[PATCH] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[PATCH] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget]

From: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>

Among Git's environment variable, the ones marked as "Boolean"
accept values in a way similar to Boolean configuration variables,
i.e. values like 'yes', 'on', 'true' and positive numbers are
taken as "on" and values like 'no', 'off', 'false' are taken as
"off".
GIT_FLUSH can be used to force Git to use non-buffered I/O when
writing to stdout. It can only accept two values, '1' which causes
Git to flush more often and '0' which makes all output buffered.
Make GIT_FLUSH accept more values besides '0' and '1' by turning it
into a Boolean environment variable, modifying the required logic.
Update the related documentation.

Signed-off-by: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>
---
    write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-1628%2FChand-ra%2Fgit_flush-v1
Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-1628/Chand-ra/git_flush-v1
Pull-Request: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/1628

 Documentation/git.txt | 16 +++++++---------
 write-or-die.c        |  9 ++++-----
 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
index 2535a30194f..83fd60f2d11 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git.txt
@@ -724,16 +724,14 @@ for further details.
 	waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 
 `GIT_FLUSH`::
-// NEEDSWORK: make it into a usual Boolean environment variable
-	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
+	If this Boolean environment variable is set to true, then commands such
 	as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
-	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
-	force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
-	flushed. If this
-	variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
-	using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
-	not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
-	based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
+	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will force a flush of the output
+	stream after each record have been flushed. If this variable is set to
+	false, the output of these commands will be done using completely buffered
+	I/O. If this environment variable is not set, Git will choose buffered or
+	record-oriented flushing based on whether stdout appears to be redirected
+	to a file or not.
 
 `GIT_TRACE`::
 	Enables general trace messages, e.g. alias expansion, built-in
diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
index 42a2dc73cd3..f501a6e382a 100644
--- a/write-or-die.c
+++ b/write-or-die.c
@@ -20,14 +20,13 @@ void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
 {
 	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
 	struct stat st;
-	char *cp;
+	int cp;
 
 	if (f == stdout) {
 		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
-			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
-			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
-			if (cp)
-				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
+			cp = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
+			if (cp >= 0)
+				skip_stdout_flush = (cp == 0);
 			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
 				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
 				skip_stdout_flush = 1;

base-commit: 1a87c842ece327d03d08096395969aca5e0a6996
-- 
gitgitgadget

Re: [PATCH] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Torsten Bögershausen]

On Sat, Dec 30, 2023 at 04:54:06PM +0000, Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget wrote:
> From: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>
>
> Among Git's environment variable, the ones marked as "Boolean"
> accept values in a way similar to Boolean configuration variables,
> i.e. values like 'yes', 'on', 'true' and positive numbers are
> taken as "on" and values like 'no', 'off', 'false' are taken as
> "off".
> GIT_FLUSH can be used to force Git to use non-buffered I/O when
> writing to stdout. It can only accept two values, '1' which causes
> Git to flush more often and '0' which makes all output buffered.
> Make GIT_FLUSH accept more values besides '0' and '1' by turning it
> into a Boolean environment variable, modifying the required logic.
> Update the related documentation.
>
> Signed-off-by: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>
> ---
>     write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable
>
> Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-1628%2FChand-ra%2Fgit_flush-v1
> Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-1628/Chand-ra/git_flush-v1
> Pull-Request: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/1628
>
>  Documentation/git.txt | 16 +++++++---------
>  write-or-die.c        |  9 ++++-----
>  2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
> index 2535a30194f..83fd60f2d11 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git.txt
> @@ -724,16 +724,14 @@ for further details.
>  	waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
>
>  `GIT_FLUSH`::
> -// NEEDSWORK: make it into a usual Boolean environment variable
> -	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
> +	If this Boolean environment variable is set to true, then commands such
>  	as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
> -	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
> -	force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
> -	flushed. If this
> -	variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
> -	using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
> -	not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
> -	based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
> +	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will force a flush of the output
> +	stream after each record have been flushed. If this variable is set to
> +	false, the output of these commands will be done using completely buffered
> +	I/O. If this environment variable is not set, Git will choose buffered or
> +	record-oriented flushing based on whether stdout appears to be redirected
> +	to a file or not.
>
>  `GIT_TRACE`::
>  	Enables general trace messages, e.g. alias expansion, built-in
> diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
> index 42a2dc73cd3..f501a6e382a 100644
> --- a/write-or-die.c
> +++ b/write-or-die.c
> @@ -20,14 +20,13 @@ void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
>  {
>  	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
>  	struct stat st;
> -	char *cp;
> +	int cp;
>
>  	if (f == stdout) {
>  		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
> -			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
> -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
> -			if (cp)
> -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
> +			cp = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
> +			if (cp >= 0)
> +				skip_stdout_flush = (cp == 0);
>  			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
>  				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
>  				skip_stdout_flush = 1;

