use Perl

Changes.yml spec?

Journal written by LTjake (4001) and posted by brian_d_foy on 2007.09.06 3:07   

I was browsing through the solr-ruby project svn directory when i can across CHANGES.yml (sample below):

- v0.0.5
release_date: 2007-08-??
changes:
- Added support for highlighter fragment size to Solr::Request::Standard
- Added support for MoreLikeThese to Solr::Request::Standard
- Added Solr::Request::ModifyDocument (requires SOLR-139 patch)
- Added Solr::Util.query_parser_escape()

- v0.0.4
release_date: 2007-08-16
changes:
- Solr::Indexer#solr added to gain access to the Solr::Connection instance
- Fixed issue with multi-line String field values when field set multiValued="false"
- Fixed tests to work without either Hpricot or libxml2

This makes total sense -- Machine parsable high-level changelogs. I'd love to see a spec created for this. A quick poll of #perl-qa show that some other folks agree. I searched around but couldn't find any existing specs -- any takers? :)

«  Leeds.pm | IPC::System::Simple v0.06  »

• Bad YAML (Score:1)

  by ferreira (5993) on 2007.09.05 19:48 (#57499)
  ( http://www.ferreira.triang.net/ | Last Journal: 2007.10.03 17:27 )

  It looks like the developers on the project don't use that as machine-parseable file, because it contains errors that prevents the content to be parsed as YAML. Namely, all lines starting as

  - v0.0.4:

  should be ended with ':'. But I think this idea only flies for real simple Changelogs. In CPAN, you find a great diversity of different markup people use for distinct things: bug fixes, new feature implementation, doc patches, etc., etc. That's not easy to be captured in a simple format. And if it is not simple, it will scare people away.

  [ Reply to This ]
  • Re:Bad YAML by Alias (Score:1) 2007.09.05 21:48
    • Re:Bad YAML by Alias (Score:1) 2007.09.06 2:32
• Not YAML (Score:2)

  by acme (189) on 2007.09.06 4:17 (#57526)
  ( http://www.astray.com/ | Last Journal: 2007.11.06 4:04 )

  Please don't make it YAML, it's a failed format.

  [ Reply to This ]
  • Re:Not YAML by kwilliams (Score:1) 2007.09.06 7:08
    • Re:Not YAML by rjray (Score:2) 2007.09.06 18:16
  • Re:Not YAML by stu42j (Score:1) 2007.09.06 9:54
  • Re:Not YAML by shngn (Score:1) 2007.09.06 18:44
• Good idea! (Score:1)

  by sjn (3626) on 2007.09.06 10:08 (#57540)
  ( Last Journal: 2006.03.08 7:07 )

  This is a very good idea, but mostly because a standardised changelog format gives us options like automatic pre-release checks of the file ("Have I updated the Changes.yml file before uploading the package to CPAN?") or making new Kwalitee tests for CPAN-friendly packages. :)

  Oh, and the syntax can be "fixed" by adding a ":" after the version number (see v0.0.1 in the example).

  - v0.0.1:
    release_date: 2007-02-15
    changes:
      - initial release

  [ Reply to This ]
  • Re:Good idea! by sjn (Score:1) 2007.09.06 10:17
  • Here comes spec v0.01... by RGiersig (Score:1) 2007.09.07 4:25
• XML, the Anti-YAML (Score:2)

  by rjray (1649) on 2007.09.06 18:15 (#57556)
  ( http://www.rjray.org/ | Last Journal: 2007.09.21 17:46 )

  I've been using a home-brewed XML format for some of my changelogs. I also (of course) keep a more traditional-format CL in the distro. I've been working on some XSLT stylesheets and an article about it for XML.com, but lack of tuits has slowed me. This may be the nudge I need to finish it.

  Of course, mentioning XML alone may raise cries from those who are tired of seeing it applied to every vaguely-text-data-related problem that comes along. And I understand (and sometimes share) the sentiment. But in this case, I've developed a spec over time that encompasses things like I18N (to a certain degree), allowance for plugging in "modules" to specify source-control information, etc.

  This isn't to say I think it's perfect, or even complete at this stage. The kernel of the idea came from ruminating on how hard it would be to completely automate the build+release process, from "perl Makefile.PL" all the way through updating my personal web pages and creating a Freshmeat.net announcement. The thought of being able to easily ("easily" being a relative term, of course) generate a plain-text ChangeLog, an HTML-ified prettier ChangeLog.html, while also extracting the specific changes for the given build to include in release announcements, etc., is very attractive.

  Like I said, maybe this is the ass-kick I need to finish the XSLT and at least write a simple overview, if not an article...

  --
  

  --rjray

  [ Reply to This ]
  • Re:XML, the Anti-YAML by Alias (Score:1) 2007.09.06 20:03
  • Re:XML, the Anti-YAML by hex (Score:1) 2007.11.08 7:28
• OK, I'll bite... (Score:1)

  by RGiersig (3217) <RGiersigNO@SPAMcpan.org> on 2007.09.07 5:24 (#57584)
  ( Last Journal: 2007.09.07 5:17 )

  I have done a short write-up of a draft for Changes.yml in a personal journal entry at http://use.perl.org/~RGiersig/journal/34370/ [perl.org].
  
  It's just a quick draft of things that could be handy from my point-of-view as a module maintainer, please add your ideas and positive critiques...

  [ Reply to This ]