Re: [PATCH] Clarify text filter merge conflict reduction docs

On 29. juni 2010, at 18.19, Junio C Hamano wrote:

Eyvind Bernhardsen [off-list ref] writes:

[...]

quoted

+If you have added attributes to a file that cause...
+...To prevent these unnecessary merge conflicts,

This naturally calls for an optimization idea, doesn't it?

I wonder if ll_merge should gain another flag bit to disable the calls to
normalize_file(), so that the whole thing can be skipped when the caller
somehow knows .gitattributes files that govern the path didn't change.

That won't be a trivial optimization and my gut feeling is that it
shouldn't be part of this series.

Are you thinking that we could check changes in .gitattributes during a merge and only turn on normalization for those files where relevant attributes have changed?  I like it, but I agree with your gut, especially since normalization has to be enabled manually.

I do however wonder if this should be initially introduced as an
experimental feature, guarded with a configuration option for brave souls
to try it out, and flip the feature on by default after we gain confidence
in it, both in performance and in correctness.

My fix to add the configuration option to the delete/modify patch yesterday was pretty bad, sorry.  My only excuse is that I was in a hurry, I'll resend the series tonight with a better fix.
-- 
Eyvind Bernhardsen