= Contributing 3rd Party Code =

[[TOC(Developer/Coding/ThirdPartyCode , depth=2)]]


You should retain the original code's licensing and copyright
information. Be
careful with copyright and code ownership, these things matter. The
best approach is to provide an isolated patch that adds all of the
code from the 3rd party, and then layer on patches that
modify or make use of the 3rd party code. Attempt to minimize changes,
and submit patches upstream when possible.

When you have to change the
3rd party code, it is best to provide a clear identification of the
change like this, omitting the comments:

{{{

/* unmodified code */
#if defined(__rtems__)
/* changes made */
#endif
/* unmodified code */

}}}

This approach helps to minimize code review, identify very clearly the
origin of source code, and eases maintenance in case of updating the
3rd party code.