RE: [PATCH 0/3] --end-of-options marker

> To: Randall S. Becker <rsbecker@nexbridge.com>
> Cc: 'Junio C Hamano' <gitster@pobox.com>; git@vger.kernel.org
> Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/3] --end-of-options marker
> 
> On Tue, Aug 06, 2019 at 12:36:26PM -0400, Randall S. Becker wrote:
> 
> > > > This series provides an alternative to "--" to stop option parsing
> > > > without indicating that further arguments are pathspecs.
> >
> > Would this offer the opportunity to, in the long term, supply options
> > to external diff engines, for example?
> >
> > Something like git diff --end-of-options --diff-opt1 --diff-opt2 -- a
> > b
> 
> I'd expect that to interpret "--diff-opt1" and "--diff-opt2" as non-option
> arguments, which in the context of git-diff means endpoints of the diff.
> 
> So no, I don't think you can use it like you're asking here.
> 
> > I'm just noodling here, wondering why otherwise
> >
> > git rev-list --max-parents=4  -- --count docs/
> >
> > does not work. I thought -- was pretty specific in terms of turning
> > off interpretation. So is it not a defect that --count is being interpreted?
> 
> The command-line above means that "--count" is interpreted
> (unambiguously) as a path. The problem is that if you want it to be
> interpreted as a starting point for traversal, then it must come _before_ the
> "--".
> 
> > I have a fear for all my sub-teams who script with the assumption that
> > -- has a specific meaning of stopping interpretation.
> 
> Nothing about "--" is changed by my series; it will still stop option
> interpretation in rev-list and in other commands. But as before, rev-list (and
> other Git commands that use the revision.c parser) use it to separate
> revisions and pathspecs.  That's unlike how most other programs use "--", but
> that ship sailed for Git in 2005.