Re: [BUG] "git diff --word-diff" gives a diff while they are only space changes

>
> On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 8:11 PM Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> > Chris Torek <chris.torek@gmail.com> writes:
> >
> > > Call it an "implementation note" (or, if you like, a "practical
> > > consideration"?).
> > > Something along these lines might work...
> > >
> > >   Implementation Note
> > >
> > >   The --word-diff option currently operates by taking the same
> > >   line by line diff that you get without the option, then massaging
> > >   the result into a word-by-word difference. This may cause an
> > >   unnecessarily-larger diff than you would see with a more-clever
> > >   implementation. If and when Git acquires a more-clever
> > >   implementation, the output may change. Note that this is
> > >   similar to the --diff-algorithm option, which may change the
> > >   output.
> > >
> > >   Regardless of which algorithm is used, _any_ diff simply shows
> > >   _a_ way to achieve some particular change. It's impossible for
> > >   any algorithm to tell whether someone deleted two lines and
> > >   then put one back exactly as it appeared earlier, saving the
> > >   resulting text, vs deleting a single line, for instance. Only a
> > >   keystroke-by-keystroke logger would be able to tell what the
> > >   human operator actually typed into some editor. Git does
> > >   not have that information, and having it is not desired.
> > >
> > > Chris
> >
> > I understand your frustration in the second paragraph ;-) but let's
> > not go there.  The first paragraph is excellent.  It gives readers a
> > clear enough explanation to understand what is happening and stop
> > complaining where there is nothing to complain about (which is
> > already hinted by the "Note that" at the end).
> >
>
> Thanks for the ideas, Chris. Here is my attempt at synthesizing Chris'
> suggestions and Junio's feedback:
>
>   The `--word-diff` option operates by taking the same line-by-line
>   diff that is produced without the option and computing
>   word-by-word changes within each hunk.  This may produce a
>   larger diff than a dedicated word-diff tool would.  If Git
>   acquires a different implementation in the future, the output
>   may change.  Note that this is similar to the `--diff-algorithm`
>   option, which may also change the output.
>
> Does this work?