Will Coleda (via RT) wrote:
... at least in the repository. The primary purpose of the MANFEST is to make sure that the generated release isn't missing any files, neh? So, when you're working out of the repository, you already know the canonical list.
The primary purpose of a MANIFEST in the repository is to tell you which files out of the repository should be included in the distribution. e.g., some languages, or the debian/ directory, or developer tools might be excluded from the distribution, and so would be excluded from the MANIFEST. Perhaps the usage needs to change, but I wouldn't remove it from the repository.
Ditto MANIFEST.skip (use svn:ignore keyword).
MANIFEST.skip could be simply generated from the svn:ignore keyword before the distribution tarball is created. Do you have a list of places MANIFEST.skip is used so we can review them?
Allison
