{"thread":{"id":"50301","subject":"Fwd: Re: [git-users] List of ignore configuration file","startedAt":"2019-01-23T19:21:57Z","lastAt":"2019-01-23T19:21:57Z","messageCount":1,"participants":["Konstantin Khomoutov"],"isPatch":false,"patchVersion":null,"patchTotal":null},"messages":[{"id":"367452","messageId":"20190123192151.uwwbkkoib7zqhoip@tigra","threadId":"50301","inReplyTo":null,"subject":"Fwd: Re: [git-users] List of ignore configuration file","fromName":"Konstantin Khomoutov","fromEmail":"kostix@bswap.ru","sentAt":"2019-01-23T19:21:51Z","receivedAt":"2019-01-23T19:21:57Z","isPatch":false,"sender":{"key":"kostix@bswap.ru","avatar":null},"body":"A user over there at the git-users ML is having troubles with the\nwording of the `git check-ignore` manual page which, in their opinion,\nfails to clearly communicate the twist about tracked files being not\neligible for ignored/non-ignored checks:\n\n----- Forwarded message from cl.robitaille@gmail.com -----\n\nDate: Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:15:59 -0800 (PST)\nFrom: cl.robitaille@gmail.com\nTo: Git for human beings <git-users@googlegroups.com>\nSubject: Re: [git-users] List of ignore configuration file\n\nWell, the first point to mention is that anyone writing help, man page and \ninformation must not forget that the vast majority of readers are reading \nsuch information because they do not know..... This is obvious but the main \npoint is to not take for granted that they have a deep knowledge, \nparticularly when a concept is a bit \"strange\"...\n\nNow, I understand that git is, normally, for developers, which are \ntypically more knowledgeable, but still....\n\nAnd I agree it helps to have real user inputs, so I will provide many. I do \nnot expect all be accepted but this is Ok.\n\nSo, here it is\n\n1 - Ideally, the man page should be following \"the standard\" format. I am \nnot sure if one exists but since the vast majority of the man pages are \nusing the same layout I presume that there is some form of soft standard. \nHere, obviously, my point is about listing all of the files and their \nlocation at the end of the page (which does not preclude to mention then \nelsewhere in the text if desire).\n\n2 - For the git-check-ignore. here are my suggestions\n\nDESCRIPTION\n       For each pathname given via the command-line or from a file via \n--stdin, check whether the file* / directory*  is excluded by .gitignore \n(or other input files to the\n       exclude mechanism) and output the path if it is excluded.\n\n       By default, tracked files * and directories *are not shown at all \nsince they are not subject to exclude rules; but see ‘--no-index’. *In the \ncase of a directory, any *\n*       tracked file or directory below it will cause the directory not to \nbe shown.*\n\n3 - Again in git-check-ignore.\n     \nActually, here, I think the description of --no-index is wrong. At least in \nmy case, which was that a directory WAS ignored by git add because a file \nunder it was already tracked. The man page description is only talking \nabout the opposite case where git add is not ignoring the pathname. I \nwanted to provide a suggestion here but I fail to understand the use case \ndescribed by the man page. In fact, I am not even sure it is correct. git \nadd appears to honor the ignore instructions despite having already tracked \nobjects. May be the use case is when the pathname is BELOW something \nalready tracked??\n\n4 - git check-ignore should be augmented to have an option of simply \nlisting all of the ignore files, may be even allowing to dump their \ncontent. The latter may be too much....\n\n\nOn Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 5:37:11 PM UTC-5, Philip Oakley wrote:\n\n> On 22/01/2019 22:35, Philip Oakley wrote: \n>\n> Extra points for you will be on order if you can suggest some better \n> wording for manual pages to help others patch that misunderstanding. \n> The same would apply to a contribution for the git-scm 'book'. \n> \n> It is a help to the devs to have some real user input... \n\n>> On 22/01/2019 21:20, Claude Robitaille wrote: \n>> Thanks this help. \n>> \n>> I did read the man page, but I am used at seeing the files and \n>> locations at the end of the man page the section FILES. My bad to \n>> skiping right to the end of the man page. See dnsmasq as an example. \n>> \n>> Yes TL;DR..... :-( I skip too quickly on --no-index. But now I \n>> understand that it makes check-ignore to \"mimic\" add.... (even if \n>> mimic was not the intent) \n>> \n>> But, the description is talking about file and tracked files. It is \n>> not obvious for an occasional user to correlate that with \"my dir is \n>> not checked because something under it is indeed tracked\" . Bomttom \n>> line, what I am saying is that dir and file are slightly different in \n>> the context here and yes my mental model was wrong. \n[...]\n\n----- End forwarded message -----\n\nThe whole thread is archived at [1].\n\n1. https://groups.google.com/d/topic/git-users/GPBJxQWeHuA/discussion\n\n"}]}