Re: [PATCH] branch: delete now accepts '-' as branch name

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Feb 21, 2022, 17:13 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqwnhota5q.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <220221.86pmngb22e.gmgdl@evledraar.gmail.com>

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

Show 19 quoted lines

>> Continuing the "thinking aloud" a bit, I _think_ this tells us these
>> things:
>>
>>  * @{-1} has way too many letters to type to be liked by users, who
>>    won't learn or remember what they do not appreciate (and do not
>>    blame them---it is a bad notation).
>>
>>  * @{-<n>} may have been a generalized way that satisfied geeky mind
>>    while being implemented, but the users only need the "last one"
>>    and no such generalization.
>>
>> If it is too late for a more easy-to-type-and-pleasant-to-eyes
>> notation, perhaps "@-", that does not have downsides of "-" or
>> "@{-1}", I have to wonder.
>
> I too find the syntax really annoying to type.
>
> I wonder if we couldn't say that:
> ...

We could, but I do not think I like any of it, except for adding "@-". We learned that we do not need @{-4} generalization and people only want "the last one" with nothing else. It is repeating the same mistake without learning any from the lesson to take any random string that follows @ as if it is inside @{}, I am afraid.

P.S. It seems it is holiday around here and I hear it is at GitHub, too, so I expect the day to be slow and my presence may be sporadic.