[Twisted-Python] Re: [Twisted-commits] r17325 - merge sob-491, fixes #491

[glyph at divmod.com]

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:30:02 -0700, Cory Dodt <corydodt at twistedmatrix.com> wrote:

>I'm all for a structured development process, but

I love the way that everyone who objects to a structured development process begins their criticism with "I love a structured development process, but".

>this is just being pedantic for the sake of being pedantic.

Nope, there are good reasons for all of it.  The commit message was incorrectly formatted.  Nobody reverted the commit or anything, and I certainly didn't interpret JP's informative post to be "haranguing" anyone about the process; merely reminding.  "Jerub is such a jackass, he didn't follow the required process for commits, I am reverting everything he's done in the last 3 months" -- now that would be a harangue.

(BTW jerub, you are a jackass: it's rude to the release manager to include helpful information in the commit, and I am already so rude to him that he's going to start killing people if he doesn't get some respect around here :))

Even the 78-characters thing has a purpose.  The commit messages on the IRC channel and commits list are generated from the message.  Some mailer software chokes on >78-character subject lines, and the IRC message will be truncated if it's longer than that, and it will be omitted entirely if the message doesn't appear on the first line.

The format for commit messages, among other things, is documented here:

    http://divmod.org/trac/wiki/UltimateQualityDevelopmentSystem

I've written a bit more about the philosophical underpinnings of the constant striving to improve our development process through simple procedures like this one here:

    http://glyf.livejournal.com/58626.html

>Be serious.

We are serious.  What's with the tone of your message?

>It was possible to look this up in the bug, which is how I found out, spending
>all of 10 seconds on it.

It wouldn't have been if he forgot the "fixes" field instead of some other random bits of information from the message.  That field is also required for a reason.

Even if it is literally ten seconds (and I doubt that, it's probably more like 40 seconds, once you've mixed in trac latency) multiply that ten seconds by every change made to trunk in six months, add a few minutes for each relevant message, and that's how long it takes to write the NEWS file.  There's no (reasonable) way to correct commit messages, so it's important to write them correctly the first time.