From a0ae430f01bb8ab0a98cce2203435a286dd89ff7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Boris Kolpackov <boris@codesynthesis.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2016 03:29:20 +0200
Subject: Initial spec version and add script

---
 README.cli | 282 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 282 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 README.cli

(limited to 'README.cli')

diff --git a/README.cli b/README.cli
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91ae0f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.cli
@@ -0,0 +1,282 @@
+// cli --generate-txt --txt-suffix "" README.cli
+
+// @@ add -n which prints the tree, asks for where to add (auto-completion)
+//    and starts the editor.
+//
+// @@ drop script?
+//
+// @@ impl script? Don't even need to extract anything. Or maybe should to
+//    make sure the commit message is the same. Could warn if doesn't match
+//    subject. Not going to be easy if moved.
+
+"
+Version 1.0
+
+This document describes the \i{change development} database and process. The
+main premise of the approach described here is that planning changes in code
+should be handled in the same way as changing the code itself; that is, using
+\c{git(1)} and our favorite text editors, rather than some external database
+accessible via a web interface (which what most bug trackers are these days).
+
+To be usable, the database format and process must not be burdensome. As a
+result, there is minimum notation as well as helper tools to automate common
+operations, for example, adding a new item (called a note).
+
+The database can either be stored in the \c{git} repository of the project
+itself or, if the project consists of multiple \c{git} repositories, in a
+repository of its own. In the former case it is recommended to place the
+database in the top-level subdirectory of a project and call it \c{change}. In
+the latter case it is recommended to call the repository \c{change},
+potentially with a prefix denoting the overall project name, for example,
+\c{hello-change}.
+
+The change database is a collection of notes stored in plain text files that
+use a certain notation. The files are organized in subdirectories which are
+used to group notes that affect a certain subproject or an area of a project.
+For a database that covers multiple \c{git} repositories it is common to have
+top-level subdirectories named after those repositories. As an example, let's
+say we have a \"Hello, World!\" project that consists of two git repositories:
+the \c{libhello} library and the \c{hello} program. The resulting directory
+structure then could be:
+
+\
+hello/
+
+libhello/
+
+change/
+|
+|--hello/
+|
+`--libhello/
+\
+
+Continuing with this example, inside \c{libhello/} we could have subdirectories
+for major functionality areas:
+
+\
+change/
+|
+|--hello/
+|
+`--libhello/
+   |
+   |--format/
+   |
+   `--print/
+\
+
+It seldom makes sense to have more than two levels of subdirectories. At the
+top level the subdirectory called \c{reference} is reserved for storing notes
+that have been acted upon. Its usage is described in more detail below.
+
+A note consists of a \i{header} and an optional \i{body} separated with a blank
+line. All lines in a note should be no longer than 78 characters. The header
+is always the first line and contains the note's \i{severity}, \i{summary},
+and optional \i{labels}. The header has the following format (literal values
+are quoted):
+
+\
+['-'|'!'|'?'|'+'] <summary>[ '['<label>[ <label>]...']']
+\
+
+For example:
+
+\
+! Detect empty name [bug]
+- Add ability to customize greeting phrase [feature 2.0.0]
+? Implement pluggable formatter [idea]
+\
+
+The '\c{-}' severity denotes a normal note, '\c{!}' \- critical, and '\c{?}'
+\- unconfirmed or questionable, while '\c{+}' is used to denote implemented
+notes in the \c{reference} directory (discussed below).
+
+The summary should follow the \c{git} rules for a commit message summary, that
+is, it should use no articles, past/future tenses, and should ideally be no
+longer than 60 characters (though this rule can sometimes be broken for
+clarity). Normally, you should be able to copy the summary into the commit
+message when you have implemented a note.
+
+Labels are separated with a space (note: not a comma and space). By convention
+the first label should be the note type. Commonly used types are: \c{bug} (fix
+something broken), \c{feature} (implement new functionality), \c{idea} (design
+a new feature), \c{quality} (improve quality of implementation), \c{infra}
+(work on project infrastructure).
+
+Further, labels can be used to group notes based on certain criteria. For
+example, \c{doc} (documentation issue), \c{windows} (Windows-specific),
+\c{2.0.0} (scheduled for the 2.0.0 release), \c{john} (assigned to John). The
+names of subdirectories in which the issue is located are also considered its
+labels. So, for example, if the above \"Detect empty name\" bug was filed in
+\c{lihello/format/}, then its labels would be \c{bug}, \c{format}, and
+\c{libhello}.
+
+The body of a note is free-form. However, for clarity, it makes sense to avoid
+using '\c{-}' for lists in the body ('\c{*}' for the first level and '\c{~}'
+for the second level are good options).
