[RFC] Add a .gitattributes file for use with git-merge-changelog

[Samuel Bronson <naesten at gmail dot com>]

[Am I really supposed to CC this to gcc@ like binutils/MAINTAINERS
says I should?]

Individual users will still have to:

 1. Install git-merge-changelog

 2. Set up the merge driver in their git config

See gnulib's lib/git-merge-changelog.c [1] for details.

For example, I:

 1. Patched Debian's gnulib package to build git-merge-changelog, and
    sent the patch to the Debian maintainer, who then proceeded to not
    only accept my patch but even write a *manpage* for
    git-merge-changelog! (Let's hear it for Ian Beckwith.)

    So now, I can install it simply by running "apt-get install
    git-merge-changelog".  (Except, of course, that I already have it
    installed from when I was testing my patch.)

 2. Added this to my ~/.gitconfig:

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
[merge "merge-changelog"]
        name = GNU-style ChangeLog merge driver
        driver = git-merge-changelog %O %A %B
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

    (You could just put it in the .git/config file for a given
    repository, but I can't really see much point in that.)

With this patch applied and the above two tasks done by whatever means
you deem best, you can say goodbye to merge conflicts in ChangeLog
files.

*IF* people will stop renaming the danged things, anyway.

[1]: http://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=gnulib.git;a=blob;f=lib/git-merge-changelog.c

[Note: The docs for git-merge-changelog (the comments at the top) say
you need a .gitattributes in every directory.  The docs are wrong.
Ignore the docs.

You really only need one at the top level, since .gitattributes uses
the same pattern matching rules as .gitignore, which match files in
any subdirectory unless you prefix the pattern with a "/".]

[Note 2: I already have copyright assignment papers on file for GDB.]
---
 .gitattributes | 3 +++
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 .gitattributes

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75abe79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# See gnulib's lib/git-merge-changelog.c (or git-merge-changelog(1))
+# to activate this
+ChangeLog       merge=merge-changelog
-- 
2.0.0