Re: [PATCH 1/4] Add '--fixed-strings' option to "git log --grep" and friends

From: Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com>
Date: Feb 27, 2008, 01:37 UTC
Message-ID: <200802270237.18044.jnareb@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <7vfxvf2osk.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org>

Junio C Hamano wrote:

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> Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com> writes:
> 
> > Add support for -F | --fixed-strings option to "git log --grep"
> > and friends: "git log --author", "git log --committer=<pattern>".
> > Code is based on implementation of this option in "git grep".
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com>
> > ---
> > This would simplify ignore-case searching for a fixed string from
> > within gitweb, as gitweb wouldn't then have to deal with differences
> > in quoting and unquoting (if you quote character which doesn't need
> > quoting, would git (grep) unquote it?) between searched phrase,
> > basic/extended regular expression as understood by git/by grep,
> > and regular expressions in Perl (when showing matched info).
> >
> > [I am not sure if the above paragraph should be added to commit
> > message, so it is in patch comments. Feel free to add it.] 
> 
> I do not understand the issue from reading that paragraph, so it
> probably means that (1) it does not help even if it is in the
> commit log message, and/or (2) more readable explanation may
> help in the commit log message ;-).

What I meant here that gitweb using --fixed-strings option for commit message search is example usage of this new feature.

Otherwise we would have to have in gitweb original $searchtext (for links, description, page title, etc.), $search_grep_regexp (for grep, or rather for "git log --grep" and friends, basic/extended regexp meta quoted), and finally $search_regexp to be used in gitweb, i.e. in Perl to show match.

> The rule for grep input should be known by anybody who writes
> scripts around grep, so I do not think this patch is absolutely
> necessary if this is only for gitweb.

I have written it this way not only because it is simpler than correct escaping, but also because git-grep has this option (consistency). Besides it was very easy to add.

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> But for command line 
> end-user usage, fixed string search _might be_ useful, although
> I've personally never felt need for that.  So I am reluctant to
> see it grab a short-and-sweet -F option letter that might have
> better uses, but I do not have major objection against a more
> explicit --fixed-strings.

Feel free to drop support for '-F' short option then, both in code and in documentation.

I have checked that git-log doesn't support '-F' short option; additionally '-F' is used in git commands as '--file', i.e. "-F <file>" to get contents (commit message, tag comment/message). Therefore it was unlikely that "git log" and friends would acquire "-F <file>" option.

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> By the way, do you allow the default regexp search in gitweb?
> If so, how do you handle a malformed regexp that a user gives
> you?  For example,
> 
> 	$ git log --grep="don\('t" -1
> 
> barfs, and I suspect that you can catch the exit status 128 from
> die() and say something other than "nothing found" if you really
> wanted to.

Errr... to be sure I don't know. From what I have checked it shows "nothing found", but I guess it could be more explicit.

-- 
Jakub Narebski
Poland