Re: [PATCH v2 04/18] make: merge reftable lib into libgit.a

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Sep 19, 2025, 19:02 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqq348i5kqx.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <3061cc46c1910bdc4f66855db7a07d313b37fb27.1758071798.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>

"Ezekiel Newren via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com> writes:

Show 6 quoted lines

> From: Ezekiel Newren <ezekielnewren@gmail.com>
>
> Signed-off-by: Ezekiel Newren <ezekielnewren@gmail.com>
> ---
>  Makefile | 39 ++++++++++++++++-----------------------
>  1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 23 deletions(-)

Aside from the comment already given about the fact that the proposed log message does not explain any reason why these change are necessary, this step and the previous step are fairly hostile to merging the topic to play well with other topics, especially given that there would be topics in flight that may want to add, remove, or reorder these two existing lists.

I wonder if these could have been arranged like the following instead?

 * Drop "REFTABLE_LIB = reftable/libreftable.a" and the target that
   runs "ar" to mantain that archive.

 * Leave "REFTABLE_OBJS += $objects.o" lines alone.

 * Add them into LIB_OBJS so that they are included in libgit.a,
   perhaps a single line like this:

	LIB_OBJS += $(REFTABLE_OBJS)

Wouldn't that have worked equally well for the (unstated) purpose of these two patches without incurring unnecessary risk of mismerges?

Similar arrangement for xdiff.

Thanks.