Re: Proposed new file for CVS: DISTRIBUTORS [bug-grep]

[Charles Levert]

* On Tuesday 2005-05-10 at 09:50:01 +0100, Julian Foad wrote:
> Charles Levert wrote:
> >I propose adding this new file to CVS.
> [Information for Grep developers about known distributions of Grep.]
> 
> This is a useful bit of information for us developers, so I would like to 
> add this file somewhere.
> 
> However, it should not go into the source distribution (tar ball) because 
> that would create a circular reference that could never be kept up to date. 
> Therefore it needs either to be specifically excluded from being packaged 
> by "make dist", or it needs to go somewhere else:
> 
>   a separate module in CVS;

Note that being in CVS in no way automatically
puts it in the "make dist" tarballs, so there's
no strict need for a separate module.

However, putting it in CVS without pointing to
it from elsewhere would make it relatively hard
to find.  It could be linked using
   <http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/grep/grep/>
though.

Remember, we have those two CVS trees at the
moment:
        savannah.gnu.org:/cvsroot/grep
        savannah.gnu.org:/webcvs/grep


>   an issue in the issue tracker;

I would miss the ability to just update it
(and remember previous versions), being forced
to systematically add new comments.  Not the
right tool IMHO.


>   a web page that we developers can update;

Yes.  See CVS above if it's in the
<http://www.gnu.org/software/grep/> tree.

I have already offered to create and maintain a
developper page there a while back, but got no
reply to this.  The message was
   <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-grep/2005-03/msg00053.html>.
in the "Plan for grep" thread:

] I can prepare a new current-developments web
] page, to be linked prominently from both web
] sites (we'll figure out how for Savannah),
] that explains and documents all this and that
] is kept up to date.

It could be a mix of TODO and DISTRIBUTORS.
I would put it under
   <http://www.gnu.org/software/grep/development.html>
or something.
The linking details can be worked out.

The offer still stands.


>   a Wiki page.

Similar, but we don't have a Wiki.  I'm not sure
it would be worth the trouble setting one up just
for a relatively small project that already has
trouble with the restricted amount of spare time
people can devote to it.


> This can't be the only meta-data that we keep; I imagine there must already 
> be something that can serve as a precedent.

In GNU grep or elsewhere in GNU projects?
I don't think the GNU coding standards say
anything related to this.