[ Makefile ] Added .PHONY targets
[ issue 1168 ] Added test case
[ Makefile ] Added API tests to the test suit

Cherry picked from 73769ee6d6c5ecacb76af652eae8fa2c3935b570.
[ release notes ] Added template
[ issue 690 ] Added documentation for a failing test case
[ HACKING ] Added space before ':branch-name'