Re: git-diff new files (without using index)

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Aug 5, 2007, 04:20 UTC
Message-ID: <7vd4y2ipd0.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net>
In-Reply-To: <20070805040841.GG9527@spearce.org>

"Shawn O. Pearce" <spearce@spearce.org> writes:

Show 9 quoted lines

>> The above sort of quirkiness does seem kind of a wart though; in my
>> (admittedly limited, using git) experience this sort of thing really
>> reduces the utility of the index, and I often end up feeling like it's
>> just getting in the way as a result.  Does adding something like a
>> "git-diff -N" option seem a _bad_ idea?
>
> I'm not interested in such an option.  Typically if I want a
> diff on a new untracked file I actually want that file in my next
> commit anyway.

I suspect that it's probably half superstition and half disease to wish for "diff /dev/null new-file". Even CVS got this one right by saying "is a new file, no diff available". The contents of that new file is available in "less new-file" near you anyway and it is quite pointless while you are working toward next commit. It just is not interesting, until you tell git you _care_ about that file. And the way you tell git about it is with "git add".

Learn to love the index, run "git-add" and view "git-diff HEAD".