Re: [RFC/PATCH] runstatus: restructure visual appearance

On 12/13/06, Junio C Hamano [off-list ref] wrote:

"Lars Hjemli" [off-list ref] writes:

quoted

Just wondering if this patch got dropped or simply overlooked...

I looked at the patch, and I was neutral to slightly negative
(but only slightly.  I thought M vs M+ was too subtle and
cryptic until the user gets used to them).

Hmm, yes, I agree it's a bit subtle. But whenever the '+' or '-' is
added to a state symbol, the big warning that is printed should make
it less so (the warning should also mention git-rm, btw).

And of course the man-page for git-status should be updated to
describe the different state symbols, the meaning of +/-, and how to
'resolve' them.

I however did not see overwhelming support from the list, so I
did not further think about it.

The silence was earth shattering

One thing that was mentioned in the past on the list about the
output from git-status was that we do not make mode changes
stand out, and people can mistakenly do something silly to
change the -x bit and the current git-status would only say:

     modified:       git-foobar.sh

which would not help them notice the mistake, as a result,
accidental mode change can get committed.

If we are designing a new format to make git-status output more
compact and easier to understand, I think it should also attempt
to address this problem as well.

Excellent point, I'll use it as an excuse to refine and resend the patch.

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