Re: [PATCH] Make git-commit cleverer - have it figure out whether it needs -a automatically

Andy Parkins [off-list ref] writes:

Raimund Bauer offered this suggestion (paraphrased):

"Maybe we could do git-commit -a  _only_ if the index matches HEAD, and
otherwise keep current behavior?  So people who don't care about the
index won't get tripped up, and when you do have a dirty index, you get
told about it?"

Johannes Schindelin pointed out that this isn't the right thing to do for
an --amend, so that is checked for. Additionally, it's probably not the
right thing to do if any files are specified with "--only" or
"--include", so they turn this behaviour off as well.

Nguyen Thai Ngoc Duy asked that git-commit let you know it's done this
by adding an extra comment to the commit message.

I think another exception should be needed.  If the index does
not match the working tree, it should not default to "-a".

Otherwise,

I want to fix another thing in pickaxe.

	$ edit builtin-blame.c

My wife calls me.  Away from desk for 20 minutes.  Later I come
back.

	$ git update-index builtin-pickaxe.c

I am so used to that name and did not realize that typo, and I
was not paying too much attention.  My wife calls me again.
Away from desk and back in 20 minutes.

	$ git commit -m 'git-blame: Another fix.'

Oops.

So, please turn this "cleverness" off when the index does not
match the working tree.

On Friday 2006 December 01 11:15, Junio C Hamano wrote:

I think another exception should be needed.  If the index does
not match the working tree, it should not default to "-a".

No problem: just don't apply the patch :-)  What you've asked for leaves it as 
a no-op.

This patch activates "-a" when the index equals HEAD.  i.e. git-commit would 
do nothing in this situation.  If it is disabled when the index doesn't match 
the working tree, then we're back to "do nothing".  i.e. HEAD==index==working 
tree.

So, please turn this "cleverness" off when the index does not
match the working tree.

How does that help you?  You've updated the index manually, so the 
automatic "-a" is already disabled.  Without this patch you would still have 
committed the wrong thing.

 $ edit builtin-blame.c
 $ git update-index builtin-pickaxe.c
 $ git commit

What is that you would like to have happened at this point?


Andy
-- 
Dr Andy Parkins, M Eng (hons), MIEE