mbedtls/ChangeLog.d/00README.md
Gilles Peskine b695d5e30a Add guidance on writing and maintaining changelog entries
Signed-off-by: Gilles Peskine <Gilles.Peskine@arm.com>
2020-03-27 20:14:19 +01:00

2.3 KiB

Pending changelog entry directory

This directory contains changelog entries that have not yet been merged to the changelog file (../ChangeLog).

Changelog entry file format

A changelog entry file must have the extension *.txt and must have the following format:

Security
   * Change description.
   * Another change description.

Features
   * Yet another change description. This is a long change description that
     spans multiple lines.
   * Yet again another change description.

The permitted changelog entry categories are as follows:

API changes
Default behavior changes
Requirement changes
New deprecations
Removals
Features
Security
Bugfix
Changes

Use “Changes” for anything that doesn't fit in the other categories, such as performance, documentation and test improvements.

How to write a changelog entry

Each entry starts with three spaces, an asterisk and a space. Continuation lines start with 5 spaces. Lines wrap at 79 characters.

Write full English sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. Use the present tense. Use the imperative where applicable. For example: “Fix a bug in mbedtls_xxx() ….”

Include GitHub issue numbers where relevant. Use the format “#1234” for an Mbed TLS issue. Add other external references such as CVE numbers where applicable.

Credit the author of the contribution if the contribution is not a member of the Mbed TLS development team. Also credit bug reporters where applicable.

Explain why, not how. Remember that the audience is the users of the library, not its developers. In particular, for a bug fix, explain the consequences of the bug, not how the bug was fixed. For a new feature, explain why one might be interested in the feature. For an API change or a deprecation, explain how to update existing applications.

See existing entries for examples.

How ChangeLog is updated

Run ../scripts/assemble_changelog.py from a Git working copy to move the entries from files in ChangeLog.d to the main ChangeLog file.