I think that the "cp" variable could be renamed,
cp is not a "char pointer" any more.
However, using the logic from git_env_bool(), it can go away anyway,
wouldn't it ?


  diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
  index 42a2dc73cd..01b042bf12 100644
  --- a/write-or-die.c
  +++ b/write-or-die.c
  @@ -13,21 +13,21 @@
    * more. So we just ignore that case instead (and hope we get
    * the right error code on the flush).
    *
  + * The flushing can be skipped like this:
  + * GIT_FLUSH=0 git-rev-list HEAD
  + *
    * If the file handle is stdout, and stdout is a file, then skip the
  - * flush entirely since it's not needed.
  + * flush as well since it's not needed.
    */
   void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
   {
          static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
          struct stat st;
  -       char *cp;

          if (f == stdout) {
                  if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
  -                       /* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
  -                       cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
  -                       if (cp)
  -                               skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
  +                       if (git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1) == 0)
  +                               skip_stdout_flush = 1;
                          else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
                                   S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
                                  skip_stdout_flush = 1;

Re: [PATCH] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Junio C Hamano]

Torsten Bögershausen <tboegi@web.de> writes:

>> -	char *cp;
>> +	int cp;
>>
>>  	if (f == stdout) {
>>  		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
>> -			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
>> -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
>> -			if (cp)
>> -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
>> +			cp = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
>> +			if (cp >= 0)
>> +				skip_stdout_flush = (cp == 0);
>>  			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
>>  				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
>>  				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
>
> I think that the "cp" variable could be renamed,
> cp is not a "char pointer" any more.

Absolutely.  Very good point.

> However, using the logic from git_env_bool(), it can go away anyway,
> wouldn't it ?

True.

If we are doing clean-ups in this area, we may want to also stop
doing "== 0" comparisons on lines the patch touches while at it.

>   diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
>   index 42a2dc73cd..01b042bf12 100644
>   --- a/write-or-die.c
>   +++ b/write-or-die.c
>   @@ -13,21 +13,21 @@
>     * more. So we just ignore that case instead (and hope we get
>     * the right error code on the flush).
>     *
>   + * The flushing can be skipped like this:
>   + * GIT_FLUSH=0 git-rev-list HEAD
>   + *
>     * If the file handle is stdout, and stdout is a file, then skip the
>   - * flush entirely since it's not needed.
>   + * flush as well since it's not needed.
>     */
>    void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
>    {
>           static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
>           struct stat st;
>   -       char *cp;
>
>           if (f == stdout) {
>                   if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
>   -                       /* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
>   -                       cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
>   -                       if (cp)
>   -                               skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
>   +                       if (git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1) == 0)
>   +                               skip_stdout_flush = 1;
>                           else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
>                                    S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
>                                   skip_stdout_flush = 1;

[PATCH v2] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget]

From: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>

Among Git's environment variable, the ones marked as "Boolean"
accept values in a way similar to Boolean configuration variables,
i.e. values like 'yes', 'on', 'true' and positive numbers are
taken as "on" and values like 'no', 'off', 'false' are taken as
"off".
GIT_FLUSH can be used to force Git to use non-buffered I/O when
writing to stdout. It can only accept two values, '1' which causes
Git to flush more often and '0' which makes all output buffered.
Make GIT_FLUSH accept more values besides '0' and '1' by turning it
into a Boolean environment variable, modifying the required logic.
Update the related documentation.

