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IF your feature is isolated in a single subroutine and you are not changing datatypes, you can probably use long-lived branches.
If your feature is not speculative – it will definitely be in ACME – but will take a long time, you should develop directly in master.
Direct development in master (recommended)
- Split the long-term development in to logical pieces that can be checked in to master as they are finished.
- Add pieces back to master with PRs as is done for mainline ACME development.
- Add a test or tests for your new feature. These tests won't be added to the main acme test suites until the feature is "officially added". If you have more then one, they could be part of a separate test suite. Your PR must still pass the standard ACME testing.
- Develop the next piece of your feature with a new branch from the head of master.
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