Re: [PATCH] add new options to git format-patch: --cover-subject and --cover-blurb

From: Larry D'Anna <larry@elder-gods.org>
Date: Feb 5, 2010, 22:59 UTC
Message-ID: <20100205225901.GA29821@cthulhu>
In-Reply-To: <7vfx5fwbws.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>

* Junio C Hamano (gitster@pobox.com) [100205 17:33]:

Show 5 quoted lines

> The placeholder in particular and the cover letter itself in general are
> meant to be edited.  I do not see much point in forcing people to edit yet
> another file and have them specify with an cover-blurb option.
> 
> Not very interested.

Yes, they're meant to be edited, but if you look at the steps required to submit a series with cover letter, it's clear it could be a bit streamlined:

1) make your branch

2) git format-patch --cover-letter

3) edit the cover letter

3) review the series, and realize you need to fix something, fix it.

4) git format-patch --cover-letter again

5) edit the cover letter, *again*.  hopefully you didn't overwrite the old one.

6) git send-email --to myself

7) one last look over it in my inbox

8) git send-email --to the list

The whole thing is a lot less annoying and error-prone if you can have git-send-email call git-format-patch.

Besides, you're not forcing anyone to edit an extra file. If you leave out --cover-subject or --cover-blurb it just behaves in exactly the same way it always did.

        --larry