From: Junio C Hamano Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 20:25:29 GMT Subject: Re: [PATCH 5/7] parse_color: support 24-bit RGB values Message-ID: In-Reply-To: <20141120201026.GA4779@peff.net> Jeff King writes: > On Thu, Nov 20, 2014 at 11:44:26AM -0800, Junio C Hamano wrote: > >> > @@ -32,10 +32,13 @@ struct color { >> > COLOR_UNSPECIFIED = 0, >> > COLOR_NORMAL, >> > COLOR_ANSI, /* basic 0-7 ANSI colors */ >> > - COLOR_256 >> > + COLOR_256, >> > + COLOR_RGB >> > } state; >> > /* The numeric value for ANSI and 256-color modes */ >> > unsigned char value; >> > + /* 24-bit RGB color values */ >> > + unsigned char red, green, blue; >> >> Do value and rgb have to be both valid at the same time, or is this >> "we are not wasting a byte by not using a union because it will be >> in the padding of the outer struct anyway"? > > The latter. I started with a union, and then realized that COLOR_ANSI > and COLOR_256 shared the value, so the union was not saving space and > just getting in the way (mostly because I had to think of useful names > for each of the members). > > I'd be happy to do it as a union if you think that makes it clearer. > > Also, the name "state" should perhaps be "type". It originally > started as "unspecified or an actual value", which is a state, but > as I worked, it grew into something more. I think use of union might be more "kosher", e.g. struct color_spec { enum { ... } type; union { struct { unsigned char r, g, b; } rgb; unsigned char ansi; } u; } c; but it is not like you have an array of these things for each slot, and with the intervening ".u." you have to write every time you refer to these fields, the result is probably much uglier and harder to read. So let's only do s/state/type/ and leave these "ought to be union but that will be uglier" ones as they are.