LyX . There is only one chance to detect wrong output: before committing a new reference. Once it is committed, it is quite difficult to verify whether it is correct. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Please \emph on do not \emph default update the test references by opening them with \SpecialChar LyX or directly running lyx2lyx on them. This would not work, since lyx2lyx and \SpecialChar LyX produce slightly different files regarding insignificant whitespace and line breaks. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection Adding a new test \end_layout \begin_layout Standard In many cases tests for new features may be added to one of the existing test files, but sometimes this is not possible or not wanted. Then a new test file needs to be added: \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Create the new file \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test/.tex \end_layout \end_inset and run tex2lyx in roundtrip mode to produce the file \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test/.lyx.lyx \end_layout \end_inset . This file will be the new reference. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Once you confirmed that the tex2lyx output is correct, add the new files to the corresponding lists in \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test/runtests.py \end_layout \end_inset , \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/Makefile.am \end_layout \end_inset and \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout src/tex2lyx/test/CMakeLists.txt \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Commit the changes to the repository, or send a patch to the development list and ask for committing if you do not have commit rights. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection ctest automatic tests (cmake only) \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Some tests are located in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout development/autotests \end_layout \end_inset subfolder of the \SpecialChar LyX source code distribution. \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout cmake \end_layout \end_inset is required to run the automatic \SpecialChar LyX tests, running them is not implemented for autotools. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The \SpecialChar LyX tests can be run by the commands \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest \end_layout \end_inset (all platforms) or \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout make test \end_layout \end_inset (when using a make based build system and not MSVC) in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout autotests \end_layout \end_inset subfolder of the build directory. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection Export tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The export tests are integration tests. They take longer to run and are more likely to break than the tex2lyx tests. Nevertheless, they have caught many regressions and without a better alternativ e it is important to keep them up-to-date and understand how they work. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The export tests \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset reuse \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset documentation, template, and example files trying to export them to all supported output formats. In addition, there are a number of dedicated sample documents under \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout autotests/export/ \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Paragraph Expectations of LyX developers \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Because the export tests are integration tests and take a long time to run, LyX developers are rarely expected to run all of the tests. Here are some good practices to follow by developers: \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize When making a non-trivial change to a .layout file, run the export and layout tests corresponding with that .layout file. \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize When making non-trivial changes to a .lyx file, run the export tests correspondin g to that .lyx file. \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize When making non-trivial changes to LyX's \SpecialChar LaTeX export code (e.g. touching the encoding code or package handling code that you expect will change the exported \SpecialChar LaTeX in some way): \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard \paragraph_spacing single Consider running all of the export tests before and after your change. If there are differences, please reconcile these (i.e. fix the bug or fix the tests) \emph on before \emph default committing. Ask for help if you're not sure what to. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard If you do not want to run the tests, \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize post the patch on the list and others will run the tests and eventually ask for fixes, or \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize commit, but be prepared to fix eventually arising problems or to revert the commit if there is no easy fix. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Itemize Understand how to interpret test failures. If your commit is found to have broken a test, you should be able to interpret the test results when made aware of them. See Section \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "subsec:Interpreting-export-tests" \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Paragraph \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "par:Configuring-ctests" \end_inset Configuring the tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard To enable the export autotests, add the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -DLYX_ENABLE_EXPORT_TESTS=ON \end_layout \end_inset flag. For example: \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout cmake -DLYX_ENABLE_EXPORT_TESTS=ON /path/to/source \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \noindent This flag will increase the time for the cmake command by several seconds, mainly because of the process of inverting tests (see Section \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "subsec:Interpreting-export-tests" \end_inset ). \end_layout \begin_layout Paragraph Running the tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard To run all tests, in the build directory simply run the command \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Standard To run only some of the tests, use command line options: \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -R \end_layout \end_inset Run only the tests whose names match the given regular expression. \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -L \end_layout \end_inset Run only the tests whose labels match the given regular expression. A test may have more that one label. \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard For example, to run only the export tests, you can use \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -L export \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -E \end_layout \end_inset Exclude the tests whose names match the given regular expression. \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -LE \end_layout \end_inset Exclude the tests whose labels match the given regular expression. