Re: [RFC PATCH 0/5] Introduce -t, --table for status/add commands

From: Jacob Stopak <jacob@initialcommit.io>
Date: Oct 22, 2023, 15:50 UTC
Message-ID: <ZTVEv3SMhhjeA6z5.jacob@initialcommit.io>
In-Reply-To: <ZTT5uI5Hm1+n0Agx@ugly>

On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 12:30:16PM +0200, Oswald Buddenhagen wrote:

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> On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 08:38:19AM +0200, Dragan Simic wrote:
> > True, but I still think that having git put its thoughts into tables is
> > actually not helpful.
> > 
> i'm not convinced that the proposed feature specifically would have helped
> me, either (i found the index a rather obvious concept once i knew that it's
> there), but i'm making a general argument here. so:
>

Thank you for the input! One point I'd like to add is that although the current proposal patch series only implements the table option for the status and add commands, it could be applied to many others as dry runs, as mentioned in my cover letter, some of which touch on concepts besides the index. Examples would be git stash and git clean. It can take a while before all these commands feel natural, which was my hope for having this optional helper when the user simply could use a bit more clarity.

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> > To be precise, it actually might be helpful, but only to the first
> > category of users, who will never reach it.  I mean, never say never,
> > but in this case I'm pretty sure it's safe to say it.
> > 
> well, and i think that you're wrong about that.
> your categorization is simply wrong, because it assumes an incorrect static
> model.
> 
> while for the last decade i've been as much of a git expert as one can
> reasonably be without being literally obsessed with it or having written
> much of it, i absolutely *did* start out in your first category (as in, it
> was forced upon me, while i couldn't have cared less about the specifics -
> p4 was working well enough (or so i thought)). and i hated this stupid git
> (it was 2009, and it was much more of a pita for noobs than it is now). i
> certainly could have used more sensible visualizations at every step - on
> the command line, because that's where i mostly "live".
>

:D. I feel similar and as mentioned in a reply above, the main benefit to getting direct feedback on in the cli is that it can provide guidance based on the exact context the user is in, instead of an external resource which can in most cases only suggest a more general or tangential guidance / solution.