Common merge request format (was: [Gnu-arch-users] Preferences for branching in merge submissions?)

[Robin Green]

On Wed, Apr 07, 2004 at 01:59:25PM +0100, I suggested:
> Also, [attention asuffield!] I'm sure it can't have escaped people's attention
> that it would be nice to have a _standardised_ format or single command that
> one could put in an email to describe a merge request. Then the maintainer
> could just cut and paste that one line, or even set up a special keybinding in
> their mail client, to begin the review process.

OK, I'd like to formalise this. I'm now thinking not one line, but something
of the form:

--- begin tla merge request ---
# comments can go anywhere - although one would hope that the log messages
# would sufficiently describe the change for review purposes.
From-Archive-Name:       address@hidden  # this is another comment
From-Archive-Location:   http://bogus.example.com/foo
From-Revision:           tla--me--2.0--patch256
From-Gpg-Key:            http://bogus.example.com/gpg-keys/me.gpg
From-Gpg-Key:            http://bogus.example.com/gpg-keys/my-friend.gpg
To-Archive-Name:         address@hidden
To-Archive-Location:     http://bogus.example.com/tla
To-Revision:             tla--devo--2.0

# multiple requests can be specifed; if the destination is omitted,
# it is assumed to be the same destination as the previous request.
--- end tla merge request ---

in which the begin and end lines are required and spaces, comments are ignored.

Have I missed anything?

This format could be
(a) automatically generated and pasted into an email
(b) automatically picked out of an email, so that you would only need a
keybinding to "pipe entire email through review-merge-request script", or a
line or two in procmailrc or whatever.

In order to implement this, I'd like to know what commands maintainers tend to
when they receive a merge request - or, more to the point, what commands they'd
like this review-merge-request thing to run. Since I've never actually received
any merge requests for an arch project, I'm asking.

If there are variations in requirements, I would have thought a common format
for merge requests would still be useful.

-- 
Robin

"Left to its own devices, the free market always seeks a work force that 
is hungry, desperate, and cheap - a work force that is anything but 
free"  - Eric Schlosser, "Reefer Madness"        "Hence offshoring" - me

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