On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 2:22 PM, sebb <seb...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 18 February 2011 22:54, Phil Steitz <phil.ste...@gmail.com> wrote: >> On 2/18/11 2:14 PM, sebb wrote: >>> I agree it's helpful to have at least the subject of the JIRA in the >>> log message, but IMO there should be nothing in the log message that >>> is not in the JIRA and/or code comments. >>> >>> The SVN log message should enable reviewers to understand the content >>> of the commit but should otherwise be disposable. SVN log messages are >>> not versioned, so can be permanently overwritten. Also we release >>> source code, and if SVN log messages are necessary to understand the >>> code, then the comments are insufficient. >>> >> I agree that svn log messages should not be necessary to understand >> the code; but they are a very important tool in understanding how >> the revision history works - i.e., what was changed when. The fact >> that they can be modified is a plus - it means we can go back and >> fix errors in the log messages or improve them. > > Or they can be obliterated with no trace ... > <snip/>
I doubt this happens often, and if and when it does, we have oversight via notification of svn:log changes (and permanent archival). >> I am frequently >> thankful of developers who have written good and complete commit >> messages not for understanding how code works, but why it works the >> way it does. > > Such information should not be confined to log messages, partly > because log messages are hard to scan and not guaranteed to be > available, but mainly because the source code should be understandable > on its own. > > External users will generally only see the source code. If there is > important information about how the source code works buried in SVN > log messages, then I think we have failed to produce the best source > code that we can. > <snap/> We may be talking about different things by now. The original point was (since I made it) -- when I read diffs in email or 'svn log' output, it is easier if I see "FOO-123 Fixed bar to alleviate baz" as against "FOO-123". -Rahul --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscr...@commons.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: dev-h...@commons.apache.org
