Re: [PATCH v6 3/3] bisect--helper: `write_terms` shell function in C

From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Date: May 16, 2016, 13:16 UTC
Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.20.1605161508230.3303@virtualbox>
In-Reply-To: <CAPig+cS=zcSVLwARZ5A8hdiE0wqgYPU2Jwnr0OcjDXZFO--cZw@mail.gmail.com>

Hi,

On Mon, 16 May 2016, Eric Sunshine wrote:

Show 8 quoted lines

> On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 1:32 AM, Pranit Bauva <pranit.bauva@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > +       fp = fopen(".git/BISECT_TERMS", "w");
> 
> Hardcoding ".git/" is wrong for a variety of reasons: It won't be correct
> with linked worktrees, or when GIT_DIR is pointing elsewhere, or when ".git"
> is a symbolic link, etc. Check out the get_git_dir(), get_git_common_dir(),
> etc. functions in cache.h instead.

Maybe in this case, `git_path("BISECT_TERMS")` would be a good idea. Or even better: follow the example of bisect.c and use `GIT_PATH_FUNC(bisect_terms_path, "BISECT_TERMS")`.

Show 8 quoted lines

> > +               strbuf_release(&content);
> > +               die_errno(_("could not open the file to read terms"));
> 
> "read terms"? I thought this was writing.
> 
> Is dying here correct? I thought we established previously that you
> should be reporting failure via normal -1 return value rather than
> dying. Indeed, you're doing so below when strbuf_write() fails.

The rule of thumb seems to be that die()ing is okay in builtin/*.c, but not in *.c. So technically, it would be okay here, too. However, I think that this code should be written with libification in mind, so I would also prefer it to error() and return, to give the caller a chance to do other things after an error occurred.

Ciao, Dscho