Re: [boost] [github] default PR destination

Subject: Re: [boost] [github] default PR destination
From: Peter A. Bigot (pab_at_[hidden])
Date: 2014-01-05 13:14:08

On 01/05/2014 11:03 AM, Daniela Engert wrote:
> Am 04.01.2014 12:51 schrieb Tim Blechmann:
>> any opinion to change the default branch from "master" to "develop"?
>>
> If you're sharing the same point of view as GitHub (and me, btw) that
> the 'default' branch is the primary focus of all contributions (that
> includes the maintainers), then it's just natural to set 'default' =
> 'develop'. It follows the Boost development model, it's explicit about
> intent, and it doesn't confuse contributors with their GitHub interactions.

OK, I give.  I agree that new features and major changes, whether from 
maintainers or contributing developers, should be submitted in pull 
requests based on develop.  Nothing I wrote was intended to imply 
otherwise.  Boost is using GitHub, and subtle differences in roles just 
confuse people, so let's stick with the Boost developer perspective.

Then it should be Boost policy that all boost modules set the default 
branch to develop.  This means anybody cloning the repository will have 
the develop branch checked out by default, including the super-project 
if the policy applies there as well.

My user-level fix-problem-in-stable-release-and-provide-patch use case 
stands, and experience will show whether maintainers are willing to 
accept simple bug-fix pull requests that are based on master.  I hope 
that such patches will not be summarily rejected solely because they 
require an little extra effort from the maintainer, since the 
contributor's already put in the effort to isolate the issue and propose 
a solution.

Peter