Update with Miles's advice on how to commit.

1 files changed, 48 insertions, 10 deletions

diff --git a/admin/notes/commits b/admin/notes/commits
index ff2dcc93ff5..2896328c664 100644
--- a/admin/notes/commits
+++ b/admin/notes/commits
@@ -1,15 +1,53 @@
-http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2007-12/msg01208.html
+HOW TO COMMIT CHANGES TO EMACS
 
-From: Eli Zaretskii
-Subject: Re: Log messages in CVS
-Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:06:29 +0200
+http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2009-03/msg00555.html
+From:    Miles Bader
+Subject: commit style redux
+Date:    Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:21:20 +0900
+
+(1) Commit all changed files at once with a single log message (which
+    in CVS will result in an identical log message for all committed
+    files), not one-by-one.  This is pretty easy using vc-dir now.
+
+(2) Make the log message describe the entire changeset, perhaps
+    including relevant changelog entiries (I often don't bother with
+    the latter if it's a trivial sort of change).
+
+    Many modern source-control systems vaguely distinguish the first
+    line of the log message to use as a short summary for abbreviated
+    history listing (in arch this was explicitly called the summary,
+    but many other systems have a similar concept).  So it's nice if
+    you can format the log entry like:
+
+        SHORTISH ONE-LINE SUMMARY
+
+        MULTIPLE-LINE DETAILED DESCRIPTION POSSIBLY INCLUDING (OR
+        CONSISTING OF) CHANGELOG ENTRIES
 
-I once posted a summary that I know about; see:
+    [Even with CVS this style is useful, because web CVS browsing
+    interfaces often include the first N words of the log message of
+    the most recent commit as a short "most recent change"
+    description.]
 
-  http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2006-11/msg00229.html
-  http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2006-11/msg00234.html
-  http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2006-11/msg00312.html
+(3) Don't phrase log messages assuming the filename is known, because
+    in non-file-oriented systems (everything modern other than CVS),
+    the log listing tends to be treated as global information, and the
+    connection with specific files is less explicit.
 
-Richard commented here, basically approving my summary:
+    For instance, currently I often see log messages like "Regenerate";
+    for modern source-control systems with a global log, it's better to
+    have something like "Regenerate configure".
 
-  http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2006-11/msg00276.html
+
+Followup discussion:
+http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2010-01/msg00897.html
+
+
+PREVIOUS GUIDELINES FOR CVS
+
+For historical interest only, here is the old-style advice for CVS logs:
+http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2007-12/msg01208.html
+
+From: Eli Zaretskii
+Subject: Re: Log messages in CVS
+Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:06:29 +0200