Re: [PATCH 4/5] git-log.txt: rewrite note on why "--" may be required

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Apr 21, 2013, 07:39 UTC
Message-ID: <7v4nf0wcw3.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To: <7v8v4cwd6g.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>

Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:

Show 12 quoted lines

> Ramkumar Ramachandra <artagnon@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Junio C Hamano wrote:
>>> I think "branch names" was an attempt to make it more newbie
>>> friendly by sacrificing technical accuracy.  With the suggested
>>> update (see the review for the previous one), it would be easier to
>>> read if this part said "options or the revision range".
>>
>> Why does it have to be a range? It might well be a list of revisions,
>
> Study "Specifying Ranges" section of gitrevisions and come back,
> perhaps?

A bit more specifically, there is a reason why we list "Specifying Revisions" and "Specifying Ranges" separately in that manual page.

I think you are trying explain "git log --short A B ^C" as if it takes "--short" (which is an option), "A", "B", and "^C" (all of which are revisions). And I am saying that is wrong.

It is "--short" (which is an option) and "A B ^C" (which is a revision range).

"git log --short A" is taking "--short" (an option) and "A". This "A" is still a revision range and not a single revision. It is a single commit that is used to name a revision range which is the entire history behind the commit "A".