[Insight-developers] Commit message prefixes

Bill Lorensen bill.lorensen at gmail.com
Fri Oct 29 15:12:04 EDT 2010 

I just edited the vtk commit messages for the last week. Notice that
the automated messages al have a common prefix. Actually, more than 5
characters. The old required prefixes appear quite often, even though
there is not a commit hook. The messages that do not have an approved
commit message, usually start with a verb, which is selected by the
commiter and is not consistent: (adding, fixed, moving, added,
changing).

I think, as computer scientists, we have learned that having an agreed
upon lexicon is good.

Bill

Merge topic 'add-vtkvector-to-srcs'  master nightly-master
COMP: Add vtkVector to Kit_SRCS so vtkChartsHie...
Merge topic 'add-vtkvector-to-srcs'
COMP: Add vtkVector to Kit_SRCS so vtkChartsHierarchy...
Merge topic 'comp-cygwin-visibility'
COMP: The "visibility" fix for mingw also applies to...
Merge topic 'includes-system-remove'
BUG: Fixed the source and system include separation.
Merge topic 'comp-cygwin-gdi'
COMP: Fix link errors related to not explicitly linking...
Merge topic 'mni-file-readers'
BUG: Fix crash when no filename set.
COMP: Fix dashboard warnings.
Merge topic 'mni-file-readers'
ENH: Add test for vtkMNIObjectReader/Writer.
STYLE: Documentation and formatting.
ENH: Recognized the reserved data type 'V'.
BUG: Remove the polygon reversal check, it doesn't...
BUG: Removed the system include directories.
COMP: On some platforms "index" is a system function.
ENH: Add file IO classes for BIC-MNI file formats.
Merge topic 'scalar-color-mapping'
Merge topic 'ImplicitModellerSmallZFix'
Fixed case where small Z dimension (less than # of...
Adding in a safety check to avoid a divide by zero...
Merge topic 'ParallelCoordinatesLeak'
ENH: Fixed memory leak
Fixed the issue with polygon offsets and near / far...
Merge topic 'sortfilenames-opt'
ENH: Pass strings to comparison function by reference.
Merge topic 'asciiReader-eof-fix'
Another boundary condition I missed...
Moving an openGL call to the derived classes.
Merge topic 'text-codecs-const-fix'
COMP: Cannot return const bool - client server wrapping.
Merge topic 'minc-attribute-validation'
ENH: Fewer warnings for non-standard minc files.
Merge topic 'Latin1-unicode-in-DelimitedTextReader'
changed order of const and virtual in declarations...
Merge topic 'Latin1-unicode-in-DelimitedTextReader'
Added a call to delete the codec after we are done.
Forgot PrintSelf methods which made one of the python...
Merge topic 'comp-vtktextcodecfactory'
Added an include for algorithm, some platforms do not...
COMP: find is an algorithm. Need to #include <algorithm...
Changing the amount of colors shown for lookup tables.
Merge topic 'msvc_mp_flag_option'
ENH: Added a configure option to enable /MP flag on...
Merge topic 'Latin1-unicode-in-DelimitedTextReader'
Merge topic 'legend_improvements'
Fixed PrintSelf.


