Re: [PATCH v3] userdiff.c & doc/gitattributes.txt: add Octave

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: May 16, 2019, 09:19 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqlfz64uzw.fsf@gitster-ct.c.googlers.com>
In-Reply-To: <a2455214-9ce5-71e3-74bc-114af6fcfca7@kdbg.org>

Johannes Sixt <j6t@kdbg.org> writes:

> In Matlab, is %%% followed by space at the beginning of a line
> *commonly* used for something different? If I were to make a guess, I
> would say no. If I'm right, it does not hurt to merge the Octave rules
> into the Matlab rules.

That is true because we are not syntax-aware and error-highlighting text editor. If we were, I'd suspect that your stance may probably be different. But instead we apply these patterns to a program that is assumed to be correctly written.

And from that point of view, I agree with you that it would not hurt to make the existing patterns for Matlab slightly more receptive so that a correctly written programs in either language would be matched appropriately.

But would it hurt to have two similar entries, with a clear description on how they are different, in our code there, given how infrequently individual entries have historically been updated?