Re: original package changelogs
I assume you are talking about the upstream ChangeLog rather than
debian/changelog.
The only standard I am aware of for that is the one described in the
GNU coding standards document[1]. Many upstreams completely ignore it
and the recommended file naming (ChangeLog not CHANGES.TXT or one of
the other myriad variants). GNU ChangeLog files[2] are similar to VCS
logs but have a specific format, that was initially hand-written. That
said, Linux uses unadulterated git logs for its ChangeLog and I
suspect many projects using it will do the same in the future.
Please be aware of the difference between NEWS files and ChangeLog
files in the GNU coding standards document. Most upstreams completely
ignore this difference. GNU NEWS[3] files are a list of user-visible
changes for each release. The GNU coding standards document doesn't
recommend any specific format for NEWS files. I'd recommend looking at
the various GNU packages for ideas. I include release version numbers,
dates and the list of changes, maybe split up into sections.
If you use a version control system, there are cvs2cl, svn2cl, git2cl
and probably other scripts to convert your commit messages into
GNU-style ChangeLog files, no need to reinvent the wheel here.
1. http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/
2. http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Change-Logs
3. http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#NEWS-File
--
bye,
pabs
http://wiki.debian.org/PaulWise
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