Re: [PATCH] refspec: make @ a valid refspec

Jeff King [off-list ref] writes:

I wondered if there was a good place to mention this in the refspec
documentation, but it may just be an obvious fallout of the "@ is a
shortcut for HEAD" definition in gitrevisions(7). The only change is
that we're resolving the shortcut sooner so that more code can take
advantage of it.

I too find that "@ is a shortcut for HEAD" looks ugly both at the UI
level and at the implementation level [*1*], but as long as we have
it, it is good to try to be consistent and allow "@" everywhere
where one would write "HEAD" in places where it is syntacitically
infeasible---at least we would be consistently ugly that way ;-).

The title of the change may want to be clarified to help readers of
"git shortlog".  It's not like it is only changing "@" and no other
variants valid refspec, but it forces readers to make sure that the
author did not forget to deal with ":@", "src:@", "@:dst", etc.
"make @ a synonym to HEAD in refspec" or something along the line,
perhaps.


[Footnote]

*1* I shouldn't complain too much, as my own invention to silently
turn "-" given from the command line into "@{-1}" is ugly at the
code level the same way, even though it may be better at the UI
level.

On Tue, Nov 24, 2020 at 2:01 PM Junio C Hamano [off-list ref] wrote:

Jeff King [off-list ref] writes:

quoted

I wondered if there was a good place to mention this in the refspec
documentation, but it may just be an obvious fallout of the "@ is a
shortcut for HEAD" definition in gitrevisions(7). The only change is
that we're resolving the shortcut sooner so that more code can take
advantage of it.

I too find that "@ is a shortcut for HEAD" looks ugly both at the UI
level and at the implementation level [*1*], but as long as we have
it, it is good to try to be consistent and allow "@" everywhere
where one would write "HEAD" in places where it is syntacitically
infeasible---at least we would be consistently ugly that way ;-).

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I find HEAD to be an eyesore.

The title of the change may want to be clarified to help readers of
"git shortlog".  It's not like it is only changing "@" and no other
variants valid refspec, but it forces readers to make sure that the
author did not forget to deal with ":@", "src:@", "@:dst", etc.
"make @ a synonym to HEAD in refspec" or something along the line,
perhaps.

Right. I didn't notice it changed the semantics of those.

Given that, your suggested title makes more sense.

Cheers.

-- 
Felipe Contreras