[PATCH v6 9/9] line-log: consult diff process for range tracking

From

Michael Montalbo via GitGitGadget <gitgitgadget@gmail.com>

Date

Jul 26, 2026, 18:51 UTC

Message-ID

<ffa6954d67a0c29dd1e9218042c15570cbe19212.1785091889.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>

In-Reply-To

<pull.2120.v6.git.1785091889.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>

From: Michael Montalbo <mmontalbo@gmail.com>

Signed-off-by: Michael Montalbo <mmontalbo@gmail.com>
---
 Documentation/gitattributes.adoc | 20 ++++++++++---------
 line-log.c                       | 33 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
 t/t4080-diff-process.sh          | 33 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 73 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/gitattributes.adoc b/Documentation/gitattributes.adoc
index 7cdede6b21..8021dc8e39 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitattributes.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/gitattributes.adoc
@@ -1037,12 +1037,16 @@ Features that ask "which lines changed" use the tool's hunks in place
 of the builtin algorithm:
 
 - `git diff` patch output, together with everything layered on it:
-  word diff, function context (`-W`), `--color-moved`, the `@@` hunk
-  headers, and the `-L` line-range display.  These operate on the
-  lines the patch step already emitted, so they reflect the tool's
-  hunks without any further negotiation.
+  word diff, function context (`-W`), `--color-moved`, and the `@@`
+  hunk headers.  These operate on the lines the patch step already
+  emitted, so they reflect the tool's hunks without any further
+  negotiation.
 - `git blame`: a commit whose change the tool reports as equivalent is
   skipped, and its lines are attributed to an earlier commit.
+- `git log -L`: both the line-range display and the underlying range
+  tracking consult the tool, so a commit it reports as equivalent is
+  dropped from the log (its tracked range maps across unchanged)
+  rather than selected and then shown with an empty diff.
 - `--stat`, `--numstat`, and `--shortstat`: the inserted and deleted
   counts come from the tool's hunks, so a file the tool calls
   equivalent contributes no stat line, matching the empty patch that
@@ -1079,11 +1083,9 @@ design:
 - `--raw`, `--name-only`, and `--name-status` compare object ids at
   the tree level and never run a line-level diff at all.
 
-Two cases ask "which lines changed" but still use the builtin
-algorithm, and may consult the process in a later change: `git log
--L`'s commit selection and parent range propagation (as distinct from
-its display, which is covered above), and combined diffs (`--cc` and
-merge diffs), whose protocol would have to be extended from a single
+Combined diffs (`--cc` and merge diffs) ask "which lines changed" but
+still use the builtin algorithm, and may consult the process in a
+later change; their protocol would have to be extended from a single
 old/new pair to one comparison per merge parent.
 
 `--no-ext-diff` and `--diff-algorithm` bypass the process entirely,
diff --git a/line-log.c b/line-log.c
index 5fc75ae275..97b3e0a31d 100644
--- a/line-log.c
+++ b/line-log.c
@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@
 #include "tag.h"
 #include "tree.h"
 #include "diff.h"
+#include "diff-process.h"
 #include "commit.h"
 #include "decorate.h"
 #include "repository.h"
 #include "revision.h"
-#include "xdiff-interface.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "line-log.h"
 #include "setup.h"
@@ -330,12 +330,15 @@ static int collect_diff_cb(long start_a, long count_a,
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static int collect_diff(mmfile_t *parent, mmfile_t *target, struct diff_ranges *out)
+static int collect_diff(struct diff_options *diffopt, const char *path,
+			mmfile_t *parent, mmfile_t *target,
+			struct diff_ranges *out)
 {
 	struct collect_diff_cbdata cbdata = {NULL};
 	xpparam_t xpp;
 	xdemitconf_t xecfg;
 	xdemitcb_t ecb;
+	int ret = 0;
 
 	memset(&xpp, 0, sizeof(xpp));
 	memset(&xecfg, 0, sizeof(xecfg));
@@ -345,7 +348,23 @@ static int collect_diff(mmfile_t *parent, mmfile_t *target, struct diff_ranges *
 	xecfg.hunk_func = collect_diff_cb;
 	memset(&ecb, 0, sizeof(ecb));
 	ecb.priv = &cbdata;
-	return xdi_diff(parent, target, &xpp, &xecfg, &ecb);
+
+	/*
+	 * Consult the diff process so range tracking agrees with the
+	 * diff that will be shown.  When the tool reports the files as
+	 * equivalent we collect no ranges, so the tracked range maps
+	 * across unchanged and the commit drops out of the log, rather
+	 * than being selected here but rendered with an empty diff by
+	 * the process-aware builtin_diff().  Blob oids are not threaded to
+	 * this path yet, so pass NULL and send no old-oid/new-oid (a later
+	 * change can supply the pair, where they would let the tool cache
+	 * across the range-tracking and display passes over the same
+	 * commit).
+	 */
+	if (xdi_diff_process(diffopt, path, parent, target,
+			     NULL, NULL, &xpp, &xecfg, &ecb) == DIFF_PROCESS_ERROR)
+		ret = -1;
+	return ret;
 }
 
 /*
@@ -927,7 +946,13 @@ static int process_diff_filepair(struct rev_info *rev,
 	}
 
 	diff_ranges_init(&diff);
-	if (collect_diff(&file_parent, &file_target, &diff))
+	/*
+	 * Select the driver by the old (parent) path, as builtin_diff() does
+	 * with name_a, so a renamed file resolves to the same driver for
+	 * range tracking as for the diff that is shown.
+	 */
+	if (collect_diff(&rev->diffopt, pair->one->path,
+			 &file_parent, &file_target, &diff))
 		die("unable to generate diff for %s", pair->one->path);
 
 	/* NEEDSWORK should apply some heuristics to prevent mismatches */
diff --git a/t/t4080-diff-process.sh b/t/t4080-diff-process.sh
index 118d0f9464..9584a458b1 100755
--- a/t/t4080-diff-process.sh
+++ b/t/t4080-diff-process.sh
@@ -960,4 +960,37 @@ test_expect_success 'blame -w bypasses diff process' '
 	test_path_is_missing backend.log
 '
 
+#
+# Line-log (git log -L) range tracking.
+#
+
+test_expect_success 'diff process drops equivalent commit from log -L' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -f backend.log" &&
+	cat >linelog.c <<-\EOF &&
+	int tracked(void) { return 1; }
+	EOF
+	git add linelog.c &&
+	git commit -m "add linelog.c" &&
+
+	cat >linelog.c <<-\EOF &&
+	int tracked(void) { return 2; }
+	EOF
+	git commit -am "change tracked line" &&
+
+	# Builtin line tracking selects the change commit.
+	git log --no-ext-diff -L1,1:linelog.c --format="%s" >builtin &&
+	test_grep "change tracked line" builtin &&
+
+	# With the tool reporting the change as equivalent, tracking
+	# drops the commit (the range maps across unchanged) instead of
+	# selecting it and rendering an empty diff.
+	git -c diff.cdiff.process="$BACKEND --mode=no-hunks --log=backend.log" \
+		log -L1,1:linelog.c --format="%s" >actual &&
+	test_grep ! "change tracked line" actual &&
+	# The creating commit still appears, so the change commit was
+	# selectively dropped rather than the whole log going empty.
+	test_grep "add linelog.c" actual &&
+	test_grep "command=hunks pathname=linelog.c" backend.log
+'
+
 test_done

-- 
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