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Re: usefulness of changelog files
On Mon, 2 Apr 2012, Mike Frysinger wrote:
> it makes perfect sense in a centralized vcs environment such as cvs
> where tracking down tree-wide changes is a semi-impossible task. but
> with git, these problems are largely non-existent. it transparently
> provides the critical pieces:
Distributed environments do not mean all glibc trees used are directly
based on the main git repositories; they may involve sources in many
different VCSes that may have been imported from snapshots or releases
with or without history. I think it's useful for checkouts to contain
this information automatically so it stays around through such import
processes.
I also think the discipline of identifying the individual pieces of code
changed by a patch is useful for helping authors detect errors in their
own patches before commit / submission - just as I think everyone should
send all patches to libc-alpha with an explanation written as if for
review, fully following the contribution checklist, before commit, even if
the patch will then be committed without review; describing and explaining
what you have done is useful for other people working with the change and
helps you find errors in your own changes. (There are a few exceptions
such as fixes to ChangeLog formatting or adding bug numbers to NEWS, but
in the vast bulk of cases I think patches should go to libc-alpha with
proper explanations whether or not they also need review before commit.)
--
Joseph S. Myers
joseph@codesourcery.com