Re: [PATCH] pretty format string support for reflog times

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Jul 27, 2016, 18:09 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqfuqvvtph.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To: <20160727173915.GA32219@sigill.intra.peff.net>

Jeff King <peff@peff.net> writes:

> I actually think Phil's patch from today is a little cleaner for most of
> these, as it returns the values via out-parameters, and uses the return
> value for "did we get anything?".

True. That part of the interface is indeed better done with the new one.

I am still in favor of this suggestion you earlier made:

Show 7 quoted lines

> So the final solution is more like:
> 
>   - a formatter for just the reflog time, respecting date
> 
>   - a formatter for just the reflog index (the "0" in HEAD@{0})
> 
>   - a formatter for the ref name (just the "HEAD" in HEAD@{0})

though. After all we only need three short ones while we migrate away to a longer %(reflog:<what>) format, right?

As to the unfortunate %gd that squats on the "date" other specifiers use, I do not see a good/quick approach to migrate it. If our ideal short-term endgame before the longer format were to use %gd, %g# and %gg for the above three, we first start warning people who use %gd for the historical mistaken "reflog selector", while telling people to use "%gg@{%g#}" instead if they truly want "reflog selector", and then switch its meaning to "reflog date". That would take a long time.

As %r prefix is not taken, we can immediately deprecate %g-anything format as a historical mistake and make sure we do not repeat the mistake of giving "d" to "reflog selector", perhaps?