8 files changed, 150 insertions, 26 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/cheatsheet.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/cheatsheet.rst
index 7bc07715..0debd118 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/cheatsheet.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/cheatsheet.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 Patch Cheatsheet
 ================
 
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/coding_style.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/coding_style.rst
index b0f0adb8..b1bf0d15 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/coding_style.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/coding_style.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 .. _coding_style:
 
 DPDK Coding Style
@@ -614,8 +617,8 @@ In the DPDK environment, use the logging interface provided:
   * is DEBUG) */
  rte_log_set_level(my_logtype2, RTE_LOG_NOTICE);
 
- /* enable all PMD logs (whose identifier string starts with "pmd") */
- rte_log_set_level_regexp("pmd.*", RTE_LOG_DEBUG);
+ /* enable all PMD logs (whose identifier string starts with "pmd.") */
+ rte_log_set_level_pattern("pmd.*", RTE_LOG_DEBUG);
 
  /* log in debug level */
  rte_log_set_global_level(RTE_LOG_DEBUG);
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/design.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/design.rst
index 88d3a433..651fd224 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/design.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/design.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 Design
 ======
 
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/documentation.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/documentation.rst
index 82f2e1bb..6a075553 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/documentation.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/documentation.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 .. _doc_guidelines:
 
 DPDK Documentation Guidelines
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/index.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/index.rst
index 329b678a..f90df451 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/index.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/index.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 Contributor's Guidelines
 ========================
 
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/patches.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/patches.rst
index 2287835f..a3d78802 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/patches.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/patches.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 .. submitting_patches:
 
 Contributing Code to DPDK
@@ -256,6 +259,66 @@ In addition to the ``Signed-off-by:`` name the commit messages can also have
 tags for who reported, suggested, tested and reviewed the patch being
 posted. Please refer to the `Tested, Acked and Reviewed by`_ section.
 
+Patch Fix Related Issues
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+`Coverity <https://scan.coverity.com/projects/dpdk-data-plane-development-kit>`_
+is a tool for static code analysis.
+It is used as a cloud-based service used to scan the DPDK source code,
+and alert developers of any potential defects in the source code.
+When fixing an issue found by Coverity, the patch must contain a Coverity issue ID
+in the body of the commit message. For example::
+
+
+     doc: fix some parameter description
+
+     Update the docs, fixing description of some parameter.
+
+     Coverity issue: 12345
+     Fixes: abcdefgh1234 ("doc: add some parameter")
+     Cc: author@example.com
+
+     Signed-off-by: Alex Smith <alex.smith@example.com>
+
+
+`Bugzilla <https://dpdk.org/tracker>`_
+is a bug- or issue-tracking system.
+Bug-tracking systems allow individual or groups of developers
+effectively to keep track of outstanding problems with their product.
+When fixing an issue raised in Bugzilla, the patch must contain
+a Bugzilla issue ID in the body of the commit message.
+For example::
+
+    doc: fix some parameter description
+
+    Update the docs, fixing description of some parameter.
+
+    Bugzilla ID: 12345
+    Fixes: abcdefgh1234 ("doc: add some parameter")
+    Cc: author@example.com
+
+    Signed-off-by: Alex Smith <alex.smith@example.com>
+
+Patch for Stable Releases
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+All fix patches to the master branch that are candidates for backporting
+should also be CCed to the `stable@dpdk.org <http://dpdk.org/ml/listinfo/stable>`_
+mailing list.
+In the commit message body the Cc: stable@dpdk.org should be inserted as follows::
+
+     doc: fix some parameter description
+
+     Update the docs, fixing description of some parameter.
+
+     Fixes: abcdefgh1234 ("doc: add some parameter")
+     Cc: stable@dpdk.org
+
+     Signed-off-by: Alex Smith <alex.smith@example.com>
+
+For further information on stable contribution you can go to
+:doc:`Stable Contribution Guide <stable>`.
+
 
 Creating Patches
 ----------------
@@ -450,6 +513,20 @@ Experienced committers may send patches directly with ``git send-email`` without
 The options ``--annotate`` and ``confirm = always`` are recommended for checking patches before sending.
 
