threads / patch / 31521

patchDocumentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

Subject: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

## tl;dr

8 messages between Sep 13, 2012 and Sep 13, 2012. Diffs are folded; open one to read it.

replies: 7people: 3as markdown or json

Jeremy White· Sep 13, 2012, 12:42 UTC · lore

The discussion of email subject throughout the documentation is misleading; it indicates that the first line will become the subject. In fact, the first and second and third lines will become the subject, up until the first full blank line. Describing it as the first paragraph is more accurate.

Signed-off-by: Jeremy White <jwhite@codeweavers.com>
---
 Documentation/git-commit.txt       |    2 +-
 Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt |    2 +-
 Documentation/git-format-patch.txt |    8 +++++---
 Documentation/git-shortlog.txt     |    2 +-
 Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt |    2 +-
 Documentation/gittutorial.txt      |    2 +-
 Documentation/user-manual.txt      |    2 +-
 7 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
Show changes to 7 files +11 −9

Documentation/git-commit.txt, Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt, Documentation/git-format-patch.txt, Documentation/git-shortlog.txt, Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt, Documentation/gittutorial.txt, Documentation/user-manual.txt

diff --git a/Documentation/git-commit.txt b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
index e99bb14..a61bca9 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-commit.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ DISCUSSION
 Though not required, it's a good idea to begin the commit message
 with a single short (less than 50 character) line summarizing the
 change, followed by a blank line and then a more thorough description.
-Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use the first line
+Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use the first paragraph
 on the Subject: line and the rest of the commit in the body.
 
 include::i18n.txt[]
diff --git a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
index 7e83288..499c26a 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ Fields that have name-email-date tuple as its value (`author`,
 `committer`, and `tagger`) can be suffixed with `name`, `email`,
 and `date` to extract the named component.
 
-The first line of the message in a commit and tag object is
+The first paragraph of the message in a commit and tag object is
 `subject`, the remaining lines are `body`.  The whole message
 is `contents`.
 
diff --git a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
index 9674f9d..e6f6d0e 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
@@ -57,10 +57,12 @@ output, unless the `--stdout` option is specified.
 If `-o` is specified, output files are created in <dir>.  Otherwise
 they are created in the current working directory.
 
-By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Line" and
+By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Paragraph" and
 the subject when multiple patches are output is "[PATCH n/m] First
-Line". To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch, use `-n`.  To omit
-patch numbers from the subject, use `-N`.
+Paragraph". Note that "First Paragraph" consists of text in the commit message
+prior to the first completely blank line (see the DISCUSSION section
+in linkgit:git-commit[1]).  To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch,
+use `-n`.  To omit patch numbers from the subject, use `-N`.
 
 If given `--thread`, `git-format-patch` will generate `In-Reply-To` and
 `References` headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
diff --git a/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt b/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
index dfd4d0c..9464932 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ DESCRIPTION
 -----------
 Summarizes 'git log' output in a format suitable for inclusion
 in release announcements. Each commit will be grouped by author and
-the first line of the commit message will be shown.
+the first paragraph of the commit message will be shown.
 
 Additionally, "[PATCH]" will be stripped from the commit description.
 
diff --git a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
index f7815e9..92f97e6 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
@@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ $ git show-branch --topo-order --more=1 master mybranch
 ------------------------------------------------
 
 The first two lines indicate that it is showing the two branches
-and the first line of the commit log message from their
+and the first paragraph of the commit log message from their
 top-of-the-tree commits, you are currently on `master` branch
 (notice the asterisk `\*` character), and the first column for
 the later output lines is used to show commits contained in the
diff --git a/Documentation/gittutorial.txt b/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
index 1c16066..a1bc56c 100644
--- a/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ A note on commit messages: Though not required, it's a good idea to
 begin the commit message with a single short (less than 50 character)
 line summarizing the change, followed by a blank line and then a more
 thorough description.  Tools that turn commits into email, for
-example, use the first line on the Subject: line and the rest of the
+example, use the first paragraph on the Subject: line and the rest of the
 commit in the body.
 
 Git tracks content not files
diff --git a/Documentation/user-manual.txt b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
index fe6fb72..dd2f985 100644
--- a/Documentation/user-manual.txt
+++ b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
@@ -1126,7 +1126,7 @@ Though not required, it's a good idea to begin the commit message
 with a single short (less than 50 character) line summarizing the
 change, followed by a blank line and then a more thorough
 description.  Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use
-the first line on the Subject line and the rest of the commit in the
+the first paragraph on the Subject line and the rest of the commit in the
 body.
 
