Re: [PATCH] Remove errors caught by checkpatch.pl in kernel/kallsyms.c

[Stefan Richter <stefanr@s5r6.in-berlin.de>]

Julia Lawall wrote:
> Is everything below the --- preserved in what is available via git log?  

No, none of it (if the patch is mechanically applied with e.g. git-am).

Sometimes, useful information does indeed get lost because an author
didn't consider it "above ---"-worthy.

...
> I think the how information has some value, 
> both to make people aware of what tools are useful for what kinds of 
> tasks, and to help one understand what criteria were used in making the 
> patch.

That information is perfect for conservation mailing list archives.

The source repository metadata (commit logs) have other purposes:  Keep
book about what happened to the source code and why.

> This can sometimes be conveyed more precisely using code than 
> English text.

If the scope of a change is better captured that way, then OK.

> I agree that the how information is not always relevant for 
> the person who just wants to scan a changelog to see what is new in the 
> current Linux release.

The changelog is not only to learn what's new (i.e. a source of release
notes), it's also to learn what's old. :-)  I go through old changelogs
all the time because I deal with code with history older than my
involvement or too old for me to remember the circumstances.
-- 
Stefan Richter
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http://arcgraph.de/sr/