Re: [Ksummit-2010-discuss] [PATCH] MAINTAINERS: add U: for URL oftodo list, add RCU todo list

[Eric Paris]

On Tue, 2010-08-31 at 16:46 -0700, Joe Perches wrote:
> On Tue, 2010-08-31 at 16:25 -0700, Luck, Tony wrote:
> > >Then, the list is maintained outside of mainline (in the subsystem git
> > >tree) and will automatically update mainline in the next merge window
> > >when the tree is pulled.
> > 
> > But this would mean that the version of the todo list in Linus' tree
> > is usually a release (3 months) out of date.  It would be a good idea
> > for a list maintained this way to include instructions on how to find
> > the current version, lest some unsuspecting person waste time working
> > on items that are already fixed and waiting for the next merge.
> 
> There are already reasonable mechanisms for this.
> 
> It's perfectly fine to have multiple T: entries,
> one for a current tree, another for a -next tree.

If I just downloaded a big tar ball and started trolling randomly
through the source how am I going to know what the MAINTAINERS file is?
How am I going to know that todo entries should be located by opening
the magic file called MAINTAINERS, looking for T: entries, and then
checking out the listed web page?

random todo files scattered around the kernel, all with references that
might duplicate MAINTAINERS info, but which make it clear to a complete
newbie how development for that subsys works, seems simple and easy.

subsys maintainers might want to put all kinds of info in there, what
tree to develop against (rarely a tar ball of Linus' tree), pointers to
particularly relevant Documentation/ files, how they like to get
patches, where those patches usually end getting applied, what lists and
cc's to use, things like that.

I just think that hoping a newbie is going to naturally know MAINTAINERS
isn't the best.

-Eric

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