Re: [PATCH v2 6/8] status: print branch info with --porcelain=v2 --branch

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Jul 25, 2016, 20:30 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqshux4g0p.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To: <1469474750-49075-7-git-send-email-jeffhost@microsoft.com>

Jeff Hostetler <jeffhost@microsoft.com> writes:

Show 5 quoted lines

>  /*
> + * Print branch and tracking header for porcelain v2 output.
> + * This is printed when the '--branch' parameter is given.
> + *
> + *    "## branch: <commit> <head>[ <upstream>[ +<ahead> -<behind>]]<eol>"

Just FYI, the only reason why the original "short" output gives this information on a single line with ## is because it was added as an afterthought to then-existing short/porcelain format that used two letter prefix and one-line-per-path format, and the expectation was that the existing parsers for the output would ignore unknown status letters (namely "##"). Because you are inventing a new format that needs to be parsed by a brand new parser _anyway_, you do not have to mimic that old convention which was a workaround, and use a notation that mixes better with the other lines you show under the --porcelain=v2 option.

Of course if you like "## branch:" output and think it is pleasing to see, that is fine as well.