Re: "git add -p" versus "git add -i", followed by "p"

From: SZEDER Gábor <szeder.dev@gmail.com>
Date: Dec 2, 2018, 16:56 UTC
Message-ID: <20181202165617.GG30222@szeder.dev>
In-Reply-To: <alpine.LFD.2.21.1812021124350.5509@localhost.localdomain>

On Sun, Dec 02, 2018 at 11:30:19AM -0500, Robert P. J. Day wrote:

Show 30 quoted lines

> 
>   testing adding by patch for the very first time (i've just never
> needed this), and reading the "progit" book and reading the man page,
> and the impression i'm getting is that running "git add -p" (going
> straight to patch mode) is supposed to be equivalent to running "git
> add -i", then typing "p" to switch to patch mode.
> 
>   that is most emphatically not what i'm seeing. if i run "git add
> -p", then i get to what i expect -- the patch subsystem:
> 
>   $ git add -p
>   diff --git a/README.asc b/README.asc
>   index fa40bad..840e85b 100644
>   --- a/README.asc
>   +++ b/README.asc
>   @@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
>   +change 1
>   +
>   +
>   +
>   +
>   +
>    = Pro Git, Second Edition
> 
>    Welcome to the second edition of the Pro Git book.
>   Stage this hunk [y,n,q,a,d,j,J,g,/,e,?]?
> 
> but if i start with "git add -i", there seems to be no way to get to
> patch mode -- certainly "p" doesn't do it. am i stupidly missing
> something trivial? is the explanation misleading or inncomplete?

Worksforme™:

  $ echo "New content" >>README.md 
  $ echo "New content" >>t/README
  $ echo "New content" >>contrib//README
  $ git add -i
             staged     unstaged path
    1:    unchanged        +1/-0 README.md
    2:    unchanged        +1/-0 contrib/README
    3:    unchanged        +1/-0 t/README
  
  *** Commands ***
    1: status       2: update       3: revert       4: add untracked
    5: patch        6: diff         7: quit         8: help
  What now> p
             staged     unstaged path
    1:    unchanged        +1/-0 README.md
    2:    unchanged        +1/-0 contrib/README
    3:    unchanged        +1/-0 t/README
  Patch update>> 1
             staged     unstaged path
  * 1:    unchanged        +1/-0 README.md
    2:    unchanged        +1/-0 contrib/README
    3:    unchanged        +1/-0 t/README
  Patch update>> 2
             staged     unstaged path
  * 1:    unchanged        +1/-0 README.md
  * 2:    unchanged        +1/-0 contrib/README
    3:    unchanged        +1/-0 t/README
  Patch update>>

Here I hit enter.  Did you?

  diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
  index f920a42fad..63dee5cfc3 100644
  --- a/README.md
  +++ b/README.md
  @@ -62,3 +62,4 @@ and the name as (depending on your mood):
   [Documentation/giteveryday.txt]: Documentation/giteveryday.txt
   [Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt]:
  Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt
   [Documentation/SubmittingPatches]: Documentation/SubmittingPatches
  +New content
  Stage this hunk [y,n,q,a,d,e,?]? y
  
  diff --git a/contrib/README b/contrib/README
  index 05f291c1f1..2b152dfcff 100644
  --- a/contrib/README
  +++ b/contrib/README
  @@ -41,3 +41,4 @@ submit a patch to create a subdirectory of contrib/
  and put your
   stuff there.
   
   -jc
  +New content
  Stage this hunk [y,n,q,a,d,e,?]? n
  
  *** Commands ***
    1: status       2: update       3: revert       4: add untracked
    5: patch        6: diff         7: quit         8: help
  What now> q
  Bye.
  $ git diff --cached 
  diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
  index f920a42fad..63dee5cfc3 100644
  --- a/README.md
  +++ b/README.md
  @@ -62,3 +62,4 @@ and the name as (depending on your mood):
   [Documentation/giteveryday.txt]: Documentation/giteveryday.txt
   [Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt]: Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt
   [Documentation/SubmittingPatches]: Documentation/SubmittingPatches
  +New content
  $

Arguably the documentation could make it clear that the user can choose multiple files at once, e.g.:

diff --git a/Documentation/git-add.txt b/Documentation/git-add.txt
index c9623854bf..061f9cbb0d 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-add.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-add.txt
@@ -317,9 +317,9 @@ add untracked::
 
 patch::
 
-  This lets you choose one path out of a 'status' like selection.
-  After choosing the path, it presents the diff between the index
-  and the working tree file and asks you if you want to stage
+  This lets you choose one or more paths out of a 'status' like selection.
+  After choosing the path(s), it presents the diff between the index
+  and the working tree file(s) and asks you if you want to stage
   the change of each hunk.  You can select one of the following
   options and type return:
 
And perhaps we could have a dedicated menu entry for "I'm done with
selecting paths"?  Dunno; I'm a 'git add -p' user myself.