Re: [PATCH/POLL] git-format-patch: the default suffix is now .patch, not .txt

On 1/18/07, Andreas Ericsson [off-list ref] wrote:

Alex Riesen wrote:

quoted

On 1/18/07, Josh Boyer [off-list ref] wrote:

quoted

quoted

As much as like Unix and everything related, I think it is
not reasonable to try to change the majority. Not unless
we have something earth-shattering. Well, git is, but
0001-fix....patch in email attachment probably not.

I would venture to say that the _majority_ of git users are not using
Windows.

The _real_ majority of the programmers desperately need a better
VCS than CVS, SVN, Perforce, SourceSafe, ClearCase, etc.

They're free to use git ofcourse, provided they install cygwin or help
migrate it to run natively on windows. I don't think anyone would cry if

My example had cygwin installed for him. Is it too unusual?

a competent cross-platform programmer stepped up and started submitting
patches to get git working on windows without having to resort to the
cygwin emulation layer.

don't think so. I _would_ cry seeing how fork(2) gets ported to Windows,
and you will, probably... after seeing how it is done in cygwin.

The thing is, no-one's getting paid for it, so until someone *does* step
up, it won't happen, as 95% of the *current* git users are still running
what we on this list will indefinitely refer to as "a sane OS".

95% of the current users probably is not even 1% of all programmers
who would gladly use it and maybe less than a fraction of percent of
the ones who need it.

quoted

People often understand "funny ways" the others may have. They
don't like been told they are wrong or stupid (especially when they
actually are stupid).

I still don't see the problem. When he understands (and uses) git, the

he does not use git. He knows what the patch is (now I have explained
it to him), I suppose he would still be mildly surprised seeing a file.patch,
but he'll probably recover.

name and look of the patch will become blindingly clear to him, and then
it doesn't matter if it's called .txt or .patch. He might even have some
tool by then that displays patches color-coded and what-not (there are a
plethora of such tools for Windows already, most of which register
.patch and .diff as file-types they handle).

That wont happen until windows registers it for them. And that, again,
wont ever happen. Every user will register .patch to notepad, visual
studio or ultraedit or something else for himself.

Otoh, *until* he uses git, the change doesn't affect him,

actually, patch works for git patches, so format-patch produces
files useful output for anyone.

BTW, Junio, how about making the _default_ settable at compile time?
It'd be reasonable to allow local installations choose to default to what
they find the most paranoid?

so why bother catering for his needs?

I don't know. It's kind of good style lately.