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The following options help to find good selection patterns: \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -N \end_layout \end_inset List the tests that would be run but not actually run them. \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard Useful in conjunction with the -R, -L, -E and -LE options, e.g., if you want to know how many tests there are or whether your \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset regular expression did what you expected. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \SpecialChar nobreakdash \SpecialChar nobreakdash print-labels \end_layout \end_inset print the list of all labels associated with the test set. Can also be combined with -R, -L, -E, ... \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Other relevant options are: \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -j \end_layout \end_inset Run the tests in parallel using the given number of jobs. \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard We are still working on getting the tests to run in parallel. However, when running the tests in parallel, sometimes tests fail that pass when run sequentially. A reasonable approach is to first run the tests in parallel and then run the failed tests sequentially. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard For example, to run 8 jobs at a time: \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -j8 \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest \SpecialChar nobreakdash \SpecialChar nobreakdash rerun-failed \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \noindent Note that some tests cannot be run in parallel. These tests are marked in the code with the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \noindent RUN_SERIAL ON \end_layout \end_inset CMake property. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring -R \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \SpecialChar nobreakdash \SpecialChar nobreakdash timeout \end_layout \end_inset Set a global timeout on all tests that do not already have a timeout set on them. \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard There have been bugs in LyX and in \SpecialChar LaTeX which cause compilation to hang, and without a timeout a test might never stop (in one case there was even a memory leak). If a test times out, the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest \end_layout \end_inset command exits with error, but you can distinguish between a timed out test and a failed test in the output reported at the end of the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest \end_layout \end_inset command. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Standard See the manual ( \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout man ctest \end_layout \end_inset ) the full list of command line options. \end_layout \begin_layout Paragraph \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "subsec:Interpreting-export-tests" \end_inset Interpreting the export test results \end_layout \begin_layout Standard A test can fail for several reasons, not all of them bad. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate The .lyx file could have been added recently and some formats are not expected to work well. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate A dependency is not met (e.g. the \SpecialChar LaTeX class file). One hint that this is the case is that the corresponding \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout check_load \end_layout \end_inset test will likely also fail. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate An inverted test fails to fail (i.e. export that previously failed now works). \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate An external dependency was updated (e.g. \SpecialChar TeX Live). \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate A recent code change introduced a bug. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "enu:exposed" \end_inset A change in a document exposed a previously unknown bug or an incompatibility with an export format (e.g. Lua\SpecialChar LaTeX ). \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Because the .lyx files are exported in several formats, it is not surprising that many of the exports fail. This expectation of failure is addressed by \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset inverting \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset the tests, that is, by marking the test as \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset passing \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset if the export exits with error and as \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset failing \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset if the export succeeds \emph on . \emph default It follows that these expected failures will not show up as failed tests in the test results and thus will not pollute the \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset good \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset tests. If the export actually succeeds, then the test will fail. The purpose of this failure is to get your attention—something has changed, possibly for the better. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard We try to document why a test is inverted or ignored. See the comment (prefixed with \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout # \end_layout \end_inset ) above the block in which the test is listed as inverted or ignored in the files \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout development/autotests/suspiciousTests \end_layout \end_inset and \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout development/autotests/ignoredTests \end_layout \end_inset . It is possible that an export goes from succeeding to failing just because the document was changed and the document was never expected to work with a certain export format in the first case. Once this is confirmed to be the situation, the test can be inverted. