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diff --git a/.be/bea86499-824e-4e77-b085-2d581fa9ccab/bugs/529c290e-b1cf-4800-be7e-68f1ecb9565c/comments/2bb7b4d0-6290-4771-9fff-4aa2e8086b1a/body b/.be/bea86499-824e-4e77-b085-2d581fa9ccab/bugs/529c290e-b1cf-4800-be7e-68f1ecb9565c/comments/2bb7b4d0-6290-4771-9fff-4aa2e8086b1a/body new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a0b6a14 --- /dev/null +++ b/.be/bea86499-824e-4e77-b085-2d581fa9ccab/bugs/529c290e-b1cf-4800-be7e-68f1ecb9565c/comments/2bb7b4d0-6290-4771-9fff-4aa2e8086b1a/body @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +Chris Ball <cjb@laptop.org> writes: + +> Hi, +> +> > That's not a changelog, that's a commit log of every source-level +> > commit made. Far too much detail for a changelog of +> > *user-visible* changes associated with a release. +> +> I think I agree with both of you. :) It seems like it's both true that +> there's no point in keeping a GNU-style ChangeLog these days + +I think I have a better understanding of why this apparent disagreement +occurred, and it was due to my sloppy use of terms. + +Looking into it further, it seems there is a certain expectation (set, +in part, by the long-standing GNU coding conventions) that a “GNU-style +ChangeLog” contains not only a particular *format*, but information at +a particular level of *detail*. + +That is, a GNU ChangeLog is intended for the style of work where one +logs all the changes made to every file in the tree each working day, +and then makes a new day's entry above that, and so on. This is, of +course, entirely redundant with a VCS revision history, which makes all +the commit messages available on request. + +So to disambiguate, that's not what I meant. I'm more familiar with a +less-frequently-updated and less-fine-detail change log; perhaps more +akin to the GNU-style “NEWS” file. + +> and that if we make a release we should write an announce mail that +> directly mentions new user-visible changes as well as attaching the +> commit log. That smaller list of highly user-visible changes could +> live in NEWS, or in the announce mail, or both. + +Yes, that's mostly what I meant. + +I actually don't think the commit log needs to be part of the release at +all. It's of interest only to those who want fine-level detail about +changes to every file, and for that purpose I think read access to the +VCS is much better. Packaging a static copy of the commit log as plain +text seems pointless. + +Rather, we should treat a user-changes level “NEWS” file (or whatever +name we choose for it) as part of the documentation, and set the +expectation among the team that it will be updated for each user-visible +change being worked on, like any other documentation. + +-- + \ “… Nature … is seen to do all things Herself and through | + `\ herself of own accord, rid of all gods.” —Titus Lucretius | +_o__) Carus, c. 40 BCE | +Ben Finney + + +_______________________________________________ +Be-devel mailing list +Be-devel@bugseverywhere.org +http://void.printf.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/be-devel |