Merges - Pinging Previous Uploaders

Emmet Hikory emmet.hikory at gmail.com
Sat Jul 14 23:37:12 BST 2007


On 7/15/07, Jordan Mantha <mantha at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> I think I can get a whiteboard added to the
> launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/<package> page. I think putting notes in BZR
> is really suboptimal at this point because we have very few packages that
> use it. Putting info in a README.Ubuntu or something seems ok, but I'd like
> people to be able to see stuff *before* they grab the source.
<...>
> So I see two issues:
>   1. Being able to "lock" a merge when you're working on it. This should be
> done via bug reports.
>   2. Some packages have tricky things or larger scale issues and we should
> have some way to share per-package information. I think a LP whiteboard
> could work for this.

    My large concern about a web resource was the use of another web
resource which URL one must remember and which one must visit when
working on a package, but workflow should already include checking
launchpad when preparing such work.  Using a launchpad URL which
should already be part of the checking process goes a long way towards
removing my concern.

    On the other hand, when making an update, and discovering an issue
that I want to be sure to communicate to the next person to touch the
package, using something in the source (either README.Ubuntu (good
name), or BZR comments (where the package is maintained in BZR)) is
much easier, as the source is already unpacked and I have editing
tools open.  Using the website whiteboard to document these seems a
little more difficult.

    On the gripping hand,
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/<package> is used by a much
larger audience than those contents of the source package not included
in the binary package.  Should such developer notes be so widely
presented?  Might this lead to confusion in users?  Is it a reasonable
obligation to make explanations for the patch not included in the
changelog publically available and easy to view?

    As a result of this, I am now uncertain whether to prefer
something as part of the package, or as a launchpad whiteboard.
Personally, I believe my workflow would be simplified for notes within
the package, but downloading source is a low barrier for me: each
developers' environment differs, and for some it may be signficiantly
higher.

-- 
Emmet HIKORY



More information about the Ubuntu-motu mailing list