From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2016 20:30:30 GMT
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 6/8] status: print branch info with --porcelain=v2 --branch
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:

>  /*
> + * 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.