Signed-off-by: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>
---
    write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable
    
    Helped-by: Torsten Bögershausen <tboegi@web.de>

Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-1628%2FChand-ra%2Fgit_flush-v2
Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-1628/Chand-ra/git_flush-v2
Pull-Request: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/1628

Range-diff vs v1:

 1:  2123b43a080 ! 1:  585c76fff68 write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable
     @@ write-or-die.c: void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
       	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
       	struct stat st;
      -	char *cp;
     -+	int cp;
       
       	if (f == stdout) {
       		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
     @@ write-or-die.c: void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
      -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
      -			if (cp)
      -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
     -+			cp = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
     -+			if (cp >= 0)
     -+				skip_stdout_flush = (cp == 0);
     - 			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
     +-			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
     ++			if (!git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1))
     ++				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
     ++			else if (!fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) &&
       				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
       				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
     + 			else


 Documentation/git.txt | 16 +++++++---------
 write-or-die.c        |  9 +++------
 2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
index 2535a30194f..83fd60f2d11 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git.txt
@@ -724,16 +724,14 @@ for further details.
 	waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 
 `GIT_FLUSH`::
-// NEEDSWORK: make it into a usual Boolean environment variable
-	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
+	If this Boolean environment variable is set to true, then commands such
 	as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
-	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
-	force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
-	flushed. If this
-	variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
-	using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
-	not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
-	based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
+	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will force a flush of the output
+	stream after each record have been flushed. If this variable is set to
+	false, the output of these commands will be done using completely buffered
+	I/O. If this environment variable is not set, Git will choose buffered or
+	record-oriented flushing based on whether stdout appears to be redirected
+	to a file or not.
 
 `GIT_TRACE`::
 	Enables general trace messages, e.g. alias expansion, built-in
diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
index 42a2dc73cd3..a6acabd329f 100644
--- a/write-or-die.c
+++ b/write-or-die.c
@@ -20,15 +20,12 @@ void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
 {
 	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
 	struct stat st;
-	char *cp;
 
 	if (f == stdout) {
 		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
-			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
-			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
-			if (cp)
-				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
-			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
+			if (!git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1))
+				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
+			else if (!fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) &&
 				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
 				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
 			else

base-commit: 1a87c842ece327d03d08096395969aca5e0a6996
-- 
gitgitgadget

Re: [PATCH v2] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Patrick Steinhardt]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1411 bytes --]

On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 07:58:28AM +0000, Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget wrote:
[snip]
> diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
> index 42a2dc73cd3..a6acabd329f 100644
> --- a/write-or-die.c
> +++ b/write-or-die.c
> @@ -20,15 +20,12 @@ void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
>  {
>  	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
>  	struct stat st;
> -	char *cp;
>  
>  	if (f == stdout) {
>  		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
> -			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
> -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
> -			if (cp)
> -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
> -			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
> +			if (!git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1))
> +				skip_stdout_flush = 1;

It's a bit surprising to pass `-1` as default value to `git_env_bool()`
here, as this value would hint that the caller wants to explicitly
handle the case where the "GIT_FLUSH" envvar is not set at all. We don't
though, and essentially fall back to "GIT_FLUSH=1", so passing `1` as
the fallback value would be less confusing.

Anyway, the resulting behaviour is the same regardless of whether we
pass `1` or `-1`, so I'm not sure whether this is worth a reroll.

Patrick

> +			else if (!fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) &&
>  				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
>  				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
>  			else
> 
> base-commit: 1a87c842ece327d03d08096395969aca5e0a6996
> -- 
> gitgitgadget
> 

[-- Attachment #2: signature.asc --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 833 bytes --]

Re: [PATCH v2] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Junio C Hamano]

"Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com> writes:

>  Documentation/git.txt | 16 +++++++---------
>  write-or-die.c        |  9 +++------
>  2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
> index 2535a30194f..83fd60f2d11 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git.txt
> @@ -724,16 +724,14 @@ for further details.
>  	waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
>  
>  `GIT_FLUSH`::
> -// NEEDSWORK: make it into a usual Boolean environment variable
> -	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
> +	If this Boolean environment variable is set to true, then commands such
>  	as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
> -	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
> -	force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
> -	flushed. If this
> -	variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
> -	using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
> -	not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
> -	based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
> +	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will force a flush of the output
> +	stream after each record have been flushed. If this variable is set to
> +	false, the output of these commands will be done using completely buffered
> +	I/O. If this environment variable is not set, Git will choose buffered or
> +	record-oriented flushing based on whether stdout appears to be redirected
> +	to a file or not.

It is somewhat irritating to see that we need to change this many
lines to just change "0" to "false" and "1" to "true".  I wonder if
it becomes easier to grok if we changed the description into a sub
enumeration of three possibilities, but that would be outside the
scope of this change [*].

> diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
> index 42a2dc73cd3..a6acabd329f 100644
> --- a/write-or-die.c
> +++ b/write-or-die.c
> @@ -20,15 +20,12 @@ void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
>  {
>  	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
>  	struct stat st;
> -	char *cp;
>  
>  	if (f == stdout) {
>  		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
> -			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
> -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
> -			if (cp)
> -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
> -			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
> +			if (!git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1))
> +				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
> +			else if (!fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) &&
>  				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
>  				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
>  			else

The above logic does not look correct to me, primarily because the
return value of git_env_bool() is inspected only once to see if it
is zero, and does not differentiate the "unset" case from other
cases.

Since git_env_bool(k, def) returns

    - "def" (-1 in this case) when k is not exported (in which case
      you need to do the "fstat" dance).

    - 0 when k is exported and has a string that is "false" (in
      which case you would want to set skip_stdout_flush to true).

    - 1 when k is exported and has a string that is "true" (in which
      case you would want to set skip_stdout_flush to false).

    - or dies if the string exported in k is bogus.

shouldn't it be more like

                        skip_stdout_flush = 0; /* assume flushing */
                        switch (git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1)) {
                        case 0: /* told not to flush */
                                skip_stdout_flush = 1;
                                ;;
                        case -1: /* unspecified */
                                if (!fstat(...) && S_ISREG())
                                        skip_stdout_flush = 1;
                                ;;
                        default: /* told to flush */
                                ;;
                        }

perhaps?


[Footnote]

 * If I were to do this change, and if I were to also improve the
   style of the documentation before I forget, the way I would do so
   probably is with a two-patch series:

    (1) update "0" and "1" in the documentation with "false" and
        "true", without reflowing the text at all, and update the
        code.

    (2) rewrite the documentation to use 3-possibility
        sub-enumeration for values (imitate the way how other
        variables, like `diff.algorithm`, that can choose from a
        set of handful possible values are described).

   These two changes can be done in either order, but perhaps (1) is
   much less controversial change than the other, so I'd probably do
   so first.

Re: [PATCH v2] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Taylor Blau]

On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 09:22:13AM +0100, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 07:58:28AM +0000, Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget wrote:
> [snip]
> > diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
> > index 42a2dc73cd3..a6acabd329f 100644
> > --- a/write-or-die.c
> > +++ b/write-or-die.c
> > @@ -20,15 +20,12 @@ void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
> >  {
> >  	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
> >  	struct stat st;
> > -	char *cp;
> >
> >  	if (f == stdout) {
> >  		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
> > -			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
> > -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
> > -			if (cp)
> > -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
> > -			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
> > +			if (!git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1))
> > +				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
>
> It's a bit surprising to pass `-1` as default value to `git_env_bool()`
> here, as this value would hint that the caller wants to explicitly
> handle the case where the "GIT_FLUSH" envvar is not set at all. We don't
> though, and essentially fall back to "GIT_FLUSH=1", so passing `1` as
> the fallback value would be less confusing.
>
> Anyway, the resulting behaviour is the same regardless of whether we
> pass `1` or `-1`, so I'm not sure whether this is worth a reroll.

Hmm. If we pass -1 as the default value in the call to git_env_bool(),
the only time we'll end up in the else branch is if the environment is
set to some false-y value.

I don't think that matches the existing behavior, since right now we'll
infer skip_stdout_flush based on whether or not stdout is a regular file
or something else.

I think you'd probably want something closer to:

--- 8< ---
diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
index 42a2dc73cd..f12e111688 100644
--- a/write-or-die.c
+++ b/write-or-die.c
@@ -19,20 +19,17 @@
 void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
 {
 	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
-	struct stat st;
-	char *cp;

 	if (f == stdout) {
 		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
-			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
-			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
-			if (cp)
-				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
-			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
-				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
-				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
-			else
-				skip_stdout_flush = 0;
+			skip_stdout_flush = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
+			if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
+				struct stat st;
+				if (fstat(fileno(f), &st))
+					skip_stdout_flush = 0;
+				else
+					skip_stdout_flush = S_ISREG(st.st_mode);
+			}
 		}
 		if (skip_stdout_flush && !ferror(f))
 			return;
--- >8 ---

You could lose one level of indentation, but it costs an extra fstat()
call in the case where GIT_FLUSH is set to some explicit value. Doing
that would look like this ugly thing instead ;-):

