From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Eric Raymond Subject: More git status --porcelain lossage Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:06:01 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <20100409190601.47B37475FEF@snark.thyrsus.com> To: git@vger.kernel.org X-From: git-owner@vger.kernel.org Fri Apr 09 21:06:15 2010 Return-path: Envelope-to: gcvg-git-2@lo.gmane.org Received: from vger.kernel.org ([209.132.180.67]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1O0JWu-0006VL-A1 for gcvg-git-2@lo.gmane.org; Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:06:12 +0200 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1754206Ab0DITGF (ORCPT ); Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:06:05 -0400 Received: from static-71-162-243-5.phlapa.fios.verizon.net ([71.162.243.5]:58421 "EHLO snark.thyrsus.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1753760Ab0DITGC (ORCPT ); Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:06:02 -0400 Received: by snark.thyrsus.com (Postfix, from userid 23) id 47B37475FEF; Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:06:01 -0400 (EDT) Sender: git-owner@vger.kernel.org Precedence: bulk List-ID: X-Mailing-List: git@vger.kernel.org Archived-At: After I posted my last, I noticed another crash landing... A format properly designed for script parseability should use even use whitespace as a field separator. Why? Because if you do that, front ends *will* do field analysis using a naive split-on-whitespace operation. And then...someday...someone will try to run one of these of these on a volume from a system where filenames contain embedded whitespace. Like Mac OS X or Windows. Hilarity will ensue. Conclusion: As it is presently, git status --porcelain format is irretrievably botched. You need a field separator that's musch less likely to land in a filename, like '|' - and to warn in the documentation that careful front ends must check for and ignore '\|'. -- Eric S. Raymond The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them." -- Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story of the John Marshall Court