From: Kristoffer Haugsbakk <code@khaugsbakk.name>

Topic name (applied): kh/format-patch-range-diff-notes

Topic summary: Teach 'format-patch' options to tweak notes output in the range diff independent of what notes are output in the patches.

See patch 2/2 for details.

This is motivated by wanting to turn off range diff notes, but the goal here is to implement it in full generality.

(How many of us `git format-patch --notes` users are there out there? More than a dozen? Maybe just D. Ben Knoble and me?)

I have implemented this behavior for myself and used it for many months. But that was hacky and only suitable for one person’s use. So this is a completely new implementation. In other words: this is new code, *not* tested for months.

§ Changes in v5

Patch 2/2:

• Msg: Shorten paragraph about “why not error out like
  --creation-factor...” while keeping the exact same
  information.[1]
  🔗 1: https://lore.kernel.org/git/xmqqqzi5touh.fsf@gitster.g/
• Msg: ... Also drop the thematic breaks (***). I think the
  paragraphs flow well enough now to the point that they are not
  needed.

§ Link to v4

https://lore.kernel.org/git/V4_CV_format-patch_learn_--range-diff-notes.d5c@m5gid.xyz/

[1/2] format-patch: simplify get_notes_arg parameters [2/2] format-patch: learn --[no-]range-diff-notes

 Documentation/git-format-patch.adoc | 11 ++++
 builtin/log.c                       | 50 +++++++++++++++--
 t/t3206-range-diff.sh               | 86 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 141 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

Interdiff against v4:
Range-diff against v4:
1:  bb60f300d3f = 1:  bb60f300d3f format-patch: simplify get_notes_arg parameters
2:  4cbd312fec6 ! 2:  676361b383e format-patch: learn --[no-]range-diff-notes
    @@ Commit message
         1. No such options were given and empty list (use `--notes`)
         2. Options were given and empty list (`--no-...` given; don’t use notes)
     
    -    ***
    -
    -    Note that using `--creation-factor` without `--range-diff` will cause
    -    the command to die. But this is not the case for `--[no-]range-diff-
    -    notes`; we would have to check `rdiff_notes.override`, which is a sticky
    -    value (cannot be turned off). The reason is that it is potentially
    -    inconvenient to error out since it would not let you turn off
    -    `--range-diff` in, say, some alias that uses `--no-range-diff-
    -    notes`. Granted, it is difficult for me to come up with a concrete use
    -    case since `--range-diff` requires a value, specifically a value which
    -    is probably not that reusable (revision range), and yet you have
    -    something like an alias set up with it. But why spend code closing
    -    that door? There is no usability upside to erroring out.
    -
    -    ***
    +    Unlike `--creation-factor`, `--[no-]range-diff-notes` does not error out
    +    when used without `--range-diff`. This flexibility accommodates
    +    workflows where users might configure default options in aliases or
    +    wrapper scripts, allowing `--range-diff` to be toggled independently.
     
         Add two tests here for the single-patch case, i.e. the case where the
         range diff is on the patch and not in the cover letter. These are meant

base-commit: 1a3e64c6c4a623626ff0687008732a8e007e2a1c