Subject: 23.2; log-edit-insert-changelog not inserting a description line from ChangeLog file

From: [email-masked] (Alfred M. Szmidt)
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:06:03 -0500

It would be useful if log-edit-insert-changelog would add a
`description line' from ChangeLog, that is the first line right before
date/author.  For example doing the following:

1) Opened a random file under VC.
2) Do M-x add-change-log-entry-other-window, and add something like

   2012-11-16  Alfred M. Szmidt  <[email-masked]>

	This is a deccription line.

	* random-file: New file.

3) Save ChangeLog
4) Save random file.
5) M-x vc-dir
6) Mark random file and ChangeLog.
7) M-x vc-next-action
8) In *vc-log*, M-x log-edit-insert-changelog.

Will result in either noting showing up in *vc-log*, or you get,

  * random-file: New file.

What would be useful is that you got the description line inserted
instead, with nothing following it.  This is common practise when
working with various distributed version control systems where the
commit entry only contains a brief description of the change, and the
ChangeLog contains the detailed information.

In GNU Emacs 23.2.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.20.1)
 of 2010-12-11 on brahms, modified by Debian
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.10707000
configured using `configure  '--build' 'x86_64-linux-gnu' '--build' 'x86_64-linux-gnu' '--prefix=/usr' '--sharedstatedir=/var/lib' '--libexecdir=/usr/lib' '--localstatedir=/var/lib' '--infodir=/usr/share/info' '--mandir=/usr/share/man' '--with-pop=yes' '--enable-locallisppath=/etc/emacs23:/etc/emacs:/usr/local/share/emacs/23.2/site-lisp:/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/23.2/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/23.2/leim' '--with-x=yes' '--with-x-toolkit=gtk' '--with-toolkit-scroll-bars' 'build_alias=x86_64-linux-gnu' 'CFLAGS=-DDEBIAN -g -O2' 'LDFLAGS=-g' 'CPPFLAGS=''

Important settings:
  value of $LC_ALL: nil
  value of $LC_COLLATE: nil
  value of $LC_CTYPE: nil
  value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil
  value of $LC_MONETARY: nil
  value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil
  value of $LC_TIME: nil
  value of $LANG: C
  value of $XMODIFIERS: nil
  locale-coding-system: nil
  default enable-multibyte-characters: t

Major mode: Fundamental

Minor modes in effect:
  shell-dirtrack-mode: t
  tooltip-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  line-number-mode: t
  transient-mark-mode: t
  abbrev-mode: t

Recent input:
e a d , C-k C-k C-k SPC t h i s SPC i s <M-backspace> 
<M-backspace> w i t h SPC n o t h i n g SPC f o l l 
o w i n g SPC i t . M-q SPC SPC T h i s SPC i s SPC 
c o m m o n SPC p r a c t i s e SPC w h e n SPC w o 
r k i n g SPC w i t h SPC v a r i o u s SPC d i s t 
s <backspace> <M-backspace> d i s t r i b u t e d SPC 
v e r s i o n SPC c o n t r o l SPC s y s t e m s . 
<backspace> SPC w h e r e SPC t h e SPC c o m m i t 
SPC e n t r y SPC o n l y SPC c o n t a i n s SPC a 
SPC b r i e f SPC d e s c r i p t i o n SPC o f SPC 
t h e SPC c h a n g e , SPC a n d SPC t h e SPC C h 
a n g e L o g SPC c o n t a i n s SPC t h e SPC d e 
t a i l e d SPC i n f o r m a t i o n . <escape> q 
C-x h M-w C-x b C-g C-x C-g M-x r e p o t <tab> <backspace> 
<backspace> <backspace> <backspace> <backspace> C-g 
C-g M-x r e p o r t - b <tab> <return>

Recent messages:
Mark set [3 times]
Auto-saving...done
Mark set
Ispell process killed
Computing summary lines...done
(No new mail has arrived)
Computing summary lines...done
0 new messages read
Mark set [5 times]
Quit [2 times]
Quit

Load-path shadows:
~/paredit hides /usr/share/emacs23/site-lisp/paredit-el/paredit
/usr/share/emacs/23.2/site-lisp/debian-startup hides /usr/share/emacs/site-lisp/debian-startup
~/loaddefs hides /usr/share/emacs/23.2/lisp/loaddefs
/usr/share/emacs23/site-lisp/dictionaries-common/ispell hides /usr/share/emacs/23.2/lisp/textmodes/ispell
/usr/share/emacs23/site-lisp/dictionaries-common/flyspell hides /usr/share/emacs/23.2/lisp/textmodes/flyspell
/usr/share/emacs23/site-lisp/emms/tq hides /usr/share/emacs/23.2/lisp/emacs-lisp/tq

Features:
(shadow emacsbug rfc822 vc-rcs mailalias net-utils mail-queue sendmail
battery mule-util cal-move dabbrev animate slime-banner slime-asdf
slime-fancy slime-fontifying-fu slime-package-fu slime-references
slime-scratch slime-presentations slime-fuzzy slime-fancy-inspector
slime-c-p-c slime-editing-commands slime-autodoc slime-parse
slime-repl slime apropos hideshow hyperspec thingatpt browse-url cl
cl-19 ispell pp grep compile pcmpl-unix help-mode multi-isearch org-wl
org-w3m org-vm org-rmail org-mhe org-mew org-irc org-jsinfo org-infojs
org-html org-exp org-exp-blocks org-agenda org-info org-gnus
org-bibtex org-bbdb org byte-opt bytecomp byte-compile org-footnote
org-src org-list org-faces org-compat org-macs noutline outline
easy-mmode sgml-mode dired-x dired-aux dired rmailout rmailsum rmail
mail-utils ansi-color em-unix pcomplete em-term term disp-table ehelp
electric em-script em-prompt em-ls em-hist em-pred em-glob em-dirs
em-cmpl em-basic esh-opt em-banner em-alias esh-var esh-io esh-cmd
esh-ext esh-proc esh-arg eldoc esh-groups eshell esh-module esh-mode
esh-util conf-mode newcomment tramp-imap assoc tramp-gw tramp-fish
tramp-smb tramp-cache tramp-ftp tramp-cmds tramp auth-source gnus-util
netrc advice advice-preload shell comint ring password-cache
format-spec tramp-compat trampver view cal-china lunar solar cal-dst
cal-bahai cal-islam cal-hebrew holidays hol-loaddefs appt diary-lib
diary-loaddefs cal-menu easymenu calendar cal-loaddefs time-date
regexp-opt autoload help-fns slime-autoloads emms-auto tooltip
ediff-hook vc-hooks lisp-float-type mwheel x-win x-dnd font-setting
tool-bar dnd fontset image fringe lisp-mode register page menu-bar
rfn-eshadow timer select scroll-bar mldrag mouse jit-lock font-lock
syntax facemenu font-core frame cham georgian utf-8-lang misc-lang
vietnamese tibetan thai tai-viet lao korean japanese hebrew greek
romanian slovak czech european ethiopic indian cyrillic chinese
case-table epa-hook jka-cmpr-hook help simple abbrev loaddefs button
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format env code-pages mule custom widget hashtable-print-readable
backquote make-network-process dbusbind system-font-setting
font-render-setting gtk x-toolkit x multi-tty emacs)