 
+Backporting patches for Stable Releases
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Sometimes a maintainer or contributor wishes, or can be asked, to send a patch
+for a stable release rather than mainline.
+In this case the patch(es) should be sent to ``stable@dpdk.org``,
+not to ``dev@dpdk.org``.
+
+Given that there are multiple stable releases being maintained at the same time,
+please specify exactly which branch(es) the patch is for
+using ``git send-email --subject-prefix='PATCH 16.11' ...``
+and also optionally in the cover letter or in the annotation.
+
+
 The Review Process
 ------------------
 
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/stable.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/stable.rst
index 0f2f1f37..1746c046 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/stable.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/stable.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 .. stable_lts_releases:
 
 DPDK Stable Releases and Long Term Support
@@ -57,7 +60,25 @@ that a tagged release has been tested.
 What changes should be backported
 ---------------------------------
 
-Backporting should be limited to bug fixes.
+Backporting should be limited to bug fixes. All patches accepted on the master
+branch with a Fixes: tag should be backported to the relevant stable/LTS
+branches, unless the submitter indicates otherwise. If there are exceptions,
+they will be discussed on the mailing lists.
+
+Fixes suitable for backport should have a ``Cc: stable@dpdk.org`` tag in the
+commit message body as follows::
+
+     doc: fix some parameter description
+
+     Update the docs, fixing description of some parameter.
+
+     Fixes: abcdefgh1234 ("doc: add some parameter")
+     Cc: stable@dpdk.org
+
+     Signed-off-by: Alex Smith <alex.smith@example.com>
+
+
+Fixes not suitable for backport should not include the ``Cc: stable@dpdk.org`` tag.
 
 Features should not be backported to stable releases. It may be acceptable, in
 limited cases, to back port features for the LTS release where:
diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/versioning.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/versioning.rst
index c495294d..01b36247 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/versioning.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/versioning.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2018 The DPDK contributors
+
 Managing ABI updates
 ====================
 
@@ -43,29 +46,6 @@ ABI versions are set at the time of major release labeling, and the ABI may
 change multiple times, without warning, between the last release label and the
 HEAD label of the git tree.
 
-APIs marked as ``experimental`` are not considered part of the ABI and may
-change without warning at any time.  Since changes to APIs are most likely
-immediately after their introduction, as users begin to take advantage of
-those new APIs and start finding issues with them, new DPDK APIs will be
-automatically marked as ``experimental`` to allow for a period of stabilization
-before they become part of a tracked ABI.
-
-Note that marking an API as experimental is a multi step process.
-To mark an API as experimental, the symbols which are desired to be exported
-must be placed in an EXPERIMENTAL version block in the corresponding libraries'
-version map script.
-Secondly, the corresponding definitions of those exported functions, and
-their forward declarations (in the development header files), must be marked
-with the ``__rte_experimental`` tag (see ``rte_compat.h``).
-The DPDK build makefiles perform a check to ensure that the map file and the
-C code reflect the same list of symbols.
-This check can be circumvented by defining ``ALLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_API``
-during compilation in the corresponding library Makefile.
-
-In addition to tagging the code with ``__rte_experimental``,
-the doxygen markup must also contain the EXPERIMENTAL string,
-and the MAINTAINERS file should note the EXPERIMENTAL libraries.
-
 ABI versions, once released, are available until such time as their
 deprecation has been noted in the Release Notes for at least one major release
 cycle. For example consider the case where the ABI for DPDK 2.0 has been
@@ -119,6 +99,37 @@ readability purposes should be avoided.
    follow the relevant deprecation policy procedures as above: 3 acks and
    announcement at least one release in advance.
 
+Experimental APIs
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+APIs marked as ``experimental`` are not considered part of the ABI and may
+change without warning at any time.  Since changes to APIs are most likely
+immediately after their introduction, as users begin to take advantage of
+those new APIs and start finding issues with them, new DPDK APIs will be
+automatically marked as ``experimental`` to allow for a period of stabilization
+before they become part of a tracked ABI.
+
+Note that marking an API as experimental is a multi step process.
+To mark an API as experimental, the symbols which are desired to be exported
+must be placed in an EXPERIMENTAL version block in the corresponding libraries'
+version map script.
+Secondly, the corresponding definitions of those exported functions, and
+their forward declarations (in the development header files), must be marked
+with the ``__rte_experimental`` tag (see ``rte_compat.h``).
+The DPDK build makefiles perform a check to ensure that the map file and the
+C code reflect the same list of symbols.
+This check can be circumvented by defining ``ALLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_API``
+during compilation in the corresponding library Makefile.
+
+In addition to tagging the code with ``__rte_experimental``,
+the doxygen markup must also contain the EXPERIMENTAL string,
+and the MAINTAINERS file should note the EXPERIMENTAL libraries.
+
+For removing the experimental tag associated with an API, deprecation notice
+is not required. Though, an API should remain in experimental state for at least
+one release. Thereafter, normal process of posting patch for review to mailing
+list can be followed.
+
 Examples of Deprecation Notices
 -------------------------------