# [PATCH] Correct documentation wording for diff options -S and --pickaxe-all

3 messages from 2008-08-31 to 2008-08-31. Participants: Heikki Orsila, Junio C Hamano.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/15305

## Heikki Orsila, 2008-08-31 23:03

Subject: [PATCH] Correct documentation wording for diff options -S and --pickaxe-all
Message-ID: <20080831230304.GA30480@zakalwe.fi>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20080831230304.GA30480%40zakalwe.fi

```
Signed-off-by: Heikki Orsila <heikki.orsila@iki.fi>
---
 Documentation/diff-options.txt |    6 +++---
 1 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/diff-options.txt b/Documentation/diff-options.txt
index 1759386..062a8ae 100644
--- a/Documentation/diff-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/diff-options.txt
@@ -160,12 +160,12 @@ endif::git-format-patch[]
 	number.
 
 -S<string>::
-	Look for differences that contain the change in <string>.
+	Look for differences that contain <string> in the change.
 
 --pickaxe-all::
 	When -S finds a change, show all the changes in that
-	changeset, not just the files that contain the change
-	in <string>.
+	changeset, not just the files that contain <string>
+	in the change.
 
 --pickaxe-regex::
 	Make the <string> not a plain string but an extended POSIX
-- 
1.6.0.1

```

## Junio C Hamano, 2008-08-31 23:21

Subject: Re: [PATCH] Correct documentation wording for diff options -S and --pickaxe-all
Message-ID: <7v63pg3h4o.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/7v63pg3h4o.fsf%40gitster.siamese.dyndns.org
In-Reply-To: <20080831230304.GA30480@zakalwe.fi>

```
Heikki Orsila <heikki.orsila@iki.fi> writes:

> Signed-off-by: Heikki Orsila <heikki.orsila@iki.fi>
> ---
>  Documentation/diff-options.txt |    6 +++---
>  1 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/diff-options.txt b/Documentation/diff-options.txt
> index 1759386..062a8ae 100644
> --- a/Documentation/diff-options.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/diff-options.txt
> @@ -160,12 +160,12 @@ endif::git-format-patch[]
>  	number.
>  
>  -S<string>::
> -	Look for differences that contain the change in <string>.
> +	Look for differences that contain <string> in the change.
>  
>  --pickaxe-all::
>  	When -S finds a change, show all the changes in that
> -	changeset, not just the files that contain the change
> -	in <string>.
> +	changeset, not just the files that contain <string>
> +	in the change.


Thanks, but if we are doing this, we should reword it to something less
misleading.  The pickaxe search does not look for changes that contains
string in the sense people might expect (e.g. "diff -u0 | grep string").

The machinery looks at the old and new copy, and considers it a match if
they have different numbers of "string" in them.

So perhaps something like this

-S<string>::
	Look for differences that changes the number of <string> in the
	file.

--pickaxe-all::
	When -S finds a change, show all the changes in that changeset,
        not just the files for which the number of <string> in them
	changes.

but I am bad at writing, so I'll ask others to come up with a better
wording.

```

## Heikki Orsila, 2008-08-31 23:59

Subject: Re: [PATCH] Correct documentation wording for diff options -S and --pickaxe-all
Message-ID: <20080831235957.GB16289@zakalwe.fi>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20080831235957.GB16289%40zakalwe.fi
In-Reply-To: <7v63pg3h4o.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org>

```
On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 04:21:43PM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> Thanks, but if we are doing this, we should reword it to something less
> misleading.  The pickaxe search does not look for changes that contains
> string in the sense people might expect (e.g. "diff -u0 | grep string").
> 
> The machinery looks at the old and new copy, and considers it a match if
> they have different numbers of "string" in them.
> 
> So perhaps something like this
> 
> -S<string>::
> 	Look for differences that changes the number of <string> in the
> 	file.
> 
> --pickaxe-all::
> 	When -S finds a change, show all the changes in that changeset,
>         not just the files for which the number of <string> in them
> 	changes.
> 
> but I am bad at writing, so I'll ask others to come up with a better
> wording.

Perhaps like this:

-S:
"Look for differences that change the number of <string> matches in a file.
In other words, moving the <string> inside a file does not imply a 
match, but adding or removing <string> will."

-- 
Heikki Orsila
heikki.orsila@iki.fi
http://www.iki.fi/shd

```