[webkit-dev] I *HATE* CHANGELOGS!!!

[George Staikos]

On 26-Aug-09, at 2:44 PM, Maciej Stachowiak wrote:

>
> On Aug 26, 2009, at 5:38 PM, Geoffrey Garen wrote:
>
>>> Detailed descriptions, bug links, test instructions, and a link  
>>> back to the entire original review history are all part of  
>>> Chromium commits, yet we don't use ChangeLogs.  I think  
>>> discipline about what to include + tooling to support it are  
>>> orthogonal to a project's use of a ChangeLog as the mechanism for  
>>> conveying this information.
>>
>> [This question not necessarily just for Peter:]
>>
>> If we removed the discipline of reviewing ChangeLogs, and the  
>> tools that autogenerate a ChangeLog template and check for a  
>> ChangeLog entry without an "OOPs I didn't get this reviewed"  
>> message, what would we replace them with?
>
> I can imagine a discipline where we ensure that pending commit  
> entries sit in a designated file in your tree, are made by a tool  
> much like prepare-ChangeLog, are included in patches by svn-create- 
> patch, are applied by svn-apply-patch, and are used by commit-log- 
> editor. That would ensure the entries go through the patch life  
> cycle just as much as currently.
>
> Another possibility is to have a review site (bugzilla?) be the  
> canonical place for log entries until they get committed. At commit  
> time, a tool would pull from this location.


    I want to add a +1 for the "hate changelogs" group.  I have been  
advocating this for about 4 years now.  It's much more painful when  
on a remote, slow link.  Is it really a problem to generate the  
ChangeLog files from the svn commit messages on a daily or weekly  
basis?  There are scripts for this.

--
George Staikos
Torch Mobile Inc.
http://www.torchmobile.com/