Re: [PATCH] Don't use $author_name undefined when $from contains no /\s</.

[Paul Eggert <eggert@CS.UCLA.EDU>]

Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net> writes:

> If "trailing space" highlighting picks up the first column blank
> in "diff -u" output, that highlighting feature is *broken*.

If the buffer contains arbitrary text, some of which is diff -u output
and some of which is not, then it it isn't possible in general for the
highlighting mode to distinguish between the diff -u part and the
other part.  This sort of thing is fairly common among people who
email patches and code around, or who generate files containing a
combination of patches and other things.

If the change bothers you a lot, you might want to follow up to
<http://www.opengroup.org/austin/mailarchives/ag-review/msg02139.html>,
which proposes the change in question to the POSIX folks.  This change
is atop the earlier change I proposed to specify "diff -u" format in
the first place; see
<http://www.opengroup.org/austin/mailarchives/ag-review/msg02077.html>.
You can follow up by writing to austin-group-l@opengroup.org and
citing XCU ERN 103.  You can find a copy of XCU ERN 103 at
<http://www.opengroup.org/austin/aardvark/latest/xcubug2.txt>;
look for "Number 103".

Since git uses diff -u format, it would make sense to git to work with
the upcoming POSIX spec for diff -u, either by adjusting the spec or
by adjusting git.