Re: coffread.c extension for DLLs without debugging symbols

[Michael Elizabeth Chastain <mec@shout.net>]

Hi Raoul,

> What does RFA stand for? Seemed to me like it was used by people who
> were actually capable of updating the CVS themselves and just wanted
> confirmation.

"RFA" == "Request for Approval".

GDB has a human approval system that goes beyond the CVS permissions.
You can read about it in the top level MAINTAINERS file.

There are three levels of access.  'Blanket Maintainers' have the
authority to commit files anywhere in the gdb tree.  Several types
of 'Maintainers' have authority to commit files in their area of
responsibility.  'Write After Approval' maintainers have the authority
to commit their patches if a Blanket Maintainer or a Maintainer approves
them.

All of these people have write permission in the CVS repository.
If someone exceeds their authority and commits a patch without the
necessary authority, then the Head Maintainer would deal with them
and with their unauthorized commit.  This does not happen very often.

Many maintainers, even Blanket Maintainers, ask for RFA on patches
that they have the authority to commit.  If there is an active
Maintainer for an area, it's a smart move to get the Maintainer's
opinion before commiting to that area.

Other request types are:

  RFC == "request for comments".  The submitter wants feedback on the
  patch and may not even want to commit it yet.

  RFA == "request for approval".  The submitter has little doubt that
  the patch is ready to commit, and just wants a short answer.

  PATCH == "it's going in".  The submitter has authority to commit
  this patch and is about to do so, either immediately or as soon as
  they get around to it.  No reply is needed.

Michael Snyder knows the nuances of this system better than I do;
he may have some corrections.

I just filed a PR to document this stuff for the benefit of first-time
patch writers.

Michael C