Hi! Richard Frith-Macdonald wrote: > What I'd like to suggest is sort-of (but not entirely) scrapping ChangeLog, > in that we could auto-generate ChangeLog entries from the repository, either > by an automated commit hook or (assuming that's not easy to do readily), > using a script to get details from the repository just before we make a > realease, so that anyone getting a release of the software still gets a > comprehensive ChangeLog. > > Then we would be saved the overhead of writing ChangeLog entries and could > concentrate on: > 1. meaningful commit entries, which of course we should all be doing anyway > ;-) > 2. writing release notes for any substantive change (rather than ChangeLog > entries for even minor changes), to appear in the NEWS when we make a release > > If we stop writing ChangeLog entries, we should be able to write release > notes and still be spending less time, and of course that would make the > process of cutting a release less onerous.
It sounds reasonable. I'd like to see what this ChangeLog could look like. I still "love" our ChangeLog and miss it in projects where it does not exist. It contains two important informations grouped together: The conext of a Commit plus files, descriptions and if the author is nice, even the Method. e.g. 1970-01-01 John Doe * NSApplication.h * NSApplication.m (runLoop:) HookUp runLoop to some Event. is a context not found in other tools. To inspect the "files", in GIT or SVN I end up essentially going on the web interface and finding it. But to know which file was modified, with git I use the "blame" or again skip through the web interface. The extra information about the method is lost in any case. Here, instead, I just use grep or view on the ChangeLog, find what I need on the console in matter of secons.... once I have found meaning ful commits, then I still can open the web interface, in spect it, etc. So a mere log of commit messages is totally useless, since "git log" or "svn log" provide that (and often the comments are not that meaningful). Maybe we can find a compromise here. Riccardo
