This is the mail archive of the
gcc@gcc.gnu.org
mailing list for the GCC project.
Re: Rant about ChangeLog entries and commit messages
Richard Kenner wrote:
>>> How could a newcomer guess why the gcc_force_collect flag needs to be
>>> reset?
>> That is supposed to be written in a comment. The change log entry
>> should describe _what_ is being changed, so that you can find out when a
>> particular change was made.
>
> Not quite. The comments are supposed to say why the code is doing what
> it's doing (and, where it's helpful, why it ISN'T doing something else).
> Purely historical references in the comments that don't serve to clarify
> the present code are discouraged. (We don't want comments turning in a
> blog, for example.)
>
> I view the description in the gcc-patches message as PART of the CM history
> of GCC in that IT'S the place to go to get this information. What's
> unfortunate, I think, is that there's no easy way to find this message from
> the CM revision number.
I think that's Samuel's point - it would be much better to have them in
the commit log. FWIW, I agree completely - I've never found ChangeLogs
useful, I hate writing them, and I think the linux-kernel guys these
days generally have much better checkin messages than we do.
Bernd
--
This footer brought to you by insane German lawmakers.
Analog Devices GmbH Wilhelm-Wagenfeld-Str. 6 80807 Muenchen
Sitz der Gesellschaft Muenchen, Registergericht Muenchen HRB 40368
Geschaeftsfuehrer Thomas Wessel, William A. Martin, Margaret Seif