Re: feature request

From: Stefan Beller <sbeller@google.com>
Date: Oct 27, 2016, 22:30 UTC
Message-ID: <CAGZ79ka7BvaW2pkjeXe68yKHFq6JsH__x2cXoe6U4tRmZ0rY1A@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <CALj-rGeoT_mpmuw8Put=6eRhzf-r2WUohu_Kd-wnpc=BvO5joA@mail.gmail.com>

On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 2:55 PM, John Rood <mr.john.rood@gmail.com> wrote:

Show 13 quoted lines

> Users should be able to configure Git to not send them into a Vim editor.
>
> When users pull commits, and a new commit needs to be created for a
> merge, Git's current way of determining a commit message is to send
> the user into a Vim window so that they can write a message. There are
> 2 reasons why this might not be the ideal way to prompt for a commit
> message.
>
> 1. Many users are used to writing concise one-line commit messages and
> would not expect to save a commit message in a multi-line file. Some
> users will wonder why they are in a text editor or which file they are
> editing. Others may not, in fact, realize at all that a text editor is
> what they are in.

Look at the -m option of git commit,

git commit -a -m "look a commit with no editor, and a precise one line message"

I do not advocate this use though, as I think commit messages should be more wordy.

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>
> 2. Many users are not familiar with Vim, and do not understand how to
> modify, save, and exit. It is not very considerate to require a user
> to learn Vim in order to finish a commit that they are in the middle
> of.

That is true, but vi is like the most available editor as a relict from ancient times; as you are on Windows, maybe notepad is the best on that platform.

Maybe file a bug/issue at https://github.com/git-for-windows to change the default?

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>
> The existing behavior should be optional, and there should be two new options:
>
> 1. Use a simple inline prompt for a commit message (in the same way
> Git might prompt for a username).
>
> 2. Automatically assign names for commits in the form of "Merged x into y".