On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:52 PM, David Cole <david.cole at kitware.com> wrote:
> So, personally, I don't think the prefixes are that useful, but I will defer
> to the wisdom of the crowd. I'll use prefixes if it's generally agreed
> they're worthwhile.
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:45 PM, Stephen Aylward
> <stephen.aylward at kitware.com> wrote:
>>
>> Going over a day's work as a a project manager, it is good to know if
>> bug fixes are being done or new features being added or style  fixes.
>>
>> Looking back as a developer, I'd like to know if someone was
>> committing a bug fixed to my code or simply style changes.   Or when
>> looking at other people's code, where there 100s of bug fixes applied
>> to it, or just one or two.
>>
>> Looking back as a user, I'd like to know if a filter has been improved
>> since I last downloaded it, or bugs fixed or whatever.
>>
>> Yes, Developer IQ errors that result in mislabelings are a problem -
>> no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater...as my grandma
>> actually never said, but I'm sure someone's grandmother once said.
>>
>> s
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:39 PM, David Cole <david.cole at kitware.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Out of curiosity: what are you scanning for?
>> >
>> > You want to know only about ENH or only about BUG fixes?
>> >
>> > What if one's mis-categorized and you miss it, just because one man's
>> > bug is
>> > another man's enh?
>> >
>> >
>> > On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:37 PM, David Cole <david.cole at kitware.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >>
>> >> It's documented on this page:
>> >> http://www.itk.org/Wiki/Git/Hooks
>> >>
>> >> (Search on that page for "ENH:")
>> >>
>> >> Found by googling "commit message prefix ITK" oddly enough...
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> :-)
>> >> David C.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Bill Lorensen
>> >> <bill.lorensen at gmail.com>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> Yes, now I remumber. It wasn;'t just Brad, it was Dave also.
>> >>>
>> >>> Now that we have a wider ITK audience, the ITK developers decided many
>> >>> years ago that the commit prefix was important. If the ITK developers
>> >>> think that is no longer the case, then let it be.
>> >>>
>> >>> We are not trying to push our process on Cmake, VTK or Paraview.
>> >>>
>> >>> I think a consistent prefix helps the transition to git.
>> >>>
>> >>> Bill
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:27 PM, David Cole <david.cole at kitware.com>
>> >>> wrote:
>> >>> > On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:21 PM, David Doria <daviddoria at gmail.com>
>> >>> > wrote:
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >> On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 2:14 PM, Stephen Aylward
>> >>> >> <stephen.aylward at kitware.com> wrote:
>> >>> >>>
>> >>> >>> Ok,
>> >>> >>>
>> >>> >>> I thought we had decided on ITK to use them many many years ago,
>> >>> >>> and
>> >>> >>> I
>> >>> >>> hadn't heard of a discussion to change.   Perhaps it was the VTK
>> >>> >>> folks.
>> >>> >>>
>> >>> >>> We did previously have hooks for these, right?
>> >>> >>>
>> >>> >>> Those 4-5 characters provide critical info.   If anything, we
>> >>> >>> should
>> >>> >>> welcome them for the space and time they do save for those
>> >>> >>> creating
>> >>> >>> the messages as well as those reading them.   They embody all
>> >>> >>> things
>> >>> >>> good about shorthand, codes, keys, names, IDs, stereotypes,
>> >>> >>> labels,
>> >>> >>> acronyms, and abbrevs. in a simple, universally accepted package
>> >>> >>> that
>> >>> >>> only requires 4-5 characters per usage :)
>> >>> >>>
>> >>> >>> s
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >> I'm not sure how many prefixes there are, but the ones I know are
>> >>> >> BUG,
>> >>> >> STYLE, and ENH. If character count is the only concern, could they
>> >>> >> be
>> >>> >> shortened to B:, S:, and E: ? I vote +1 for mandatory prefixes.
>> >>> >> David
>> >>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >>> >> Powered by www.kitware.com
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >> Visit other Kitware open-source projects at
>> >>> >> http://www.kitware.com/opensource/opensource.html
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >> Kitware offers ITK Training Courses, for more information visit:
>> >>> >> http://kitware.com/products/protraining.html
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >> Please keep messages on-topic and check the ITK FAQ at:
>> >>> >> http://www.itk.org/Wiki/ITK_FAQ
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >> Follow this link to subscribe/unsubscribe:
>> >>> >> http://www.itk.org/mailman/listinfo/insight-developers
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >
>> >>> > The argument was brought up due to the switch to git. Since there
>> >>> > are
>> >>> > many
>> >>> > tools/places where git is used ( 'git log --oneline' or 'git
>> >>> > shortlog'
>> >>> > ) to
>> >>> > produce summary output, it is best to describe the change in 78
>> >>> > characters
>> >>> > or less for the first line, and then elaborate on that in subsequent
>> >>> > lines
>> >>> > if necessary.
>> >>> >
>> >>> > Some commits are easy to describe in one line, others not so much.
>> >>> >
>> >>> > For bug fix commits, Brad and I have taken to using "(#12345)" as
>> >>> > the
>> >>> > suffix
>> >>> > on the first line.
>> >>> >
>> >>> > All other commits should be sufficiently described in English such
>> >>> > that
>> >>> > reading the one line indicates it's type.
>> >>> >
>> >>> > The prefixes make it harder to come up with the one-liner....
>> >>> >
>> >>> > At least those are the arguments.
>> >>> >
>> >>> > I prefer not having the prefixes enforced. That way, I can just
>> >>> > describe
>> >>> > what I did, and not worry about categorizing it and whether or not
>> >>> > the
>> >>> > community will agree with my own categorization.
>> >>> >
>> >>> >
>> >>> > Another 2 cents,
>> >>> > David C.
>> >>> >
>> >>> >
>> >>> > _______________________________________________
>> >>> > Powered by www.kitware.com
>> >>> >
>> >>> > Visit other Kitware open-source projects at
>> >>> > http://www.kitware.com/opensource/opensource.html
>> >>> >
>> >>> > Kitware offers ITK Training Courses, for more information visit:
>> >>> > http://kitware.com/products/protraining.html
>> >>> >
>> >>> > Please keep messages on-topic and check the ITK FAQ at:
>> >>> > http://www.itk.org/Wiki/ITK_FAQ
>> >>> >
>> >>> > Follow this link to subscribe/unsubscribe:
>> >>> > http://www.itk.org/mailman/listinfo/insight-developers
>> >>> >
>> >>> >
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> ==============================
>> Stephen R. Aylward, Ph.D.
>> Director of Medical Imaging Research
>> Kitware, Inc. - North Carolina Office
>> http://www.kitware.com
>> stephen.aylward (Skype)
>> (919) 969-6990 x300
>
>

More information about the Insight-developers mailing list