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Re: "git help stage" doesn't display git-stage man page

From
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date
Dec 3, 2008, 08:14 UTC
Message-ID
<7vwsehfzf7.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To
<87myfdn2ga.fsf@iki.fi>
Teemu Likonen <tlikonen@iki.fi> writes:
Show 12 quoted lines
> Junio C Hamano (2008-12-02 22:23 -0800) wrote:
>
>> * The 'master' branch has these since the last announcement
>>   in addition to the above.
>
>> Scott Chacon (1):
>>   Add a built-in alias for 'stage' to the 'add' command
>
> I think there's a minor user-interface defect:
>
>     $ git help stage
>     No manual entry for gitstage

The patch also breaks the promise made at 1.6.0 that prepending exec path to $PATH allows you to use the dashed form.

	$ PATH=$(git --exec-path):$PATH
        $ git-stage -p
	xash: git-stage: cmd not found
> "git stage" is only a built-in alias but at some point it may become the
> primary staging command for new Git users and hence a kind of real Git
> command. I think "git help stage" should show the git-stage manual page
> (even though it only points to git-add(1)).

I do not think it would ever be _the_ primary command to add the contents to the index; we are adding it as a training wheel.

When we had the "staging area" discussion, somehow people ended up with this notion that you somehow *need to* use the same verb and noun. I.e. "the index is now explained as the _staging area_. Why isn't the command to add contents to the staging area called git-stage?" was the primary argument that lead to this thinking.

I do not think it adds much value to the system to be dogmatic and insist that you _have to_ use the same verb and noun. "You add your changes to the staging area" is a perfectly natural way to explain what you are doing and where the "add" in git-add command comes from. It however is Ok to allow people to use different spelling (i.e. the verb "stage").

In that sense, I think the intention of the patch to add "stage" as an additional verb, while clearly marking it as a synonym to the primary command "add", is aimed at the right place and strikes the right balance.

By the way, I think this should fix it, although it is very late and I have no time to test it tonight myself.

---
 Makefile |    1 +
 1 files changed, 1 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
diff --git i/Makefile w/Makefile
index 9577d6f..5158197 100644
--- i/Makefile
+++ w/Makefile
@@ -320,6 +320,7 @@ BUILT_INS += git-merge-subtree$X
 BUILT_INS += git-peek-remote$X
 BUILT_INS += git-repo-config$X
 BUILT_INS += git-show$X
+BUILT_INS += git-stage$X
 BUILT_INS += git-status$X
 BUILT_INS += git-whatchanged$X
 
Previous: Teemu LikonenNext: Teemu Likonen
Message 3 of 7 in “What's in git.git (Dec 2008, #01; Tue, 02)”
  1. Junio C HamanoDec 3, 2008
  2. "git help stage" doesn't display git-stage man pageTeemu Likonen, Dec 3, 2008
  3. Junio C HamanoDec 3, 2008
  4. Teemu LikonenDec 3, 2008
  5. Junio C HamanoDec 3, 2008
  6. Jeff KingDec 4, 2008
  7. Junio C HamanoDec 4, 2008

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