Re: Fix quilt merge error in acpi-cpufreq.c

[Rusty Russell <rusty@rustcorp.com.au>]

On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:17:49 am H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> Linus Torvalds wrote:
> "build fix" is valid and proper use: it tells that it
> fixes a compilation error, which succinctly communicates both the
> priority of the fix and how it needs to be validated.

Side note: I really prefer to see the compile error output in this case: great
for googling.  It annoys me when people skip this.

Anyway, Impact: had lead me to think harder about my messages than the
free-form commit style did.  Perhaps it's too rigid, but it helped.

Let's get concrete.  Here's the top 3 non-merge commits in gitk:

    ALSA: hda - Fix the cmd cache keys for amp verbs
    
    Fix the key value generation for get/set amp verbs.  The upper bits of
    the parameter have to be combined with the verb value to be unique for
    each direction/index of amp access.
    
    This fixes the resume problem on some hardwares like Macbook after
    the channel mode is changed.

I have no idea what this patch does.  It seems to be a fix; what are the
symptoms of the problem, and how long has it been there? 

    ALSA: add missing definitions(letters) to HD-Audio.txt
    
    impact: Add missing definitions(letters).

This is actually a pure documentation patch.  "Fix typos" or "Documentation
fixes" would seem sufficient for subject, and no body needed.

    ALSA: sound/pci: use memdup_user()
    
    Remove open-coded memdup_user().

Again, the body seems gratuitous.

Anyone want to try to write a guide on writing good commit messages?
Rusty.