--- 8< ---
diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
index 42a2dc73cd..b3275d7577 100644
--- a/write-or-die.c
+++ b/write-or-die.c
@@ -19,20 +19,11 @@
 void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
 {
 	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
-	struct stat st;
-	char *cp;

 	if (f == stdout) {
 		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
-			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
-			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
-			if (cp)
-				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
-			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
-				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
-				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
-			else
-				skip_stdout_flush = 0;
+			struct stat st;
+			skip_stdout_flush = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", !fstat(fileno(f), &st) && S_ISREG(st.st_mode));
 		}
 		if (skip_stdout_flush && !ferror(f))
 			return;
--- >8 ---

Thanks,
Taylor

Re: [PATCH v2] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Torsten Bögershausen]

On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 12:15:26PM -0500, Taylor Blau wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 09:22:13AM +0100, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> > On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 07:58:28AM +0000, Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget wrote:
> > [snip]
> > > diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
> > > index 42a2dc73cd3..a6acabd329f 100644
> > > --- a/write-or-die.c
> > > +++ b/write-or-die.c
> > > @@ -20,15 +20,12 @@ void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
> > >  {
> > >  	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
> > >  	struct stat st;
> > > -	char *cp;
> > >
> > >  	if (f == stdout) {
> > >  		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
> > > -			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
> > > -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
> > > -			if (cp)
> > > -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
> > > -			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
> > > +			if (!git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1))
> > > +				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
> >
> > It's a bit surprising to pass `-1` as default value to `git_env_bool()`
> > here, as this value would hint that the caller wants to explicitly
> > handle the case where the "GIT_FLUSH" envvar is not set at all. We don't
> > though, and essentially fall back to "GIT_FLUSH=1", so passing `1` as
> > the fallback value would be less confusing.
> >
> > Anyway, the resulting behaviour is the same regardless of whether we
> > pass `1` or `-1`, so I'm not sure whether this is worth a reroll.
>
> Hmm. If we pass -1 as the default value in the call to git_env_bool(),
> the only time we'll end up in the else branch is if the environment is
> set to some false-y value.
>
> I don't think that matches the existing behavior, since right now we'll
> infer skip_stdout_flush based on whether or not stdout is a regular file
> or something else.
>
> I think you'd probably want something closer to:
>
> --- 8< ---
> diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
> index 42a2dc73cd..f12e111688 100644
> --- a/write-or-die.c
> +++ b/write-or-die.c
> @@ -19,20 +19,17 @@
>  void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
>  {
>  	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
> -	struct stat st;
> -	char *cp;
>
>  	if (f == stdout) {
>  		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
> -			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
> -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
> -			if (cp)
> -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
> -			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
> -				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
> -				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
> -			else
> -				skip_stdout_flush = 0;
> +			skip_stdout_flush = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
> +			if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
> +				struct stat st;
> +				if (fstat(fileno(f), &st))
> +					skip_stdout_flush = 0;
> +				else
> +					skip_stdout_flush = S_ISREG(st.st_mode);
> +			}
>  		}
>  		if (skip_stdout_flush && !ferror(f))
>  			return;
> --- >8 ---

Thanks for a nice reading - I can not imagine a better version.

Re: [PATCH v2] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Junio C Hamano]

Torsten Bögershausen <tboegi@web.de> writes:

>> -			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
>> -			if (cp)
>> -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
>> -			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
>> -				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
>> -				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
>> -			else
>> -				skip_stdout_flush = 0;
>> +			skip_stdout_flush = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
>> +			if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
>> +				struct stat st;
>> +				if (fstat(fileno(f), &st))
>> +					skip_stdout_flush = 0;
>> +				else
>> +					skip_stdout_flush = S_ISREG(st.st_mode);
>> +			}
>>  		}
>>  		if (skip_stdout_flush && !ferror(f))
>>  			return;
>> --- >8 ---
>
> Thanks for a nice reading - I can not imagine a better version.

Yup, the flow of the logic feels very natural with this version by
making it clear that the case that the default "-1" is returned to
us is where we need to figure out an appropriate value ourselves.
An added bonus is that the scope "struct stat" has is limited to the
absolute minimum.  I like it, too.

Thanks.

