git: how to produce context diffs?

Hi,

Is this a bug in git-diff? The git-diff-files.html says:

  " When the environment variable GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF is not set ...
    For example, if you prefer context diff:
    GIT_DIFF_OPTS=-c git-diff-index -p HEAD  "

This doesn't work for me with git-1.4.4:

$ unset GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF
$ export GIT_DIFF_OPTS=-c
$ git-diff-index -p HEAD

diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 74901dc..d222ded 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 dnl Process this file with autoconf to produce a configure script.
-AC_INIT(hello, 2.1.1, bug-gnu-hello@gnu.org)
+AC_INIT(hello, 2.1.2, bug-gnu-hello@gnu.org)
 AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR([src/hello.c])
 
 AC_PREREQ(2.52)

Expected output:

$ git-diff-index -p HEAD
index 74901dc..d222ded 100644

diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac

*** a/configure.ac

--- b/configure.ac

***************
*** 1,5 ****
  dnl Process this file with autoconf to produce a configure script.
! AC_INIT(hello, 2.1.1, bug-gnu-hello@gnu.org)
  AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR([src/hello.c])
  
  AC_PREREQ(2.52)

--- 1,5 ----
  dnl Process this file with autoconf to produce a configure script.

! AC_INIT(hello, 2.1.2, bug-gnu-hello@gnu.org)
  AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR([src/hello.c])
  
  AC_PREREQ(2.52)


(Really, while I find -u diffs fine for tiny changes, I find them unreadable
for rewrites of larger blocks, and cannot live without -c for these.)

When I look at diff.c around
       const char *diffopts = getenv("GIT_DIFF_OPTS");
it appears that only unified diffs are supported??

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:27:20 +0100
Jakub Narebski [off-list ref] wrote:

Bruno Haible wrote:

quoted

Is this a bug in git-diff? The git-diff-files.html says:

  " When the environment variable GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF is not set ...
    For example, if you prefer context diff:
    GIT_DIFF_OPTS=-c git-diff-index -p HEAD  "

This doesn't work for me with git-1.4.4:

Yes, the bug in documentation, I think. There is an option '-c' to git-diff,
but it means "combined diff" (for merges), not "context diff".

Indeed.  That documentation predates built-in diff completely.

It appears the only valid options now are "-u XX" and "--unified=XX".
These options are never passed to diff, but rather used to control
the internal diff.  Strangely, it appears that gitk is even passing
incorrect parameters via GIT_DIFF_OPTS.

Unless i've really missed something, the above documentation should be
reworked to remove mention of running diff altogether, and should mention
that the GIT_DIFF_OPTS only has two valid settings.

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 17:05:35 +0100
Jakub Narebski [off-list ref] wrote:

quoted

It appears the only valid options now are "-u XX" and "--unified=XX".

Which both mean the same.

Yes, I guess I should have said that.  The point was really that you
can't pass any-diff-option and expect it to work.

Which, in convoluted way is said in documentation (the fact that
GIT_DIFF_OPTS affect internal diff).

The idea is to make it less convoluted.  It directly says that -c should
work _because_ it use to work when the options were passed to external
diff.  It's not just -c that won't work, none of the other myriad external
diff options will work either.

quoted

Unless i've really missed something, the above documentation should be
reworked to remove mention of running diff altogether, and should mention
that the GIT_DIFF_OPTS only has two valid settings.

For now.

Well the documentation can be updated later if additional options
are added.

Sean wrote:

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:27:20 +0100
Jakub Narebski [off-list ref] wrote:

quoted

Bruno Haible wrote:

quoted

Is this a bug in git-diff? The git-diff-files.html says:

  " When the environment variable GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF is not set ...
    For example, if you prefer context diff:
    GIT_DIFF_OPTS=-c git-diff-index -p HEAD  "

This doesn't work for me with git-1.4.4:

Yes, the bug in documentation, I think. There is an option '-c' to git-diff,
but it means "combined diff" (for merges), not "context diff".

