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Merge branch 'jc/doc-log-messages'
Update the contributor-facing documents on proposed log messages. * jc/doc-log-messages: SubmittingPatches: explain why we care about log messages CodingGuidelines: hint why we value clearly written log messages SubmittingPatches: write problem statement in the log in the present tense
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@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ code. For Git in general, a few rough rules are:
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go and fix it up."
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Cf. http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1001.3/01069.html
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- Log messages to explain your changes are as important as the
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changes themselves. Clearly written code and in-code comments
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explain how the code works and what is assumed from the surrounding
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context. The log messages explain what the changes wanted to
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achieve and why the changes were necessary (more on this in the
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accompanying SubmittingPatches document).
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Make your code readable and sensible, and don't try to be clever.
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As for more concrete guidelines, just imitate the existing code
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@ -110,6 +110,35 @@ run `git diff --check` on your changes before you commit.
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[[describe-changes]]
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=== Describe your changes well.
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The log message that explains your changes is just as important as the
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changes themselves. Your code may be clearly written with in-code
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comment to sufficiently explain how it works with the surrounding
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code, but those who need to fix or enhance your code in the future
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will need to know _why_ your code does what it does, for a few
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reasons:
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. Your code may be doing something differently from what you wanted it
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to do. Writing down what you actually wanted to achieve will help
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them fix your code and make it do what it should have been doing
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(also, you often discover your own bugs yourself, while writing the
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log message to summarize the thought behind it).
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. Your code may be doing things that were only necessary for your
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immediate needs (e.g. "do X to directories" without implementing or
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even designing what is to be done on files). Writing down why you
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excluded what the code does not do will help guide future developers.
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Writing down "we do X to directories, because directories have
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characteristic Y" would help them infer "oh, files also have the same
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characteristic Y, so perhaps doing X to them would also make sense?".
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Saying "we don't do the same X to files, because ..." will help them
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decide if the reasoning is sound (in which case they do not waste
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time extending your code to cover files), or reason differently (in
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which case, they can explain why they extend your code to cover
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files, too).
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The goal of your log message is to convey the _why_ behind your
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change to help future developers.
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The first line of the commit message should be a short description (50
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characters is the soft limit, see DISCUSSION in linkgit:git-commit[1]),
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and should skip the full stop. It is also conventional in most cases to
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@ -142,6 +171,13 @@ The body should provide a meaningful commit message, which:
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. alternate solutions considered but discarded, if any.
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[[present-tense]]
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The problem statement that describes the status quo is written in the
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present tense. Write "The code does X when it is given input Y",
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instead of "The code used to do Y when given input X". You do not
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have to say "Currently"---the status quo in the problem statement is
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about the code _without_ your change, by project convention.
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[[imperative-mood]]
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Describe your changes in imperative mood, e.g. "make xyzzy do frotz"
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instead of "[This patch] makes xyzzy do frotz" or "[I] changed xyzzy
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