Re: feature request

On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 2:55 PM, John Rood [off-list ref] wrote:

Users should be able to configure Git to not send them into a Vim editor.

When users pull commits, and a new commit needs to be created for a
merge, Git's current way of determining a commit message is to send
the user into a Vim window so that they can write a message. There are
2 reasons why this might not be the ideal way to prompt for a commit
message.

1. Many users are used to writing concise one-line commit messages and
would not expect to save a commit message in a multi-line file. Some
users will wonder why they are in a text editor or which file they are
editing. Others may not, in fact, realize at all that a text editor is
what they are in.

Look at the -m option of git commit,

git commit -a -m "look a commit with no editor, and a precise one line message"

I do not advocate this use though, as I think commit messages should be
more wordy.

2. Many users are not familiar with Vim, and do not understand how to
modify, save, and exit. It is not very considerate to require a user
to learn Vim in order to finish a commit that they are in the middle
of.

That is true, but vi is like the most available editor as a relict
from ancient times;
as you are on Windows, maybe notepad is the best on that platform.

Maybe file a bug/issue at https://github.com/git-for-windows to change
the default?

The existing behavior should be optional, and there should be two new options:

1. Use a simple inline prompt for a commit message (in the same way
Git might prompt for a username).

2. Automatically assign names for commits in the form of "Merged x into y".