[Gnu-arch-users] automatic messages (for archive cycling etc)

[Miles Bader]

I wrote:
> I've changed to using address@hidden
> 
> [Grrr, there should be an automatic message...]

Ok, here's a new idea for this sort of `automatic message functionality'
that's _very simple_ and I think addresses the concerns I've seen raised
about past proposals for implementing such a feature:

 1) At the end of an update/replay/whatever command, tla looks in {arch} for
    a file called {arch}/=update-message, and if found, prints the contents
    to stdout.

 2) That's it

The way of using it should be obvious:  You just commit an extra changeset to
`out of date' branches that contain an =update-message file with an
appropriate message; presumably any continuation tags point to the _previous_
changeset, before the one containing the message (though it's obviously not a
big deal if they don't -- it's easy enough to commit a changeset to remove
the message file).

Some advantages to this approach:

  * Really, really, simple, and easy to understand

  * No extra network overhead for remote archives

  * Mirroring does the right thing, and there's no extra overhead for it

  * If you change your mind, you can commit another changeset to remove the
    file, and again mirroring etc. do the right thing

  * You can use this when changing versions too (i.e., it's not `per-archive'
    like previous suggestions I made)

Any comments?

Thanks,

-Miles
-- 
The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
  --Albert Einstein