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From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Subject: Re: git-diff new files (without using index)
Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2007 21:20:43 -0700
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Cc: Miles Bader <miles@gnu.org>, git@vger.kernel.org
To: "Shawn O. Pearce" <spearce@spearce.org>
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In-Reply-To: <20070805040841.GG9527@spearce.org> (Shawn O. Pearce's message of
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"Shawn O. Pearce" <spearce@spearce.org> writes:

>> The above sort of quirkiness does seem kind of a wart though; in my
>> (admittedly limited, using git) experience this sort of thing really
>> reduces the utility of the index, and I often end up feeling like it's
>> just getting in the way as a result.  Does adding something like a
>> "git-diff -N" option seem a _bad_ idea?
>
> I'm not interested in such an option.  Typically if I want a
> diff on a new untracked file I actually want that file in my next
> commit anyway.

I suspect that it's probably half superstition and half disease
to wish for "diff /dev/null new-file".  Even CVS got this one
right by saying "is a new file, no diff available".  The
contents of that new file is available in "less new-file" near
you anyway and it is quite pointless while you are working
toward next commit.  It just is not interesting, until you tell
git you _care_ about that file.  And the way you tell git about
it is with "git add".

Learn to love the index, run "git-add" and view "git-diff HEAD".