Re: [PATCH 7/7] xdiff: make diff3 the default conflictStyle

Jeff King [off-list ref] writes:

I didn't look too deeply at your example, but I suspect it may be
related to the fact that diff3 does not try to minimize the conflicts as
much (and then the recursive merge on top of that piles on extra layers
of confusion).

There's a lot more discussion in this old thread:

  https://lore.kernel.org/git/20130306150548.GC15375@pengutronix.de/ (local)

Yes, it does not help that the given sample involves conflicts in
the inner merge, which is unfortunately almost unreadable.  For less
confusing merges, diff3 style is often a lifesaver necessary for
avoiding mismerges by showing what the common ancestor looked like,
so that the reader/merger/integrator can tell what each side wanted
to do to the conflicted section.

Rejecting diff3 style output because of the way a conflicted part in
the inner merge appears as a common ancestor version may be throwing
the baby out with the bathwater.  A different way to say it is that
until we improve the way the conflicted inner merge is shown, diff3
style is not something we can recommend to new users as a default, I
would think.