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard A good question is why do we enable the tests for non-default formats? The answer is that if a non-default route is broken it is often because a bug was introduced in LyX and not because a document-specific change was made that is not supported by the route. In other words, there is a high signal/noise ratio in the export tests for some non-default formats. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard What action should you take if a test fails? This depends: \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Generally, if a change breaks compilation for the target format (for the manuals pdf2) without solving some important other issue, fix or revert the commit that led to failure. If a change breaks compilation for some non-target format (for the manuals everything except pdf2), invert the test. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard A special case is given, if the export was succeeding before but showing garbled text in the PDF output. Try to establish, that when the compilation succeeded before the resulting PDF was good. Otherwise, it is in fact an improvement when a test fails. Now it might fail with a clear message of "language xyz not supported". It is always good to check manually why something fails and if it passes if the PDF output is good. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Sometimes a test is fixed as side-effect of some change. We should uninvert a test (remove it from the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout suspiciousTests \end_layout \end_inset file) in order to preserve the fix. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard When a test or several tests fail, consider checking the files in the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout Testing/Temporary/ \end_layout \end_inset subdirectory of your build directory. In this subdirectory are three files: the file \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout LastTestsFailed.log \end_layout \end_inset simply lists the tests that failed on your last \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest \end_layout \end_inset command; the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout LastTest.log \end_layout \end_inset file contains the output from the tests (and often has details explaining why a test failed); and the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout CTestCostData.txt \end_layout \end_inset file lists the times that it took to run the tests. \end_layout \begin_layout Paragraph Inverted tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard These tests fail if the export does \emph on not \emph default return an error. \end_layout \begin_layout Description inverted Export fails, but the test cases are subject to be examined. It is expected that the export will work in a foreseeable future. They are labeled 'inverted'. \end_layout \begin_layout Description suspended Some inverted tests are labeled 'suspended'. This means, they are not executed using \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -L export \end_layout \end_inset or \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -L inverted \end_layout \end_inset . From time to time they still have to be checked using \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -L suspended \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard These tests are suspended, because the export fails for known reasons which cannot ATM be resolved. But it is expected the reason might disappear in the future. Be it new TL or better handling in \SpecialChar LyX . \end_layout \begin_layout Standard For ctest commands without the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -L \end_layout \end_inset parameter nothing changes. Suspended or not, tests will be executed depending only on the regexes parameters given to the ctest command. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Paragraph Unreliable tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard These tests are not executed using \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -L export \end_layout \end_inset or \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout ctest -L inverted \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Standard They pass or fail for various reasons not related to LyX (nonstandard, erratic) or pass but should rather fail (wrong output). \end_layout \begin_layout Description nonstandard Documents with additional requirements, e.g. a class or package file not on CTAN. \begin_inset Note Note status open \begin_layout Plain Layout TODO: rename to "extra"? \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard These tests are labeled as \family typewriter 'nonstandard'. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Description erratic Tests depending on local configuration, OS, TeX distribution, package versions, or the phase of the moon. \begin_inset Note Note status open \begin_layout Plain Layout TODO: use \emph on erratic \emph default only for the phase-of-moon dependency. \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard These tests are labeled as \family typewriter 'erratic'. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Description wrong \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset output Export does not fail but the resulting document has errors. \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Standard \paragraph_spacing single These tests are actually not \emph on unreliable \emph default but \emph on invalid \emph default (not measuring what they should measure). \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Paragraph Export test filtering \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The assignment of a label to a test is controlled by a set of files with regular expressions that are matched against the test names. \end_layout \begin_layout Description ignoredTests (small file) \begin_inset Newline newline \end_inset Tests selected here are withdrawn in the configuration step (cf. \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "par:Configuring-ctests" \end_inset ). \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Input Test of any export combination \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Output Stop if tests not selected here \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Description unreliableTests: Tests selected either pass or fail, but that is dependent on the system where the test is run. Selected tests gain the label 'unreliable'. \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Input Each test which passed 'ignoredTests' \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Output Stop if test selected, gain label 'unreliable'. \end_layout \end_deeper \begin_layout Description suspiciousTests \begin_inset space \space{} \end_inset \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Input Each test which passed 'unreliableTests' \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Output Stop if not selected. