README.commits

Committing rules
----------------

0) Ask first. If your changes are major, or could possibly break existing
   code, you should always ask. If your change is minor and you've
   been working on Octopus for a while it probably isn't necessary
   to ask. But when in doubt, ask. Even if your change is correct,
   somebody may know a better way to do things.

1) Ask _first_.

2) With git, we no longer maintain a ChangeLog file, but you are expected
   to produce a meaningful commit message. Changes without a sufficient
   commit message will be reverted. See below for the expected format
   of commit messages.

3) Try to separate each change into multiple small commits that are
   independent ("micro commits" in git speak). This way its easier to
   see what each change does, making it easier to review, to cherry pick
   to other branches, to revert, and to bisect.

Notes:

* When developing larger features or complicated bug fixes, it is
  advisable to work in a branch in your own cloned Octopus repository.
  You may even consider making your repository publically available
  so that others can easily test and review your changes.

* The expected format for git commit messages is as follows:

=== begin example commit ===
Short explanation of the commit

Longer explanation explaining exactly what's changed, whether any
external or private interfaces changed, what bugs were fixed (with bug
tracker reference if applicable) and so forth. Be concise but not too brief.
=== end example commit ===

  - Always add a brief description of the commit to the _first_ line of
    the commit and terminate by two newlines (it will work without the
    second newline, but that is not nice for the interfaces).

  - First line (the brief description) must only be one sentence and
    should start with a capital letter unless it starts with a lowercase
    symbol or identifier. Don't use a trailing period either. Don't exceed
    72 characters.

  - The main description (the body) is normal prose and should use normal
    punctuation and capital letters where appropriate. Normally, for patches
    sent to a mailing list it's copied from there.

  - When committing code on behalf of others use the --author option, e.g.
    git commit -a --author "Joe Coder <joe@coder.org>" and --signoff.