From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2019 17:07:08 GMT
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2] contrib: git-cpcover: copy cover letter
Message-ID: <xmqqd0d458ar.fsf@gitster-ct.c.googlers.com>
In-Reply-To: <CAPig+cREF8BSVbCoOUaRMPOyfD_bfD5PhxgM4QZgot7sziCNug@mail.gmail.com>

Eric Sunshine <sunshine@sunshineco.com> writes:

> On Wed, Dec 4, 2019 at 11:23 AM Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
>> Eric Sunshine <sunshine@sunshineco.com> writes:
>> > I could even imagine a new option -V<n> which has the combined effect
>> > of setting the re-roll count (like -v) and automagically copying the
>> > cover letter material from cover letter v<n-1> located in <dir>.
>>
>> I actually looked into doing something similar but without any new
>> option (i.e. unconditionally --cover-letter with -v<n> would check
>> for v<n-1>-0000-cover.letter and does the right thing) some time
>> ago.
>
> Yes, I like that better than a new option, and wanted to suggest it as
> well, however... (see below)
>
>> But I think that was even before we integrated the range-diff stuff,
>> which does seem to use the "given we are doing <n>, let's compare
>> with <n-1>" thing, so perhaps it is not too difficult.
>
> Yup.
>
>> I am just saying that I think the change would not have to be opt-in,
>> but can be unconditionally made, simply because replacing the BLURB
>> HERE placeholder with *anything* written by human user previously is
>> a 100% improvement ;-)
>
> I had started writing the same in my previous reply but then realized
> that it could break existing tooling which uses -v and --cover-letter
> together and which searches for the well-known BLURB HERE placeholder
> to replace it automatically. If I'm wrong about possibly breaking
> existing tooling, then I'd also vote for this behavior kicking in
> automatically with -v and --cover-letter specified together.

Well, they can now disable that "copy over the material from the
previous" step, which is good.  I actually think we should add the
well-known BLURB HERE string *after* populating the new version of
the coer letter with the materials from old one to *force* users to
proofread and adjust it to the updated reality, so if that happens,
then the existing tooling would also work as before ;-)