Re: [PATCH] format-patch: introduce format.outputDirectory configuration

Jeff King [off-list ref] writes:

quoted

This change looks ugly and unnecessary.  All the machinery after and
including the point set_outdir() is called, including reopen_stdout(),
work on output_directory variable and only that variable.

Wouldn't it work equally well to have

	if (!output_directory)
        	output_directory = config_output_directory;

before a call to set_outdir() is made but after the configuration is
read (namely, soon after parse_options() returns), without making
any change to this function?

Don't we load the config before parsing options here? In that case, we
can use our usual strategy to just set output_directory (which is
already a static global) from the config callback, and everything Just
Works.

We do have to bump the definition of output_directory up above the
config callback, like so (while we are here, we might also want to
drop the unnecessary static initializers, which violate our style guide):

You would also need to remove the "oh you gave me -o twice?" check,
and change the semantics to "later -o overrides an earlier one",
wouldn't you?  Otherwise you would never be able to override what
you read from the config, I am afraid.