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docs: Encourage better changelogs in the development process document
Add a couple of paragraphs to the "patch formatting" section on how patches should be described. This text is shamelessly cribbed from suggestions posted by Rusty Russell. Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
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@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ which takes quite a bit of time and thought after the "real work" has been
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done. When done properly, though, it is time well spent.
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5.4: PATCH FORMATTING
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5.4: PATCH FORMATTING AND CHANGELOGS
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So now you have a perfect series of patches for posting, but the work is
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not done quite yet. Each patch needs to be formatted into a message which
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@ -146,8 +146,33 @@ that end, each patch will be composed of the following:
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- One or more tag lines, with, at a minimum, one Signed-off-by: line from
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the author of the patch. Tags will be described in more detail below.
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The above three items should, normally, be the text used when committing
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the change to a revision control system. They are followed by:
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The items above, together, form the changelog for the patch. Writing good
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changelogs is a crucial but often-neglected art; it's worth spending
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another moment discussing this issue. When writing a changelog, you should
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bear in mind that a number of different people will be reading your words.
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These include subsystem maintainers and reviewers who need to decide
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whether the patch should be included, distributors and other maintainers
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trying to decide whether a patch should be backported to other kernels, bug
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hunters wondering whether the patch is responsible for a problem they are
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chasing, users who want to know how the kernel has changed, and more. A
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good changelog conveys the needed information to all of these people in the
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most direct and concise way possible.
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To that end, the summary line should describe the effects of and motivation
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for the change as well as possible given the one-line constraint. The
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detailed description can then amplify on those topics and provide any
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needed additional information. If the patch fixes a bug, cite the commit
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which introduced the bug if possible. If a problem is associated with
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specific log or compiler output, include that output to help others
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searching for a solution to the same problem. If the change is meant to
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support other changes coming in later patch, say so. If internal APIs are
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changed, detail those changes and how other developers should respond. In
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general, the more you can put yourself into the shoes of everybody who will
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be reading your changelog, the better that changelog (and the kernel as a
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whole) will be.
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Needless to say, the changelog should be the text used when committing the
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change to a revision control system. It will be followed by:
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- The patch itself, in the unified ("-u") patch format. Using the "-p"
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option to diff will associate function names with changes, making the
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