 [[ignoring-files]]
-- 
1.7.9.5
Junio C Hamano· Sep 13, 2012, 18:25 UTC · re: Jeremy White · lore

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

Jeremy White <jwhite@codeweavers.com> writes:
Show 28 quoted lines
> The discussion of email subject throughout the documentation is
> misleading; it indicates that the first line will become the subject.
> In fact, the first and second and third lines will become the subject,
> up until the first full blank line.  Describing it as the first paragraph
> is more accurate.
>
> Signed-off-by: Jeremy White <jwhite@codeweavers.com>
> ---
>  Documentation/git-commit.txt       |    2 +-
>  Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt |    2 +-
>  Documentation/git-format-patch.txt |    8 +++++---
>  Documentation/git-shortlog.txt     |    2 +-
>  Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt |    2 +-
>  Documentation/gittutorial.txt      |    2 +-
>  Documentation/user-manual.txt      |    2 +-
>  7 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-commit.txt b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> index e99bb14..a61bca9 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> @@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ DISCUSSION
>  Though not required, it's a good idea to begin the commit message
>  with a single short (less than 50 character) line summarizing the
>  change, followed by a blank line and then a more thorough description.
> -Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use the first line
> +Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use the first paragraph
>  on the Subject: line and the rest of the commit in the body.

This is a good change, as the previous sentence says the norm for the first paragraph is a single line.

Show 12 quoted lines
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
> index 7e83288..499c26a 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
> @@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ Fields that have name-email-date tuple as its value (`author`,
>  `committer`, and `tagger`) can be suffixed with `name`, `email`,
>  and `date` to extract the named component.
>  
> -The first line of the message in a commit and tag object is
> +The first paragraph of the message in a commit and tag object is
>  `subject`, the remaining lines are `body`.  The whole message
>  is `contents`.

This may need a bit more explanation. Just saying "First Paragraph" without saying that for all commits in a sane project it is the same as "First Line" will make the reader wonder "What happens to the second and subsequent lines?" (the answer is that the first paragraph is made into a single looooooong line).

Show 15 quoted lines
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
> index 9674f9d..e6f6d0e 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
> @@ -57,10 +57,12 @@ output, unless the `--stdout` option is specified.
>  If `-o` is specified, output files are created in <dir>.  Otherwise
>  they are created in the current working directory.
>  
> -By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Line" and
> +By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Paragraph" and
>  the subject when multiple patches are output is "[PATCH n/m] First
> +Paragraph". Note that "First Paragraph" consists of text in the commit message
> +prior to the first completely blank line (see the DISCUSSION section
> +in linkgit:git-commit[1]).  To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch,
> +use `-n`.  To omit patch numbers from the subject, use `-N`.
Ditto.
Show 10 quoted lines
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt b/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
> index dfd4d0c..9464932 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
> @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ DESCRIPTION
>  -----------
>  Summarizes 'git log' output in a format suitable for inclusion
>  in release announcements. Each commit will be grouped by author and
> -the first line of the commit message will be shown.
> +the first paragraph of the commit message will be shown.
Ditto.
Show 13 quoted lines
> diff --git a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
> index f7815e9..92f97e6 100644
> --- a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
> @@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ $ git show-branch --topo-order --more=1 master mybranch
>  ------------------------------------------------
>  
>  The first two lines indicate that it is showing the two branches
> -and the first line of the commit log message from their
> +and the first paragraph of the commit log message from their
>  top-of-the-tree commits, you are currently on `master` branch
>  (notice the asterisk `\*` character), and the first column for
>  the later output lines is used to show commits contained in the
Ditto.
Show 11 quoted lines
> diff --git a/Documentation/gittutorial.txt b/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
> index 1c16066..a1bc56c 100644
> --- a/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
> @@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ A note on commit messages: Though not required, it's a good idea to
>  begin the commit message with a single short (less than 50 character)
>  line summarizing the change, followed by a blank line and then a more
>  thorough description.  Tools that turn commits into email, for
> -example, use the first line on the Subject: line and the rest of the
> +example, use the first paragraph on the Subject: line and the rest of the
>  commit in the body.

This is a good change, as it is clear that you are expected to write a single line in the first paragraph in the previous sentence.