+
+Notes can be saved in two ways. Simple notes without a body or with a body
+containing one or two paragraphs can be written in the \c{list} files. These
+files can appear at the top level or in any subdirectory. More complex notes
+can be placed in their own files.
+
+If a note is written in the \c{list} file, then its body must be indented two
+spaces to align with the start of the summary. Notes are separated with blank
+lines and their order in the \c{list} files is not significant. Normally you
+would add a new note at the top, for convenience. Continuing with our example,
+let's file our bug and idea in the \c{list} file under \c{libhello/format/}
+(since they both only affect this functionality):
+
+\
+! Detect empty name [bug]
+
+  It would make sense to detect empty names and throw invalid_argument.
+
+? Implement pluggable formatter [idea]
+
+  Some users asked for a way to provide their own formatting implementation
+  via some sort of a plugin mechanism.
+
+  Note that it's not clear at all this is a good idea.
+\
+
+If a note is written into its own file then its body need not be indented;
+everything after the header and the blank like is just a normal plain text
+file. When choosing a name for a file try to incorporate at least two and
+preferably three keywords form the summary. This will minimize the chance of
+a name conflict in the reference directory which will accumulate notes over
+many years.
+
+As an example, let's save our feature into \c{custom-greeting-phrase} under
+\c{libhello/}:
+
+\
+- Add ability to customize greeting phrase [feature 2.0.0]
+
+Some users asked for a way to customize the greeting phrase. For example, some
+prefer less formal \"Hi\" to \"Hello\".
+
+The way we can implement this is by adding greeting as the second argument to
+say() that will default to \"Hello\".
+
+Note that this change will be source but not binary compatible so we will have
+to bump at least the minor version.
+\
+
+Note also that we can move notes freely between files. For example, we may add
+a new subdirectory and move all the notes that affect this functionality from
+the top-level \c{list} file. Or we can move a note from \c{list} to its own
+file. For example, if we start expanding on our \"Implement pluggable
+formatter\" idea, then it probably makes sense to move it into its own file.
+
+When committing (in the \c{git} sense) changes to the database, use a separate
+commit for each note. When committing a newly added note, the commit message
+should be in the form:
+
+\
+Add <type>: <summary>
+\
+
+For example:
+
+\
+Add bug: Detect empty name
+\
+
+If you only have a single issue added in the database then you can use the
+\c{add} script to automate it. This script will commit the new issues with the
+correct message and, unless the \c{-c} option is specified, push the result to
+\c{origin}. This should make filing new notes a fairly burdenless process:
+write a note using your favorite text editor and run the \c{add} script.
+
+Once a note is acted upon (implemented or you have decided not to do anything
+about it), you can either delete it or move it to the reference. Simply
+deleting a note is appropriate for simple bugs and features where all the
+design information, if any, is incorporated into the code itself. For a more
+elaborate note, however, it may make sense to preserve it in case it needs to
+be revisited in the future.
+
+The top-level \c{reference} subdirectory should recreate the same directory
+structure as top-level (except for \c{reference/} itself). For instance, this
+will be the structure for our example:
+
+\
+change/
+|
+|--hello/
+|
+|--libhello/
+|  |
+|  |--format/
+|  |
+|  `--print/
+|
+`--reference/
+   |
+   |--hello/
+   |
+   `--libhello/
+      |
+      |--format/
+      |
+      `--print/
+\
+
+
+Only notes stored as separate files can be moved to the reference (in other
+words, there should be no \c{list} files in \c{reference/}). When moved, a
+note should be placed into the corresponding subdirectory and its severity
+changed to either '\c{+}' if it has been implemented or to '\c{?}' if it has
+been dropped (in which case it is a good idea to add an explanation as to
+why).
+
+Continuing with our example, let's say we have implemented the \"Customize
+Greeting Phrase\" feature but would like to keep the note. This is the
+relevant part of our directory structure before the move:
+
+\
+change/
+|
+|--libhello/
+|  |
+|  `--custom-greeting-phrase
+|
+`--reference/
+   |
+   `--libhello/
+\
+
+And this is after the move (we also change the severity to '\c{+}' inside
+\c{custom-greeting-phrase}):
+
+\
+change/
+|
+|--libhello/
+|
+`--reference/
+   |
+   `--libhello/
+      |
+      `--custom-greeting-phrase
+\
+
+For an implemented note the commit message should be the same as the one for
+the implementation in the code repository and which normally should be the
+same as the note subject. If the change database is part of the project's
+\c{git} repository, then everything should be in the same commit.
+
+If you have decided not to implement a note, then the commit message should
+have the following form:
+
+\
+Drop <type>: <summary>
+\
+
+For example:
+
+\
+Drop idea: Implement pluggable formatter
+\
+"
-- 
cgit v1.1