(emacs.info) Change Log

 
 Change Logs
 ===========
 
    The Emacs command `C-x 4 a' adds a new entry to the change log file
 for the file you are editing (`add-change-log-entry-other-window').
 
    A change log file contains a chronological record of when and why you
 have changed a program, consisting of a sequence of entries describing
 individual changes.  Normally it is kept in a file called `ChangeLog'
 in the same directory as the file you are editing, or one of its parent
 directories.  A single `ChangeLog' file can record changes for all the
 files in its directory and all its subdirectories.
 
    A change log entry starts with a header line that contains your name,
 your email address (taken from the variable `user-mail-address'), and
 the current date and time.  Aside from these header lines, every line
 in the change log starts with a space or a tab.  The bulk of the entry
 consists of "items", each of which starts with a line starting with
 whitespace and a star.  Here are two entries, both dated in May 1993,
 each with two items:
 
      1993-05-25  Richard Stallman  <rms@gnu.org>
      
              * man.el: Rename symbols `man-*' to `Man-*'.
              (manual-entry): Make prompt string clearer.
      
              * simple.el (blink-matching-paren-distance):
              Change default to 12,000.
      
      1993-05-24  Richard Stallman  <rms@gnu.org>
      
              * vc.el (minor-mode-map-alist): Don't use it if it's void.
              (vc-cancel-version): Doc fix.
 
 (Previous Emacs versions used a different format for the date.)
 
    One entry can describe several changes; each change should have its
 own item.  Normally there should be a blank line between items.  When
 items are related (parts of the same change, in different places), group
 them by leaving no blank line between them.  The second entry above
 contains two items grouped in this way.
 
    `C-x 4 a' visits the change log file and creates a new entry unless
 the most recent entry is for today's date and your name.  It also
 creates a new item for the current file.  For many languages, it can
 even guess the name of the function or other object that was changed.
 
    The change log file is visited in Change Log mode.  In this major
 mode, each bunch of grouped items counts as one paragraph, and each
 entry is considered a page.  This facilitates editing the entries.
 `C-j' and auto-fill indent each new line like the previous line; this
 is convenient for entering the contents of an entry.
 
    Version control systems are another way to keep track of changes in
 your program and keep a change log.   Log Buffer.
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