[PATCH 3/4] ls-files: clarify descriptions of status tags for -t
- From
Elijah Newren via GitGitGadget <gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
- Date
- Jan 13, 2023, 04:41 UTC
- Message-ID
- <26406a4d8797e68f0ba4fe097cf0973f60d67114.1673584914.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
- In-Reply-To
- <pull.1463.git.1673584914.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
From: Elijah Newren <newren@gmail.com>
Much like the file selection options we tweaked in the last commit, the status tags printed with -t had descriptions that were easy to misunderstand, and for many of the same reasons. Clarify them.
Also, while at it, remove the "semi-deprecated" comment for "git ls-files -t". The -t option was marked as semi-deprecated in 5bc0e247c4 ("Document ls-files -t as semi-obsolete.", 2010-07-28) because:
"git ls-files -t" is [...] badly documented, hence we point the users to superior alternatives. The feature is marked as "semi-obsolete" but not "scheduled for removal" since it's a plumbing command, scripts might use it, and Git testsuite already uses it to test the state of the index.
Marking it as obsolete because it was easily misunderstood, which I think was primarily due to documentation problems, is one strategy, but I think fixing the documentation is a better option. Especially since in the intervening time, "git ls-files -t" has become heavily used by sparse-checkout users where the same confusion just doesn't apply.
Signed-off-by: Elijah Newren <newren@gmail.com> --- Documentation/git-ls-files.txt | 28 +++++++++++++++------------- 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt b/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt index f89ab1bfc98..3886d58d178 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt @@ -137,25 +137,27 @@ OPTIONS with `-s` or `-u` options does not make any sense. -t:: - This feature is semi-deprecated. For scripting purpose, - linkgit:git-status[1] `--porcelain` and + Show status tags together with filenames. Note that for + scripting purposes, linkgit:git-status[1] `--porcelain` and linkgit:git-diff-files[1] `--name-status` are almost always superior alternatives, and users should look at linkgit:git-status[1] `--short` or linkgit:git-diff[1] `--name-status` for more user-friendly alternatives. + -- -This option identifies the file status with the following tags (followed by -a space) at the start of each line: - - H:: cached - S:: skip-worktree - M:: unmerged - R:: removed/deleted - C:: modified/changed - K:: to be killed - ?:: other - U:: resolve-undo +This option provides a reason for showing each filename, in the form +of a status tag (which is followed by a space and then the filename). +The status tags are all single characters from the following list: + + H:: tracked file that is not either unmerged or skip-worktree + S:: tracked file that is skip-worktree + M:: tracked file that is unmerged + R:: tracked file with unstaged removal/deletion + C:: tracked file with unstaged modification/change + K:: untracked paths which are part of file/directory conflicts + which prevent checking out tracked files + ?:: untracked file + U:: file with resolve-undo information -- -v::
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