Modularity/Adding New Modules and Managing Defaults

This proposal describes the processes for:

• adding new modules (and packages that are part of these modules) to Fedora including dist-git repository requests and reviews
• managing default module streams in Fedora

The process

The process has four main steps:

new repositories --> build it --> add it to the release --> set / change the default

Step 1: new repositories

This step includes creating new repositories or branches in dist-git for both RPM packages and modules.

Packages should be handled the same way as they are now. That means:

• When adding a new package (creating a new dist-git repository), the package goes through the Package Review Process. This is to check the compliance with the Fedora Packaging Guidelines.
• When adding a new branch to an existing package, no formal review is necessary.

Repositories and branches for modules should not require any review. This is because:

• At this point, modules are not included in any release.
• Modules themselves do not provide any content. New content is provided by packages that need to pass a review.

Of course, to request any repositories in the dist-git, one needs to be a Fedora packager.

Step 2: build it

This step is about submitting a module build to the Fedora infrastructure. The resulting binaries will not be included in any release in this step. Anyone who is a Fedora packager should be able to build modules they own. There is no review or approval at this point.

Step 3: add it to the release

In order to make a module available to the end user, it needs to be released. Technically, this means including the module in a compose.

At this point, the module goes through the Module Review Process.

When asking Release Engineering to include the module in the release, the review bug is referenced.

Step 4: set / change the default

Setting or changing a default stream of a module is in most cases similar to changing a major version of a package. An exception to this is setting a default stream of a new module which does not replace any packages in the base. Setting or changing the default stream requires a Fedora Change request when, and is only allowed in between Fedora releases.

On the other hand, changing a default installation profile does not affect any other packages, as the package set that is available is still the same. No change request is required for this.