From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] config.c: change the function signature of `git_config_string()`
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 10:25:51 -0700
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Cc: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>, Tanay Abhra <tanayabh@gmail.com>,
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To: Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@grenoble-inp.fr>
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In-Reply-To: <vpqegxccvq9.fsf@anie.imag.fr> (Matthieu Moy's message of "Wed,
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Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@grenoble-inp.fr> writes:

> Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:
>
>> *1* We have safe_create_leading_directories_const() that works
>> around this for input parameter around its _const less counterpart,
>> which is ugly but livable solution.
>
> I think it would actually be a reasonable solution to avoid casting here
> and there on the caller side.

"Ugly" primarily refers to the fact that we are forced to do this in
the first place by the language.  I agree with you, especially if we
have very many call sites, and I suspect config-get-string actually
would.

> Another option would be to _return_ a non-const char * instead of
> outputing it as a by-address parameter.

Here, too, I agree that it is the most C-ish interface.