RE: Tags usage -- comments please

[Jim.Hyslop]

Jeeva Sarma wrote:
> In our team, one developer wants to make tags for a few 
> files; suppose he is working on 2 bugs, each requiring 
> changes in 2 or 3 different set of files, he wants to tag 
> each of those 2 or 3 files with the bug number, so that he 
> can remember which files are modified for which bug.  I think 
> this is the wrong way to use tags, not the way they were 
> intended to be used.
A tag is intended to mark a file or a set of files as special in some way.
How does your colleague's approach violate this intention?

> I think log message is a better way to 
> use in this case, we can later search the logs for the bug 
> numbers. He doesn't agree. Any comments for/against this are 
> greatly appreciated.
Locating bug fixes by searching the logs will require you to search all the
logs for all the files. On the other hand, the tags will lead you to the
exact files you need immediately. However, the large number of tags involved
could get unwieldy.

Let me turn your question around: how often have you had to determine
exactly which files have been affected by a specific bug fix? (This is an
open question to anyone reading this message). I cannot recall ever needing
this information.

If my experience is typical, then I would say use the 'log' approach. If, on
the other hand, your workflows and processes require you to frequently
backtrack this information, then the tag approach may be better.

-- 
Jim Hyslop
Senior Software Designer
Leitch Technology International Inc. (http://www.leitch.com)
Columnist, C/C++ Users Journal (http://www.cuj.com/experts)