Merge pull request OpenFeign#349 from Netflix/commit-log-notes

adriancole · adriancole · commit 65ac0542b3b5 · 2016-03-10T14:15:09.000+08:00
Adds commit log guidelines
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -3,6 +3,20 @@ Please read [HACKING](./HACKING.md) prior to raising change.
 
 If you would like to contribute code you can do so through GitHub by forking the repository and sending a pull request (on a branch other than `master` or `gh-pages`).
 
+## Pull Requests
+Pull requests eventually need to resolve to a single commit. The commit log should be easy to read as a change log. We use the following form to accomplish that.
+* First line is a <=72 character description in present tense, explaining what this does.
+  * Ex. "Fixes regression on encoding vnd headers" > "Fixed encoding bug", which forces the reader to look at code to understand impact.
+* Do not include issue links in the first line as that makes pull requests look weird.
+  * Ex. "Addresses #345" becomes a pull request title: "Addresses #345 #346"
+* After the first line, use markdown to concisely summarize the implementation.
+  * This isn't in leiu of comments, and it assumes the reader isn't intimately familar with code structure.
+* If the change closes an issue, note that at the end of the commit description ex. "Fixes #345"
+  * GitHub will automatically close change with this syntax.
+* If the change is notable, also update the [change log](./CHANGELOG.md) with your summary description.
+  * The unreleased minor version is often a good default.
+
+## Code Style
 When submitting code, please ensure you follow the [Google Style Guide](http://google-styleguide.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/javaguide.html). For example, you can format code with IntelliJ 13 using [this file](https://google.github.io/styleguide/intellij-java-google-style.xml) and with IntelliJ 15 using [this file](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/garukun/styleguide/add-intellij-15-java/intellij-15-java-google-style.xml).
 
 ## License
