Re: [PATCH] gitk: expand $config_file_tmp before reporting to user

From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Date: Sep 28, 2017, 12:31 UTC
Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.21.1.1709281428170.40514@virtualbox>
In-Reply-To: <xmqqzi9f1lb2.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>

Hi Junio,

On Thu, 28 Sep 2017, Junio C Hamano wrote:

Show 11 quoted lines

> Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:
> 
> > Max Kirillov <max@max630.net> writes:
> >
> >> Tilda-based path may confise some users. First, tilda is not known
> >> for Window users, second, it may point to unexpected location
> >> depending on various environment setup.
> >>
> >> Expand the path to "nativename", so that ~/.config/git/gitk-tmp
> >> would be "C:\Users\user\.config\git\gitk-tmp", for example.
> >> It should be less cryptic

Thanks, Max, for your contribution!

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> > It might be less cryptic, but for those of us whose $HOME is a
> > looooooong path, ~/.config/git/gitk-tmp is much easier to understand
> > than the same path with ~/ expanded, which would push the part of
> > the filename that most matters far to the right hand side of the
> > dialog.

Heh, do you want to know how that must sound to a Windows user? I'm not saying that I am a hard-core Windows user, but I do know a few, and I already hear their comments in their own voice in my head...

Show 11 quoted lines

> > I somehow find this change just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
> 
> Having said that, because a set-up might have HOME or XDG_CONFIG or
> other things misconfigured to point at a place where the end user
> may not be expecting, I tend to think that catering to Paul by
> showing the information closer to the bare metal is much more worthy
> thing to do than keeping Peter happy.  Since this is an error path,
> accuracy trumps convenience.
> 
> So no objection from me (unless somebody else comes up with an
> alternative that would make both camps happy, that is).

To Unix/Linux users, the tilde (or Tilda, I really like that nickname, it makes it much more human and tolerable) is probably *very* familiar.

As familiar, as it is unfamiliar to Windows users.

So I would actually suggest to make this a conditional on the platform: on Windows, use the native name, everywhere else, not.

Sound good? Johannes