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The following file is meant as subselections of 'suspiciousTests'. If neither subselection applies, test gains labels 'export' and 'inverted' \end_layout \begin_layout Description suspendedTests Tests selected here gain the label 'suspended' but _not_ 'export' or 'inverted', although in ctest they remain inverted. ('ctest' knows only 'inverted' or not, labels are used only for test selection) \end_layout \begin_deeper \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Input Each test selected by 'suspiciousTests' \end_layout \begin_layout Labeling \labelwidthstring 00.00.0000 Output Selected test gains label 'suspended'. \end_layout \end_deeper \end_deeper \begin_layout Standard The following table may clarify label assignement \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Tabular \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Test found in file: \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Marked in ctest, Assigned label \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Ignored \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Unreliable \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Suspicious \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Suspended \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout export \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout unreliable \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout inverted \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout suspended \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Yes \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout No \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Yes \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout + \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout No \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Yes \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout Yes \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout + \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout + \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout No \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout + \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout + \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout + \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout No \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout + \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \begin_inset Text \begin_layout Plain Layout - \end_layout \end_inset \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection check_load tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard These tests check whether a .lyx file loads without any terminal messages. They correspond to the manual operations of simply opening a .lyx file on the terminal, exiting LyX once the file is loaded, and then checking whether there is any output from the terminal. These tests are useful for catching malformed .lyx files and parsing bugs. They can also be used to find a .lyx file in which an instance of something happens. To do this, compile LyX with a local patch that outputs something to the terminal when an instance is found, and then run the check_load tests to see if any fail, which would mean that the situation occurs in the LyX documentation files corresponding to the failed tests. These tests are expectedly fragile: any LyX diagnostic message, which is not necessarily an error, would cause the tests to fail. Similarly, any message output by a library (e.g. Qt) would also cause failure. There are some messages that the check_load tests are instructed to ignore, which are stored in the file \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout development/autotests/filterCheckWarnings \end_layout \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Under cmake, the tests are labeled as 'load'. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection lyx21 tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard These tests combine lyx2lyx tests with check_load tests. They fail if either fails. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection URL tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The URL tests are enabled with the \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout -DLYX_ENABLE_URLTESTS=ON \end_layout \end_inset CMake flag and are useful for finding broken links in our documentation files. If a URL test fails, to see which link in particular was reported as broken, see the output in \begin_inset Flex Code status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout LastTest.log \end_layout \end_inset . These tests are extremely fragile (e.g. a test can depend on your Internet connection) and a failed URL test should not be taken too seriously. URL tests are labeled as \family typewriter 'url'. \end_layout \begin_layout Paragraph Running URL tests \end_layout \begin_layout Standard cmake is required to run the \SpecialChar LyX tests, running them is not implemented for autotools. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The appropriate commands are: \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize \family typewriter ctest -L url \family default \begin_inset Newline newline \end_inset runs all tests with label \family typewriter 'url' \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize \family typewriter ctest -R 'check_.*urls' \family default \begin_inset Newline newline \end_inset runs the tests 'check_accessible_urls' \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Associated test results can be examined in ctest-log directory in files of the form 'LastFailed.