Re: [PATCH] setup: Only allow extenions.objectFormat to be specified once

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Sep 27, 2023, 19:56 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqwmwbl79k.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <87r0mjn4ly.fsf@gmail.froward.int.ebiederm.org>

"Eric W. Biederman" <ebiederm@gmail.com> writes:

> For me the fundamental question is if we allow multiples compatibility
> hashes or historical hashes how do we specify them?  Have the option
> appear more than once?  A comma separated list?

As you found out, we tend to use both, but the former does look more natural to me.

The "usual" pros and cons [*] involve how easy it is to override the settings given by more general low-priority configuration files with more specific high-priority configuration files, and does not apply to the extensions.* stuff that are by definition repository specific.

[Footnote]

As I said, this does not apply to the topic of this discussion, but just for completeness:

 * comma separated list allows overriding everything that was said
   earlier wholesale; there is no ambiguity, which is a plus, but
   there is no incremental updates, which may be a minus when
   flexibility is desired.

 * multi-valued configuration variable allows incremental additions,
   but ad-hoc syntax needs to be invented if incremental
   subtractions or clearing the slate to start from scratch is
   needed.