Source control and commit messages

Using Trac and Subversion for source control.

• When something changes – see the Timeline
• What changed within file[s] – see the Changeset
• What is the issue – read the Ticket description

So what’s left for the commit message? well this is what I think

“One sentence; describing your action in relation to the Ticket description.”

Let’s break it down

“One sentence” – means that you should keep your changes really small. If you feel the need to write more than one sentence. Split the commit into two.

“describe your action in relation to the Ticket description” – this one is important; only say which part of the described issue you have addressed. Unless the ticket is design or refactoring related one, no reference to code changes should be made. This information is already available in the changeset.