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Re: [PATCH RFC] git-send-email --expand-aliases

From
Karl Wiberg <kha@treskal.com>
Date
Nov 24, 2009, 07:52 UTC
Message-ID
<b8197bcb0911232352v438c721at44601c608f4a7afe@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<7vfx84jsef.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>
On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 8:25 AM, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
Show 10 quoted lines
> Karl Wiberg <kha@treskal.com> writes:
>
>> I think that sounds like a splendid idea. It would be interesting to
>> see just how thin a wrapper around git send-email (and format-patch)
>> stg mail could become, without sacrificing features anyone actually
>> uses. The main complication could be stg mail's templates.
>
> Why do you even need to run format-patch?  If stg mail supports a good
> templates to prepare message files, it would be natural to keep using that
> to prepare message files.

The only thing stg mail _really_ needs to do, strictly speaking, is to be git send-email with an easy way to specify a patch, or a range of patches, to send. Anything above and beyond that is functionality that we have to write and maintain without the help of the larger git community, and which won't be of use to said community for no good reason. Take the template system for cover letters and patches, for example: there's no reason why it couldn't be part of the git tools, and if it had been, it would have had many more users and much more developer love.

It's a question of deciding in which areas the benefits of doing it ourselves are worth the cost, and where it's better to let git do the job for us. And of recognizing that StGit is old enough that tradeoffs that were worth it when git was not as mature and featureful as today might be worth reconsidering from time to time.

(Alex: Sorry if I'm making a big deal out of this. Just because rewriting stg mail entirely in terms of the git tools might be _possible_ doesn't mean that just a few steps in that direction wouldn't be worthwhile. But I thought I should raise the possibility.)

-- 
Karl Wiberg, kha@treskal.com
   subrabbit.wordpress.com
   www.treskal.com/kalle
Previous: Junio C HamanoNext: Catalin Marinas
Message 6 of 9 in “git-send-email --expand-aliases”
  1. git-send-email --expand-aliasesAlex Chiang, Nov 23, 2009
  2. Junio C HamanoNov 24, 2009
  3. Alex ChiangNov 24, 2009
  4. Karl WibergNov 24, 2009
  5. Junio C HamanoNov 24, 2009
  6. Karl WibergNov 24, 2009
  7. Catalin MarinasNov 24, 2009
  8. Alex ChiangNov 24, 2009
  9. Karl WibergNov 24, 2009

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