[RFC] Policy change for ChangeLog

[Benoit Grégoire]

On December 2, 2005 04:45 pm, Neil Williams wrote:
> Sometimes, yes, especially if the commit fixes a couple of different issues
> across different (but interdependent) files. However, recently I've found
> this does generate duplication. There have been quite a few ChangeLog
> entries that are:
>         * various :
> or
>         Change description
>         * src/path/somefile :
>         * src/foo/bar.c :
>
> where one change affects all listed files almost equally. The FSF address
> change is the clearest example but it happens more often than that.
>
> What I'd like is that the ChangeLog entries become "recommended" but not
> "mandatory".
>
> Just getting rid of the warning about reverting any changes that lack a
> ChangeLog entry would be a welcome step.
>
> Let those changes that need file-level detail go into the ChangeLog and
> those changes that really are one change across multiple files can be left
> to the svn commit messages, or an over-arching comment in NEWS, README or
> whichever file is the most suitable.

I disagree, that would be terrible.  There must be one place where all the 
change can be reviewed in chronological orded.  I don't really care that's 
it's generated or not (I prefer it to be generated from the svn logs 
however), but one way or another that definitive list of changes should 
exist.  

I do agree that having file level entries should be left to the good judgement 
of the developer, since it's sometimes just impossible or undesireable to be 
exhaustive anyway.  But all commits should have some log entry (even if it's 
just "Fix typos"), just so one knows if it's a trivial change or a forgotten 
log.

I think the easiest would be to keep writing Changelog entries like we used to 
do, not be too strict about file lists, but only put them in the svn log 
message. 
-- 
Benoit Grégoire, http://benoitg.coeus.ca/
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