Re: [ANNOUNCEMENT] GDB 8.1 release branch created!

Joel Brobecker
2018-02-02T15:53:17Z

> > We need a clear rule on writing changelog, otherwise how do we
> > write changelog or review patches?
>
> I agree. I hope Someone(TM) will answer these questions.

Well, if it were me, I would stop using ChangeLog files with
immediate effect.

The purpose of ChangeLog files, as I understand it, is to describe
the "what changed", and is aimed at people who download a given
release and want to know what changed (because they do not have
access to the version control information).

While the above might have been essential 20 or 25 years ago,
it is trivial for anyone today to have access to the change
history of our program. Two options:
- git clone our public repository; or...
- ... if they don't want to use git, they can use the gitweb interface.

I think that this is an acceptable way for us to provide the log
of changes that were made.

Currently, the situation is that we all pay a price in term of time
wasted populating those files, and when we add the time collectively
spent on those, I cannot imagine the few people's convenience would
be worth that much effort.

I vote for we stop using those ChangeLog files right now. We can
still have them as part of the ChangeLog if people want -- although,
I am also open to considering the pros and cons of keeping it,
but I think they might not be worth the investiment either.

--
Joel