Show 11 quoted lines
> diff --git a/Documentation/user-manual.txt b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
> index fe6fb72..dd2f985 100644
> --- a/Documentation/user-manual.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
> @@ -1126,7 +1126,7 @@ Though not required, it's a good idea to begin the commit message
>  with a single short (less than 50 character) line summarizing the
>  change, followed by a blank line and then a more thorough
>  description.  Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use
> -the first line on the Subject line and the rest of the commit in the
> +the first paragraph on the Subject line and the rest of the commit in the
>  body.
Ditto.
Jeremy White· Sep 13, 2012, 20:57 UTC · re: Junio C Hamano · lore

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

Thanks for the feedback; new patch inbound.  Minor nits:
Show 15 quoted lines
>> diff --git a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
>> index f7815e9..92f97e6 100644
>> --- a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
>> +++ b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
>> @@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ $ git show-branch --topo-order --more=1 master mybranch
>>  ------------------------------------------------
>>  
>>  The first two lines indicate that it is showing the two branches
>> -and the first line of the commit log message from their
>> +and the first paragraph of the commit log message from their
>>  top-of-the-tree commits, you are currently on `master` branch
>>  (notice the asterisk `\*` character), and the first column for
>>  the later output lines is used to show commits contained in the
> 
> Ditto.

I did not substantially alter this. The emphasis of this section is on the broader show-branch output, and belaboring the subject would be distracting and unnecessary imho.

Cheers,
Jeremy
Junio C Hamano· Sep 13, 2012, 21:15 UTC · re: Jeremy White · lore

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

Jeremy White <jwhite@codeweavers.com> writes:
Show 21 quoted lines
> Thanks for the feedback; new patch inbound.  Minor nits:
>
>>> diff --git a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
>>> index f7815e9..92f97e6 100644
>>> --- a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
>>> +++ b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
>>> @@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ $ git show-branch --topo-order --more=1 master mybranch
>>>  ------------------------------------------------
>>>  
>>>  The first two lines indicate that it is showing the two branches
>>> -and the first line of the commit log message from their
>>> +and the first paragraph of the commit log message from their
>>>  top-of-the-tree commits, you are currently on `master` branch
>>>  (notice the asterisk `\*` character), and the first column for
>>>  the later output lines is used to show commits contained in the
>> 
>> Ditto.
>
> I did not substantially alter this. The emphasis of this section
> is on the broader show-branch output, and belaboring the subject would
> be distracting and unnecessary imho.

Yeah, but if that is the focus of this part of the documentation, wouldn't a patch to update "the first line" with something more generic like "title of the commit" be more appropriate?

Jeremy White· Sep 13, 2012, 21:20 UTC · re: Junio C Hamano · lore

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

Show 7 quoted lines
>> I did not substantially alter this. The emphasis of this section
>> is on the broader show-branch output, and belaboring the subject would
>> be distracting and unnecessary imho.
> 
> Yeah, but if that is the focus of this part of the documentation,
> wouldn't a patch to update "the first line" with something more
> generic like "title of the commit" be more appropriate?

See my patch; I went with 'first part'. That, I think, does not mislead (the goal of my change), but also does not distract from the main point of the section (detailing the various bits of git show-branch).

Cheers,
Jeremy
Junio C Hamano· Sep 13, 2012, 21:30 UTC · re: Jeremy White · lore

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

Jeremy White <jwhite@codeweavers.com> writes:
Show 12 quoted lines
>>> I did not substantially alter this. The emphasis of this section
>>> is on the broader show-branch output, and belaboring the subject would
>>> be distracting and unnecessary imho.
>> 
>> Yeah, but if that is the focus of this part of the documentation,
>> wouldn't a patch to update "the first line" with something more
>> generic like "title of the commit" be more appropriate?
>
> See my patch; I went with 'first part'.  That, I think, does not
> mislead (the goal of my change), but also does not distract from
> the main point of the section (detailing the various bits of
> git show-branch).

For that kind of casual wording, we have used "title" on this list for quite a long time, I think. So I'd rather see a change that just says "title" (if we are making such a change to the documentation, that is). This is not a very strong preference, though.

Jeremy White· Sep 13, 2012, 22:25 UTC · re: Junio C Hamano · lore

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

Show 5 quoted lines
> For that kind of casual wording, we have used "title" on this list
> for quite a long time, I think.  So I'd rather see a change that
> just says "title" (if we are making such a change to the
> documentation, that is).  This is not a very strong preference,
> though.
Ah, I was unaware of the use of title, and I rather like it.

v3 inbound making more use of title, and hopefully addressing your other points as well.

Cheers,
Jeremy
Philip Oakley· Sep 13, 2012, 18:45 UTC · re: Jeremy White · lore

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Use 'First Paragraph' instead of 'First Line'.

