Re: [PATCH 3/4] format-patch: new --resend option for adding "RESEND" to patch subjects

From: Dragan Simic <dsimic@manjaro.org>
Date: Apr 17, 2024, 10:52 UTC
Message-ID: <1f31004bd8445e1e4717817638d5509a@manjaro.org>
In-Reply-To: <154b085c-3e92-4eb6-b6a6-97aa02f8f07d@gmail.com>

Hello Phillip,

On 2024-04-17 12:02, Phillip Wood wrote:

Show 19 quoted lines

> On 17/04/2024 04:32, Dragan Simic wrote:
>> Add --resend as the new command-line option for "git format-patch" 
>> that adds
>> "RESEND" as a (sub)suffix to the patch subject prefix, eventually 
>> producing
>> "[PATCH RESEND]" as the default patch subject prefix.
>> 
>> "[PATCH RESEND]" is a patch subject prefix commonly used on mailing 
>> lists
>> for patches resent to a mailing list after they had attracted no 
>> attention
>> for some time, usually for a couple of weeks.  As such, this subject 
>> prefix
>> deserves adding --resend as a new shorthand option to "git 
>> format-patch".
> 
> Playing devil's advocate for a minute, is this really common enough to
> justify a new option when the user can use "--subject-prefix='PATCH
> RESEND'" instead?

Based on my experience, "[PATCH RESEND]" is roughly as commonly used as "[PATCH RFC]". In other words, it obviously isn't used as much as the good, old plain "[PATCH]", but it is used.

We should also take the overall usability into account, if you agree. Just like with "--rfc", typing "--resend" is much easier and quicker than typing "--subject-prefix='PATCH RESEND'", which is a lot. Defining an alias can help, of course, but that isn't always a convenient solution.