Re: [PATCH v3 5/5] Testing: provide tests requiring them with ellipses after SHA-1 values

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Nov 22, 2017, 05:53 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqo9nuuadm.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To: <5AE7AD53CF184A27BF8F484D415083D9@PhilipOakley>

"Philip Oakley" <philipoakley@iee.org> writes:

Show 11 quoted lines

> From: "Junio C Hamano" <gitster@pobox.com>
>> Ann T Ropea <bedhanger@gmx.de> writes:
>>
>>> *1* We are being overly generous in t4013-diff-various.sh because we do
>>> not want to destroy/take apart the here-document.  Given that all this a
>>> temporary measure, we should get away with it.
>
> So, the need to reformat the test for the future post-deprecation
> period is being deferred to the time that the PRINT_SHA1_ELLIPSIS env
> variable, and all ellipis, is removed - is that the case? Maybe it
> just needs saying plainly.

And if we say it that way, it is clear that with this series, we are shipping a new feature with a test that does not protect the output format we claim to be the improved and preferred one. That sounds quite bad.

Having said that, I have already queued this to 'pu' and I do not terribly mind to merge it down to 'next', leaving the test updates to cover the new output format as well as the backward compatible one at the same time for a later follow-up patch.

I'd however hate it if I have to carry the topic in the current shape in 'next' forever, waiting for such an update to come, that may never materialize, and be forced to do it myself without being explicitly asked by (and thanked for) anybody, especially because this is not exactly my itch X-<.

> Or is the env variable being retained as a fallback 'forever'? I'm
> half guessing that it may tend toward the latter as it's an easier
> backward compatibility decision.

We do not know until this change is released to the wild, at which time we will hear noises about the lack of expected ellipses their (poorly written) scripts rely on and tell them to set the workaround environment variable. We may not hear from such people at all, in which case we may be able to remove it within a year or so, but it is too early to tell.