From: "Jeremy White" <jwhite@codeweavers.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2012 1:42 PM
Show 5 quoted lines
> The discussion of email subject throughout the documentation is
> misleading; it indicates that the first line will become the subject.
> In fact, the first and second and third lines will become the subject,
> up until the first full blank line.  Describing it as the first 
> paragraph

This "up until the first full blank line" part should also be in the documentation itself to clarify how a 'paragraph' is delineated. I've shown one place it could go below.

Show 26 quoted lines
> is more accurate.
>
> Signed-off-by: Jeremy White <jwhite@codeweavers.com>
> ---
> Documentation/git-commit.txt       |    2 +-
> Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt |    2 +-
> Documentation/git-format-patch.txt |    8 +++++---
> Documentation/git-shortlog.txt     |    2 +-
> Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt |    2 +-
> Documentation/gittutorial.txt      |    2 +-
> Documentation/user-manual.txt      |    2 +-
> 7 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-commit.txt 
> b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> index e99bb14..a61bca9 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> @@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ DISCUSSION
> Though not required, it's a good idea to begin the commit message
> with a single short (less than 50 character) line summarizing the
> change, followed by a blank line and then a more thorough description.
> -Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use the first line
> +Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use the first 
> paragraph
> on the Subject: line
    "up until the first full blank line"
Show 122 quoted lines
>                               and the rest of the commit in the body.
>
> include::i18n.txt[]
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt 
> b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
> index 7e83288..499c26a 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
> @@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ Fields that have name-email-date tuple as its 
> value (`author`,
> `committer`, and `tagger`) can be suffixed with `name`, `email`,
> and `date` to extract the named component.
>
> -The first line of the message in a commit and tag object is
> +The first paragraph of the message in a commit and tag object is
> `subject`, the remaining lines are `body`.  The whole message
> is `contents`.
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt 
> b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
> index 9674f9d..e6f6d0e 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
> @@ -57,10 +57,12 @@ output, unless the `--stdout` option is specified.
> If `-o` is specified, output files are created in <dir>.  Otherwise
> they are created in the current working directory.
>
> -By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Line" and
> +By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First 
> Paragraph" and
> the subject when multiple patches are output is "[PATCH n/m] First
> -Line". To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch, use `-n`.  To 
> omit
> -patch numbers from the subject, use `-N`.
> +Paragraph". Note that "First Paragraph" consists of text in the 
> commit message
> +prior to the first completely blank line (see the DISCUSSION section
> +in linkgit:git-commit[1]).  To force 1/1 to be added for a single 
> patch,
> +use `-n`.  To omit patch numbers from the subject, use `-N`.
>
> If given `--thread`, `git-format-patch` will generate `In-Reply-To` 
> and
> `References` headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails 
> appear
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt 
> b/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
> index dfd4d0c..9464932 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-shortlog.txt
> @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ DESCRIPTION
> -----------
> Summarizes 'git log' output in a format suitable for inclusion
> in release announcements. Each commit will be grouped by author and
> -the first line of the commit message will be shown.
> +the first paragraph of the commit message will be shown.
>
> Additionally, "[PATCH]" will be stripped from the commit description.
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt 
> b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
> index f7815e9..92f97e6 100644
> --- a/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/gitcore-tutorial.txt
> @@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ $ git show-branch --topo-order --more=1 master 
> mybranch
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> The first two lines indicate that it is showing the two branches
> -and the first line of the commit log message from their
> +and the first paragraph of the commit log message from their
> top-of-the-tree commits, you are currently on `master` branch
> (notice the asterisk `\*` character), and the first column for
> the later output lines is used to show commits contained in the
> diff --git a/Documentation/gittutorial.txt 
> b/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
> index 1c16066..a1bc56c 100644
> --- a/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/gittutorial.txt
> @@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ A note on commit messages: Though not required, 
> it's a good idea to
> begin the commit message with a single short (less than 50 character)
> line summarizing the change, followed by a blank line and then a more
> thorough description.  Tools that turn commits into email, for
> -example, use the first line on the Subject: line and the rest of the
> +example, use the first paragraph on the Subject: line and the rest of 
> the
> commit in the body.
>
> Git tracks content not files
> diff --git a/Documentation/user-manual.txt 
> b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
> index fe6fb72..dd2f985 100644
> --- a/Documentation/user-manual.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
> @@ -1126,7 +1126,7 @@ Though not required, it's a good idea to begin 
> the commit message
> with a single short (less than 50 character) line summarizing the
> change, followed by a blank line and then a more thorough
> description.  Tools that turn commits into email, for example, use
> -the first line on the Subject line and the rest of the commit in the
> +the first paragraph on the Subject line and the rest of the commit in 
> the
> body.
>
> [[ignoring-files]]
> -- 
> 1.7.9.5
>
>
> --
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