[vtk-developers] Commit log guidelines

[Sean McBride]

On Tue, 17 May 2016 12:15:22 -0400, Utkarsh Ayachit said:

>Folks,
>
>I recently came across this: http://chris.beams.io/posts/git-commit/
>
>Any thoughts on adopting this as a style guide? The rules are:
>
>1. Separate subject from body with a blank line
>2. Limit the subject line to 50 characters
>3. Capitalize the subject line
>4. Do not end the subject line with a period
>5. Use the imperative mood in the subject line
>6. Wrap the body at 72 characters
>7. Use the body to explain what and why vs. how
>
>I think (7) really brings it home, although I wonder if a short "how"
>can also be included.

What problem are we solving here?  Have people found looking through history that previous commit messages are not useful/helpful somehow?  Honest questions.

I especially find 3, 4, and 5 aren't solving problems, and unnecessarily OCD.  2 and even 6 I find overly restrictive.  Are we reading commit messages on 1970s CRTs? :)

I think the most important guideline is to write messages that:
 - help reviewers understand the what, why, and how.
 - help our future selves when regressing through history.

Cheers,

-- 
____________________________________________________________
Sean McBride, B. Eng                 sean at rogue-research.com
Rogue Research                        www.rogue-research.com 
Mac Software Developer              Montréal, Québec, Canada