From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Subject: Re: [RFC/PATCH] revision.c: add --format option for 'git log'
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:53:54 -0800
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 (Felipe Contreras's message of "Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:18:12 +0200")
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=46elipe Contreras <felipe.contreras@gmail.com> writes:

> On Sun, Feb 22, 2009 at 6:49 PM, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> w=
rote:
>> Felipe Contreras <felipe.contreras@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>>> --format=3D:foo is a shorthand for --pretty=3Dtformat:foo, otherwis=
e this
>>> new option acts just like --pretty=3Dfoo, except it's more intuitiv=
e for
>>> users of 'git log'.
>>
>> It's been quite a long time since the earlier discussion, but I wond=
er why
>> you need the colon before "foo" for this new shorthand. =C2=A0I *thi=
nk* you are
>> also introducing "--format=3Dshort" as a synonym to "--pretty=3Dshor=
t", but
>> I do not think it is necessary.
>
> Well, my hope was to replace --pretty=3Dshort with --format=3Dshort, =
but
> you said that would break other scripts.

It is not just scripts you break.  You also break people's trained
fingers.

You can specify the kind of canned pretty printing with --pretty=3Dshor=
t,
and it is not any longer to type than --format.  For use in scripts tha=
t
you write once and forget, there is no need to even apply this patch.

The only reason why new --format=3D<fmt> could be an useful addition is
because --pretty=3Dformat:<fmt> may be too long to type interactively.

>>> As discussed in the mailing list, this is implemented as an undocum=
ented
>>> option.
>>
>> Maybe somebody wants to document it.
>
> Ah, I would gladly add the documentation, shall I write that it's an
> 'alternative' option similar to --pretty?

I do not think we want to introduce a new way to say the same thing for
the canned short options; "alternative" is not a good word for it.

Putting it in another way...

The output format is controlled by --pretty, which knows a set of canne=
d
output formats.  You can specify --format=3D<fmt> if you want something
different from any of the canned format.  If your git does not support
this new notation, you can say --pretty=3Dtformat:<fmt> to get the same
effect.  The old --pretty=3Dtformat:<fmt> (and --pretty=3Dformat:<fmt>)=
 is not
deprecated in any way.