Re: [PATCH] git-gui: Automatically spell check commit messages as the user types

From: Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com>
Date: Feb 4, 2008, 10:14 UTC
Message-ID: <m3d4rd58ri.fsf@localhost.localdomain>
In-Reply-To: <20080204084153.GA9997@spearce.org>

"Shawn O. Pearce" <spearce@spearce.org> writes:

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> [This is also in my `pu` branch on repo.or.cz/git-gui.]
> 
> As you can see the commit message was rather long.  I used this
> feature the entire time while writing it, and I have to say, it
> saved me from my horrible spelling and typing skills.  It also
> didn't feel like there was any significant lag, although every
> once in a while it will mark a word that you are in the middle
> of typing as misspelled, and catch up and correct that once you
> finish the word.  I guess that's what you get for slowing down
> and taking a few extra milliseconds to move the fingers.  :)

> Personally I prefer this style of spellchecking over the "lets show
> a modal dialog and ask the user to check one word at a time through
> the document".  Mainly because this style gives you full context,
> while the modal dialog forms almost never do.

IMHO both modes have their use. The "flyspell" mode can show you errors as you type, so you wouldn't repeat mistakes (running spelling only on finished words is a good idea), the "modal dialog" has its use for final chackup, as it is much easier in this mode to use "ignore" or "ignore all" for the word which is not in dictionary and you know it is correct, select one of proposed corrections or write your and use "replace" or "replace all", and add word to local dictionary, and change language (if done right of course, i.e. with highlighting and going to the word currently being corrected, and not hiding/covering the text being corrected so you can see the context).

BTW. you can check how Emacs does that in its flyspell-mode, and how
it does checking lazily; I guess the code should be readable even
knowing next to nothing about Emacs Lisp

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> I'm not sure how to configure Aspell for other languages, it just
> magically came up with English on my system.  Since git-gui has i18n
> support almost everywhere else I want to get that settled before
> this topic merges into my master branch.  I've CC'd Christian and
> Johannes as they have been a big help in the past with the git-gui
> i18n effort and I would value any input they might have.

aspell {-d|--master}=<dictionary>

-- 
Jakub Narebski
Poland
ShadeHawk on #git