Re: [PATCH v6 04/15] sequencer: introduce new commands to reset the revision

From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Date: Apr 11, 2018, 11:36 UTC
Message-ID: <nycvar.QRO.7.76.6.1804111329270.65@ZVAVAG-6OXH6DA.rhebcr.pbec.zvpebfbsg.pbz>
In-Reply-To: <878t9u5ksw.fsf@javad.com>

Hi Sergey,

On Wed, 11 Apr 2018, Sergey Organov wrote:

Show 18 quoted lines

> Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de> writes:
> 
> [...]
> 
> > We disallow '#' as label because that character will be used as
> > separator in the upcoming `merge` command.
> 
> Please consider to use # not only in `merge` and `reset`, but in the
> rest of the commands as well, to unify this new syntax. I.e., right now
> it seems to be:
> 
> pick  abcd A commit message
> merge beaf # B commit message
> 
> I suggest to turn it to:
> 
> pick  abcd # A commit message
> merge beaf # B commit message

First of all, that alignment of pick's and merge's first arguments? That does not exist. If you want aligned arguments, you have to use the rebase.abbreviateCommands feature.

Second: this change would break backwards-compatibility. For almost eleven
years, we generated `pick abcdef0123 A commit message`. Even if there are
no scripts that rely on this form, power users have gotten used to it, and
I can tell you from experience how unsettling even minor visual changes
are in everyday operations.

In short: no, we cannot do that. Just like your proposal to conflate the `merge` and `pick` commands for some perception of consistency: The user experience is more important than individual persons' sense of elegance (that might not even be shared with the majority).

Ciao, Johannes