A changelog is a log or record of changes made to a project, such as a website or software project, usually including such records as bug fixes, new features, etc. Most open source projects include a changelog as one of the top level files in their distribution.

Although the canonical naming convention for the file is ChangeLog,^[1] it is sometimes alternatively named as CHANGES or HISTORY (NEWS is usually a different file reflecting changes between releases, not between the commits). Some project maintainers will append a .txt suffix to the file name.

Some revision control systems are able to generate the relevant information that is suited as a changelog.

Format

Changelog files are organized by paragraphs, which define a unique change within a function or file. Most changelog files follow the following format:

YYYY-MM-DD John Doe johndoe@example.com

    * myfile.ext (myfunction): my changes made
    additional changes

    * anotherfile.ext (somefunction): more changes

Changelogs in Wikis

Most Wiki software includes changelogs as a fundamental feature (often called history in this context). For example, the "history" link at the top of a Wikipedia entry links to that page's changelog. This feature is vital for complying with the attribution requirements of the GNU Free Documentation License that Wikipedia contributors license their text under.

Notes

External links

• Explanations, how to write Changelog entries in open source projects
• [http://www.asp-shareware.org/pad PAD, one of the many changelog techs.

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