
Ask HN: Anyone else write the commit message before they start coding? - xkapastel
I feel like I just learned how to use Git: writing the message first thing has made me a lot more productive. I&#x27;m wondering if anyone else does this; I know test driven development is a thing, where people write tests before code, and this seems like a logical extension.
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VermillionAzure
I know that people usually put down stories for Scrum or Agile and then they
will list out "action steps" or "acceptance criteria" but this is a very smart
way of tying it directly to work. This is brilliant! I look forward to trying
this out.

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conwy
Yep, great idea. Today I broke my work into a whole list of commit messages,
then made the changes one by one.

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andrei_says_
Love this. I’ve been using the readme driven development and press release
driven strategy. Git message driven commit fits right in!

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sethammons
I'm not following. Git is source control: the message should be tied to the
code that went with the commit. Are you amending before pushing?

As for tdd, I don't see this as a logical extension (yet). My logical
extension is document driven design. Write the api, get feedback on that, then
make it work. I like to design from the outside in.

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gumby
No, but now I've read your question I'm definitely going to start and see how
it works. It sounds like a great idea!

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karmakaze
Sort of. As soon as I have something working locally that does the thing I set
out to do, I commit it locally on a new branch with a WIP: commit message. I
can then amend it with improvements or move on to adding more commits, each
with a separate message.

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westurner
What a great idea. Are you updating the commit message with `git commit
--amend` until you squash and push, or writing a novel on the side?

BDD acceptance tests can be written in a pseudo-prose syntax (and ideally,
executed)

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ori9
I've found myself doing this lately too! Great approach.

