Question

What is the easiest way to submit a working patch or bugfix to an Open Source project using SVN?

Ideally, I would like to submit a revision or patch so they can easily apply it in their repository directly if they approve it.

I’m using TortoiseSVN if it matters.

Answer 1

This is what you should do:

1. Make sure the bug is not already fixed (on trunk or a branch). Often bugs that are present in a release are already fixed in the development code.
2. Get a working copy of the code
3. Fix the bug in your working copy, compile and test it
4. When fixing the bug, use the same coding style (e.g., tabs/spaces, indentation, variable naming, …) as the existing code
5. Since you’re using TortoiseSVN: right-click on your working copy, TSVN submenu->Create Patch. Save the patchfile somewhere.
6. zip the patchfile (most email apps mess with whitespaces in attached text files, and the patch file should not be messed with at all – zipping it prevents that)
7. Send the patchfile to the projects mailing list (or the project developer), describing the bug you fixed, how the bug can be reproduced (or how you detected it) and maybe how you fixed it
8. Check the mailing list for questions the developers might have about your patch