Messages in this thread | | | Date | Sun, 2 Oct 2005 12:04:18 -0700 (PDT) | From | Linus Torvalds <> | Subject | Re: [PATCHv2] Document from line in patch format |
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On Sun, 2 Oct 2005, Paul Jackson wrote: > > Document more details of patch format such as the "from" line > used to specify the patch author, and provide more references > for patch guidelines.
One more issue: I'd really prefer that the "---" not be documented as "optional".
Yes, my tools will also notice "diff -" and "Index: " at the start of the line as being markers for where the real patch starts, but that's a hack because people haven't been following the "---" rule. I'd much rather make it clear that the "---" is supposed to be there, to mark where the end of the comments are.
Note that after the "---" you can have any amount of explanations that are not to be committed as comments on why. Not just a "diffstat", but in general it's an area for explaining why I should commit it or random notes on the patch. Things that don't necessarily make sense once the patch _is_ committed.
For example, a submitter might want to note that he's working on a better patch, but that this patch is the minimal one before a release. Things he wants to tell the maintainer, but that don't necessarily make sense to anybody else.
So the _diffstat_ is optional (although much preferred, especially for bigger patches), but the marker of "this is the end of the comments for the changelog" is not.
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