Re: [PATCH] Documentation: List environmental variables which were missing

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Aug 12, 2007, 01:38 UTC
Message-ID: <7v643llefn.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net>
In-Reply-To: <1186871917846-git-send-email-jnareb@gmail.com>

Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com> writes:

> Add to list environmental variables in "Environment variables" section
> of git(7)...

These are "environment variables", not "environmental". You have the same typo in gitweb/INSTALL, I think.

Show 6 quoted lines

>  other
>  ~~~~~
> +'GIT_CONFIG'::
> +'GIT_CONFIG_LOCAL'::
> +	Specifies config file.
> +	See gitlink:git-config[1]

I think this should probably be listed next to GIT_DIR and friends.

Isn't "Specifies config file" way too vague to be any useful?

If you do not describe them enough on this page, saying "there are other environment variables that affect the operation of git; see git-config[1] for details" without listing them is just as useful (or, just as useless). At least doing so would need much less maintenance.

Show 12 quoted lines

> +'GIT_PROXY_COMMAND'::
> +'GIT_SSL_NO_VERIFY'::
> +'GIT_SSL_CERT'::
> +'GIT_SSL_KEY'::
> +'GIT_SSL_CAINFO'::
> +'GIT_SSL_CAPATH'::
> +'GIT_HTTP_MAX_REQUESTS'::
> +'GIT_HTTP_LOW_SPEED_LIMIT'::
> +'GIT_HTTP_LOW_SPEED_TIME'::
> +'GIT_CURL_FTP_NO_EPSV'::
> +	Overrides appropriate configuration variable.
> +	See gitlink:git-config[1]

I wonder if it is worth it to add them in this form (the same "usefulness vs maintenance hassle" comment applies to the vagueness of "appropriate variable").

Everything other than GIT_PROXY_COMMAND is for http fetch, isn't it? At least you could say something like:

	Used to override http.* configuration variables (see
	gitlink:git-config[1])