Daqster

Upstream Management Guide

Parent: Operations Topics

Documentation Index

This guide describes how to manage upstream tracking for external libraries used by Daqster.

External Libraries

NodeEditor

Upstream repository: https://github.com/paceholder/nodeeditor
Your fork: https://github.com/samiavasil/nodeeditor
Working branch: feature/deembed-hover-fronting-wm
Integration in Daqster: submodule under src/external_libs/nodeeditor

QtRest

Upstream repository: https://github.com/kafeg/qtrest
Your fork: https://github.com/samiavasil/qtrest
Working branch: feature/qt6-port-cmake-unified
Integration in Daqster: submodule under src/external_libs/qtrest_lib/qtrest

Fork Delta (compared to upstream)

This section documents Daqster-specific changes in both forks.

NodeEditor: what changed and why

Added embed/de-embed lifecycle for node widgets. Reason: Daqster uses richer QWidget-based node panels and needs explicit control over embedded vs detached behavior.
Added hover fronting behavior for detached windows. Reason: users need quick window fronting when detached node panels overlap scene items.
Added guard and lightweight fronting path to avoid unnecessary window reposition/flag churn. Reason: default upstream behavior did not fully cover window manager edge cases in Daqster workflow.

QtRest: what changed and why

Unified CMake C++ standard to C++17. Reason: Daqster and its plugins use C++17, so this removes mixed-target build incompatibilities.
Added Qt5/Qt6 dual-major linking and dependency gating in Daqster integration. Reason: keep one code line that builds in both Qt5 and Qt6.
Refined conditional inclusion of QtCoinTrader and qtrest targets based on available Qt modules. Reason: avoid partial or false-positive target enablement when required Qt modules are missing.

Check current divergence from upstream

Use live git commands instead of static ahead/behind numbers:

# NodeEditor
cd src/external_libs/nodeeditor
git fetch upstream
git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...upstream/master

# QtRest
cd src/external_libs/qtrest_lib/qtrest
git fetch upstream
git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...upstream/master

Upstream Management Script

Use tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh for common operations:

# Show current status
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh status

# Check for updates
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh check

# Fetch latest upstream changes
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh fetch

# Merge upstream changes
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh merge nodeeditor
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh merge qtrest
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh merge all

# Cherry-pick a specific commit
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Workflow For Upstream Updates

1. Regular check (monthly)

./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh check
./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh fetch

2. Analyze incoming changes

# NodeEditor
cd src/external_libs/nodeeditor
git log HEAD..upstream/master --oneline -10
git diff HEAD..upstream/master --stat

# QtRest
cd src/external_libs/qtrest_lib/qtrest
git log HEAD..upstream/master --oneline -10
git diff HEAD..upstream/master --stat

3. Choose update strategy

A. Full merge (QtRest)

./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh merge qtrest

B. Cherry-pick (NodeEditor)

./tools/build_helpers/manage_upstream.sh cherry-pick <commit-hash>

C. Integration branch for larger updates

cd src/external_libs/nodeeditor
git checkout -b integration-upstream-$(date +%Y%m%d)
git merge upstream/master

Key Considerations

NodeEditor specifics

Contains Daqster-specific behavior on top of upstream.
Prefer targeted cherry-picks for critical fixes.
Avoid large blind version jumps.

QtRest specifics

Fork is closer to upstream and can be merged more frequently.
Always re-check Qt5/Qt6 compatibility after updates.

Troubleshooting

Merge conflicts

git status
git diff
git add .
git commit

Cherry-pick conflicts

git cherry-pick --abort
# or
git add .
git cherry-pick --continue

Missing upstream remote

git remote -v
git remote add upstream <upstream-url>

Best Practices

Run upstream checks at least monthly.
Test after every merge/cherry-pick.
Keep a short changelog of accepted upstream commits.
Prioritize security and crash fixes first.