Re: [PATCH v2 2/6] grep.c: take column number as argument to show_line()

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Apr 24, 2018, 06:13 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqtvs15dy4.fsf@gitster-ct.c.googlers.com>
In-Reply-To: <874lk2e4he.fsf@evledraar.gmail.com>

Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <avarab@gmail.com> writes:

Show 9 quoted lines

> I think when we add features to git-grep we should be as close to GNU
> grep as possible (e.g. not add this -m alias meaning something different
> as in your v1), but if GNU grep doesn't have something go with the trend
> of other grep tools, as noted at
> https://beyondgrep.com/feature-comparison/ (and I found another one that
> has this: https://github.com/beyondgrep/website/pull/83), so there's
> already 3 prominent grep tools that call this just --column.
>
> I think we should just go with that.

OK. If they called it --column-number, that might have been more in line with GNU grep's --line-number, but that is not something we can dictate retroactively anyway, so --column to match them would be better than trying to be consistent and ending up with being different from everybody else.

> Also, as a bonus question, since you're poking at this column code
> anyway, interested in implementing -o (--only-matching)? That would be
> super-useful (see
> https://public-inbox.org/git/87in9ucsbb.fsf@evledraar.gmail.com/) :)

Sounds good ;-).