# [Q] Finding the commit that removed a symbol?

3 messages from 2008-08-05 to 2008-08-05. Participants: Brian Foster, Jonathan del Strother.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/14839

## Brian Foster, 2008-08-05 11:43

Subject: [Q] Finding the commit that removed a symbol?
Message-ID: <200808051343.07370.brian.foster@innova-card.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/200808051343.07370.brian.foster%40innova-card.com

```

  I'm a bit puzzled as to how to do find a commit which
 removed a symbol.  This is not a ‘bisect’ per se (or at
 least I don't think it is ?); I know exactly what I am
 looking for, but am not quite sure how to find it.

  I know that between tags A (older) and B (younger)
 a certain symbol S, defined in file F, vanished.
 A:F has S; B:F does not.  (There are many commits
 affecting F between A and B, albeit most don't involve
 S per se.)  S isn't mentioned in any commit comments,
 else I could search the output of:   git log A..B -- F

  Actually, using gitk(1) — gitk A..B -- F — I've found
 what I'm looking for, so I guess what I'm now wondering
 is if there's a better/easier/faster(/non-GUI ?) way of
 doing this?   (My git-newbie-ness may be showing here!)

cheers!
	-blf-

-- 
“How many surrealists does it take to   | Brian Foster
 change a lightbulb? Three. One calms   | somewhere in south of France
 the warthog, and two fill the bathtub  |   Stop E$$o (ExxonMobil)!
 with brightly-coloured machine tools.” |      http://www.stopesso.com

```

## Jonathan del Strother, 2008-08-05 11:47

Subject: Re: [Q] Finding the commit that removed a symbol?
Message-ID: <57518fd10808050447h2df6da07vb001ed8862076992@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/57518fd10808050447h2df6da07vb001ed8862076992%40mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To: <200808051343.07370.brian.foster@innova-card.com>

```
On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 12:43 PM, Brian Foster
<brian.foster@innova-card.com> wrote:
>
>  I'm a bit puzzled as to how to do find a commit which
>  removed a symbol.  This is not a 'bisect' per se (or at
>  least I don't think it is ?); I know exactly what I am
>  looking for, but am not quite sure how to find it.
>
>  I know that between tags A (older) and B (younger)
>  a certain symbol S, defined in file F, vanished.
>  A:F has S; B:F does not.  (There are many commits
>  affecting F between A and B, albeit most don't involve
>  S per se.)  S isn't mentioned in any commit comments,
>  else I could search the output of:   git log A..B -- F
>
>  Actually, using gitk(1) — gitk A..B -- F — I've found
>  what I'm looking for, so I guess what I'm now wondering
>  is if there's a better/easier/faster(/non-GUI ?) way of
>  doing this?   (My git-newbie-ness may be showing here!)
>

You probably want git log -S'MySymbol'

```

## Brian Foster, 2008-08-05 12:00

Subject: Re: [Q] Finding the commit that removed a symbol?
Message-ID: <200808051400.55936.brian.foster@innova-card.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/200808051400.55936.brian.foster%40innova-card.com
In-Reply-To: <57518fd10808050447h2df6da07vb001ed8862076992@mail.gmail.com>

```
On Tuesday 05 August 2008 13:47:35 Jonathan del Strother wrote:
>[ ... ]
> You probably want git log -S'MySymbol'

Jonathan,

  Thanks!  That did it, exactly (finding, in fact, only
 two commits:  The one that added the symbol, and the one
 I was looking for, the one that removed it).

  I was unwares of ‘-S’ because git-log(1) for v1.5.2.5
 did not list it (albeit it seems to exist).  Consulting
 the v1.5.5 documentation, it's listed.  Thanks to whoever
 fixed/updated the documentation.

cheers!
	-blf-

-- 
“How many surrealists does it take to   | Brian Foster
 change a lightbulb? Three. One calms   | somewhere in south of France
 the warthog, and two fill the bathtub  |   Stop E$$o (ExxonMobil)!
 with brightly-coloured machine tools.” |      http://www.stopesso.com

```