Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] Teach git version --build-options about libcurl

From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Date: Jul 24, 2024, 10:48 UTC
Message-ID: <402c12c2-7ada-4d9e-c3da-1a78827e7496@gmx.de>
In-Reply-To: <20240624235557.GA2727@coredump.intra.peff.net>

Hi Jeff,

On Mon, 24 Jun 2024, Jeff King wrote:

Show 16 quoted lines

> On Mon, Jun 24, 2024 at 09:06:03AM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:
>
> > > Wouldn't calling `curl_version()` make more sense here?
> >
> > I wouldn't give that question an outright "no", but unless "git
> > version" is split out of the builtin suite of commands and made into
> > a standalone binary, I would *not* be able to give an unconditional
> > "yes".
> >
> > For now, let's stop at the simplest solution---if the library
> > project gives us a CPP macro to use for _this exact purpose_, let's
> > take the offer.
>
> Here's another point of view: libcurl is not a dependency of the git
> binary at all! It is a dependency of the "curl" remote helper. Would it
> make sense for "git remote-https --build-options" to exist?

I preemptively agreed with this approach a couple of years ago: https://lore.kernel.org/git/nycvar.QRO.7.76.6.1911200027460.15956@tvgsbejvaqbjf.bet/

Even Junio agreed with this, in a manner of speaking: https://lore.kernel.org/git/xmqq7dzebq4j.fsf@gitster.c.googlers.com/

And there is a patch by Emily already that implements it: https://lore.kernel.org/git/20200214015343.201946-8-emilyshaffer@google.com/

This patch seems not to have made it into Git.

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> I'm not sure. It resolves the linking problem and matches how the actual
> programs are structured. But it is also not something that normal users
> would tend to think about (even if you are having trouble with https
> remotes, you might not know that is implemented as a remote helper).
>
> But we could also have "git version --build-options" call "remote-https
> --build-options" automatically, and just let it dump to the shared
> stdout stream.

Teaching `git version` to show the cURL version may not be the best idea, especially when it comes to the version used at runtime and using the command-line option `--build-options` (with the option being specifically about the build, not the runtime, version that was used).

Wouldn't it be better to go with Emily's approach to surface this information via `git bugreport` instead of `git version`, potentially enhanced to show both build-time and runtime version of libcurl?

Ciao, Johannes