Indeed.  That documentation predates built-in diff completely.

It appears the only valid options now are "-u XX" and "--unified=XX".

Which both mean the same.

These options are never passed to diff, but rather used to control
the internal diff.  Strangely, it appears that gitk is even passing
incorrect parameters via GIT_DIFF_OPTS.

Which, in convoluted way is said in documentation (the fact that
GIT_DIFF_OPTS affect internal diff).
 

Unless i've really missed something, the above documentation should be
reworked to remove mention of running diff altogether, and should mention
that the GIT_DIFF_OPTS only has two valid settings.

For now.
-- 
Jakub Narebski

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:27:20 +0100
Jakub Narebski [off-list ref] wrote:

Bruno Haible wrote:

quoted

Is this a bug in git-diff? The git-diff-files.html says:

  " When the environment variable GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF is not set ...
    For example, if you prefer context diff:
    GIT_DIFF_OPTS=-c git-diff-index -p HEAD  "

This doesn't work for me with git-1.4.4:

Yes, the bug in documentation, I think. There is an option '-c' to git-diff,
but it means "combined diff" (for merges), not "context diff".

Indeed.  That documentation predates built-in diff completely.

It appears the only valid options now are "-u XX" and "--unified=XX".
These options are never passed to diff, but rather used to control
the internal diff.  Strangely, it appears that gitk is even passing
incorrect parameters via GIT_DIFF_OPTS.

Unless i've really missed something, the above documentation should be
reworked to remove mention of running diff altogether, and should mention
that the GIT_DIFF_OPTS only has two valid settings.

Bruno Haible wrote:

Is this a bug in git-diff? The git-diff-files.html says:

  " When the environment variable GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF is not set ...
    For example, if you prefer context diff:
    GIT_DIFF_OPTS=-c git-diff-index -p HEAD  "

This doesn't work for me with git-1.4.4:

Yes, the bug in documentation, I think. There is an option '-c' to git-diff,
but it means "combined diff" (for merges), not "context diff".
-- 
Jakub Narebski
Warsaw, Poland
ShadeHawk on #git

Hello,

I'm using the following script 'external-diff.sh':

--
# path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
# $1   $2       $3      $4       $5       $6      $7

old_hex=$3
new_hex=`git-hash-object $5`

if [ "$old_hex" = "$new_hex" ]
then
	exit 0
fi

echo "diff --git a/$1 b/$1"
echo "index ${old_hex:0:7}..${new_hex:0:7} $4"

diff -L a/$1 -L b/$1 -pc $2 $5

exit 0
--

which can be called by:

export GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF=external-diff.sh
git-diff-index master -p > my.patch



Bye,
Thomas Kolejka

-- 
"Ein Herz für Kinder" - Ihre Spende hilft! Aktion: www.deutschlandsegelt.de
Unser Dankeschön: Ihr Name auf dem Segel der 1. deutschen America's C

There are a few things to note:

 * Obviously diff.c::builtin_diff() needs to be taught to
   generate the new format, both in the patch text and also in
   the patch and hunk header part.

 * Corresponding changes to builtin-apply.c need to be made;
   most of the functions in the callchain that starts at
   apply_patch() down to apply_one_fragment() need to be taught
   about the copied context format.  Also code to count diffstat
   in builtin-apply.c needs to be adjusted.  This part should be
   done first before diff.c if we were to support copied context
   diff, because we should not be generating what we cannot
   apply.

 * I do not think of a sane way to show a combined diff from
   multiple preimages in copied context format; combine-diff.c
   can probably be left as it is.

I too find larger hunks easier to read with copied context than
with unified context, but what needs to be done listed above is
a nontrivial amount of work.  Since the beginning, git has only
supported unified context format and not copied context format,
and apparently people who lived with git for the last 18 months
have survived without copied context format, so it is of very
low priority even for me right now.

I am not opposed to adding the copied context format as long as
somebody else does the work ;-).