Re: git-config(1) should mention `git -c`

From: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Date: Aug 22, 2016, 18:57 UTC
Message-ID: <20160822185709.izdfbkbsmeip5u7c@sigill.intra.peff.net>
In-Reply-To: <CAN7QDoJ-gQ9XUkCrTT6YDN+aUjNrAJWaG+WxbUvu32DJG-OZDg@mail.gmail.com>

On Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 11:42:52AM -0700, David Glasser wrote:

Show 9 quoted lines

> In addition to describing the `git config` command, git-config(1) also
> appears to be where the algorithm for determining the active
> configuration values is documented, in the FILES and ENVIRONMENT
> sections.  (There is minimal documentation of these files and
> environment variables in git(1).)
> 
> However, `git -c name=value` is not documented in this manpage. So to
> understand the full set of ways to affect the configuration of a git
> command, you need to know to read both git(1) and git-config(1).

Yeah, I agree it is probably worth mentioning in git-config(1).

> I'd like to add a reference to `git -c` to git-config(1). I would
> happily send a patch but I'm not sure of the best place to put it —
> maybe in the FILES section?

That seems like the most sensible place, as that is where we should cover the order of reading and precedence. Perhaps FILES should be renamed to SOURCES or something (though I do not recall if we are restricted to "usual" manpage section names or not).

Arguably this is not about git-config the program at all, but the general concept of "configuration for git", because the precedence rules apply equally to all of the git programs that read config. So it _could_ be pulled out into its own gitconfig(7) page. That's a lot more work, though, and I don't blame you if you want to start with a more minor update.

(I also think that having both git-config(1) and gitconfig(7) may be confusing; "git help revisions" knows to find gitrevisions(7), but "git help config" would always end up in git-config(1), I think).

-Peff