Re: ChangeLog and commit messages

[Bruno Haible <bruno@clisp.org>]

Po Lu wrote:
> I find myself often frustrated that Git requires a commit title.  In
> such a title, committers are expected to summarize in detail changes to
> dozens of different functions in less than 74 characters of text.

That's a feature, not a bug.

The commit title has benefits for the co-developers and for yourself, the
committer. Namely:

* If I am a co-developer, I want to know
  - the purpose of the change,
  - whether I can expect my existing tests or usage to continue working, or
    whether it will break,
  - whether I have the opportunity to extend my tests / change my usage.

For you, the committer, simply think of someone else asking you "what is
the point of this change?".

Thinking about this title for 30 seconds gives you the opportunity to
  - detect when you are about to commit two unrelated things (e.g. a bug fix
    and a new feature)
  - if it's a new feature: question yourself whether you have been including
    necessary documentation changes and/or a NEWS entry.

Bruno