Re: [PATCH 1/2] add--interactive: ignore mode change in 'p'atch command

From: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Date: Mar 27, 2008, 19:31 UTC
Message-ID: <20080327193147.GA10034@sigill.intra.peff.net>
In-Reply-To: <7vprtg9g0p.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org>

On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 11:29:58AM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:

Show 6 quoted lines

> Yeah, but the user is really into microcommits, like "separate mode
> change" thing really matters, maybe the user would want to make three
> commits (1) chmod +x, (2) pure rename, and (3) content changes.
> 
> I personally think that is not worth it, so I am agreeing with you on the
> "rename" one.

My feeling on the rename microcommit is that it is reasonable (though I am not such a microcommitter), but that "git add -p" is probably not the right tool for doing it. My view is that mode change and hunks are _actual_ changes to the file, and you can pick and choose the changes you have made. "rename" is not a change you made, but rather something we infer from the changes that are available.

But I can also see how one has the opposite view. I dunno. It's hard to speculate since I don't actually want to _use_ rename. ;)

Show 9 quoted lines

> Even though your two patches make perfect sense at the philosophical level
> and I very much like it, I doubt "separating mode change" is so useful
> from the practical point of view for that matter.
> [...]
> ...then a patch came to make it the current "not asking
> about mode change separately and if the user chooses to add anything from
> the patch hunks, stage the mode change along with it" behaviour, people
> might even think that such a patch is an improvement in usability by
> asking one less question.  I dunno.

I don't think I would probably use mode change very often, but I found the current behavior quite non-intuitive, and I think I would prefer if it were explicit (and in 99% of cases, it won't come up at all, since you haven't changed the mode!).

But this is all clearly post-1.5.5, so hopefully we can let it stew and get some more comments from the list on what makes sense to people.

-Peff