*URLS.log' \end_layout \begin_layout Subsubsection Test labels \end_layout \begin_layout Standard ctest label commands: \end_layout \begin_layout Description \SpecialChar nobreakdash \SpecialChar nobreakdash print-labels shows all assigned labels \end_layout \begin_layout Description \SpecialChar nobreakdash L \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset labelname executes all tests to which this label is assigned to. A test may have more that one label. \end_layout \begin_layout Description \SpecialChar nobreakdash j \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset number executes tests in parallel using 'number' simultaneously processes. Some tests are marked as 'sequencial', for them this parameter has no effect. \end_layout \begin_layout Section Development policies \end_layout \begin_layout Standard This chapter lists some guidelines that should be followed. This list is not complete, and many guidelines are in separate chapters, such as \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset When is an update of the .lyx file format number needed? \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset in Section \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "sec:When-is-an" \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection When to set a fixed milestone? \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Only set a fixed milestone (like 2.1.4 or 2.2.0) if at least one of the following holds: \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Somebody is actively working on a fix. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate The bug is so severe that it would block the release if it is not fixed. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard If a bug is important, but nobody is working on it, and it is no showstopper, use a milestone like 2.1.x or 2.2.x. For all other bugs, do not set a milestone at all. \end_layout \begin_layout Subsection Can we add rc entries in stable branch? \end_layout \begin_layout Standard No. We are supposed to increase the prefs2prefs version number with such things. \end_layout \begin_layout Section Documentation policies \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The main documentation consists of these files: \end_layout \begin_layout Description splash.lyx it is the first file you see after an installation. We assume that a new user sees this. It is therefore designed to be as simple as possible. Therefore please don't add any new formatting, only fix typos etc. Splash.lyx is up to date for \SpecialChar LyX 2.1.x, currently maintained by Uwe Stöhr. \end_layout \begin_layout Description Intro.lyx This is the manual new users will read to learn \SpecialChar LyX . It therefore uses a limited set of formatting. For example a standard document class. Since new users will first learn about the formatting possibilities of \SpecialChar LyX please keep this file that simple. Intro.lyx is up to date for \SpecialChar LyX 2.1.x, currently maintained by Uwe Stöhr. \end_layout \begin_layout Description Tutorial.lyx our tutorial. It must be always up to date. Normally there is nothing to add since we don't want to overwhelm new users with too much details. The will learn these details while using \SpecialChar LyX and we have special manuals. Tutorial.lyx is up to date for \SpecialChar LyX 2.1.x, currently maintained by Uwe Stöhr. \end_layout \begin_layout Description UserGuide.lyx our main user guide. It covers a mixture of basic and detailed information. Some information is also in the Math and EmbeddedObjects manual so that the UserGuide refers to these files. UserGuide.lyx is up to date for \SpecialChar LyX 2.1.x, currently maintained by Uwe Stöhr. \end_layout \begin_layout Description EmbeddedObjects.lyx a special manual to explain things like tables floats boxes etc. in all detail. EmbeddedObjects.lyx is up to date for \SpecialChar LyX 2.1.x, currently maintained by Uwe Stöhr. \end_layout \begin_layout Description Math.lyx a special manual to explain everything regarding math in all detail. Math.lyx is up to date for \SpecialChar LyX 2.1.x, currently maintained by Uwe Stöhr. \end_layout \begin_layout Description Additional.lyx this manual covers information that would be too much detail for the UserGuide or would make the UserGuide uncompilable or only compilable when installing a lot of special \SpecialChar LaTeX -packages. What should be in the UserGuide or better in Additional is a matter of taste. it is up to you to decide that. Additional.lyx is not completely up to date for \SpecialChar LyX 2.1.x. Only chapter \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset 8 is up to date and currently maintained by Uwe Stöhr. It certainly needs a rewrite and update. For example many info in chapter \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset 2 and 3 are already covered by the UserGuide and/or the EmbeddedObjects manual. \end_layout \begin_layout Description Customization.lyx this manual covers information how to customize \SpecialChar LyX for certain output formats, operating systems, languages etc. It is currently completely out of date and needs a major rewrite and update. If you do this please assure that your information are given for all OSes and \SpecialChar LaTeX distributions (meaning be as objective as possible). \end_layout \begin_layout Standard There are only 4 \begin_inset space ~ \end_inset rules in editing the docs: \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate If you are not the maintainer of a doc file or a chapter/section, you MUST use change tracking so that the maintainer could review your changes \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Respect the formatting of the document. The different files use different formatting styles. That is OK and has historic reasons nobody fully know ;-). But it is important to be consistent within one file. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate All changes you make to a file in one language MUST also go the file in the other actively maintained languages. Normally the maintainer does this for you, if you are the maintainer, you must do this by copying or changing the changed or added text to the other files so that the translators sees the blue underlined text and know what they have to translate and what was changed. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate You MUST assure that the document is compilable as \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset PDF (pdflatex) \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset after your changes. \end_layout \end_body \end_document