Re: [PATCH] compat: add a getpass() compatibility function

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: May 19, 2011, 17:27 UTC
Message-ID: <7v62p68ut0.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To: <EC81F772-7149-40A0-891A-973C886AB052@gieschke.de>

Rafael Gieschke <rafael@gieschke.de> writes:

Show 6 quoted lines

>> Windows doesn't have /dev/tty, but the logic in this version handles
>> that by using stdin/stderr instead. The signal-stuff has a comment
>> that indicates it might not even be correct. tcgetattr/tcsetattr isn't
>> supported on Windows, but it's not needed if we use getch (as the
>> version in compat/mingw.c does). POSIX/curses getch respects the
>> echo-setting, while Windows getch never echo.

Probably a properly abstracted common version would look like a function that calls four platform-dependent helper funcions in this order:

	0. prompt
	1. start "noecho" mode
        2. get whole line
        3. exit "noecho" mode

where Windows may use stderr for 0, have noop() implementation for 1 and 3, use _getch() that does not echo for 2, while POSIX may write to /dev/tty for 0, use tc[gs]etattr() with perhaps some signal settings sprinkled in for 1 and 3.

So I don't see a need for Windows to emulate tc[g]setattr nor curses in order to get a generic getpass() abstraction between two platforms.