[PATCH v3] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget]

From: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>

Among Git's environment variable, the ones marked as "Boolean"
accept values in a way similar to Boolean configuration variables,
i.e. values like 'yes', 'on', 'true' and positive numbers are
taken as "on" and values like 'no', 'off', 'false' are taken as
"off".
GIT_FLUSH can be used to force Git to use non-buffered I/O when
writing to stdout. It can only accept two values, '1' which causes
Git to flush more often and '0' which makes all output buffered.
Make GIT_FLUSH accept more values besides '0' and '1' by turning it
into a Boolean environment variable, modifying the required logic.
Update the related documentation.

Signed-off-by: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>
---
    write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-1628%2FChand-ra%2Fgit_flush-v3
Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-1628/Chand-ra/git_flush-v3
Pull-Request: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/1628

Range-diff vs v2:

 1:  585c76fff68 ! 1:  c98885c0ede write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable
     @@ Documentation/git.txt: for further details.
      -	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
      +	If this Boolean environment variable is set to true, then commands such
       	as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
     --	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
     --	force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
     --	flushed. If this
     + 	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
     + 	force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
     + 	flushed. If this
      -	variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
     --	using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
     --	not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
     --	based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
     -+	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will force a flush of the output
     -+	stream after each record have been flushed. If this variable is set to
     -+	false, the output of these commands will be done using completely buffered
     -+	I/O. If this environment variable is not set, Git will choose buffered or
     -+	record-oriented flushing based on whether stdout appears to be redirected
     -+	to a file or not.
     - 
     - `GIT_TRACE`::
     - 	Enables general trace messages, e.g. alias expansion, built-in
     ++	variable is set to false, the output of these commands will be done
     + 	using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
     + 	not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
     + 	based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
      
       ## write-or-die.c ##
     -@@ write-or-die.c: void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
     +@@
     + void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
       {
       	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
     - 	struct stat st;
     +-	struct stat st;
      -	char *cp;
       
       	if (f == stdout) {
     @@ write-or-die.c: void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
      -			if (cp)
      -				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
      -			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
     -+			if (!git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1))
     -+				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
     -+			else if (!fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) &&
     - 				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
     - 				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
     - 			else
     +-				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
     +-				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
     +-			else
     +-				skip_stdout_flush = 0;
     ++			skip_stdout_flush = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
     ++			if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
     ++				struct stat st;
     ++				if (fstat(fileno(stdout), &st))
     ++					skip_stdout_flush = 0;
     ++				else
     ++					skip_stdout_flush = S_ISREG(st.st_mode);
     ++			}
     + 		}
     + 		if (skip_stdout_flush && !ferror(f))
     + 			return;


 Documentation/git.txt |  5 ++---
 write-or-die.c        | 19 ++++++++-----------
 2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
index 2535a30194f..d06eea024f7 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git.txt
@@ -724,13 +724,12 @@ for further details.
 	waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 
 `GIT_FLUSH`::
-// NEEDSWORK: make it into a usual Boolean environment variable
-	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
+	If this Boolean environment variable is set to true, then commands such
 	as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 	'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
 	force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
 	flushed. If this
-	variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
+	variable is set to false, the output of these commands will be done
 	using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 	not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 	based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
index 42a2dc73cd3..39421528653 100644
--- a/write-or-die.c
+++ b/write-or-die.c
@@ -19,20 +19,17 @@
 void maybe_flush_or_die(FILE *f, const char *desc)
 {
 	static int skip_stdout_flush = -1;
-	struct stat st;
-	char *cp;
 
 	if (f == stdout) {
 		if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
-			/* NEEDSWORK: make this a normal Boolean */
-			cp = getenv("GIT_FLUSH");
-			if (cp)
-				skip_stdout_flush = (atoi(cp) == 0);
-			else if ((fstat(fileno(stdout), &st) == 0) &&
-				 S_ISREG(st.st_mode))
-				skip_stdout_flush = 1;
-			else
-				skip_stdout_flush = 0;
+			skip_stdout_flush = git_env_bool("GIT_FLUSH", -1);
+			if (skip_stdout_flush < 0) {
+				struct stat st;
+				if (fstat(fileno(stdout), &st))
+					skip_stdout_flush = 0;
+				else
+					skip_stdout_flush = S_ISREG(st.st_mode);
+			}
 		}
 		if (skip_stdout_flush && !ferror(f))
 			return;

base-commit: 1a87c842ece327d03d08096395969aca5e0a6996
-- 
gitgitgadget

Re: [PATCH v2] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Taylor Blau]

On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 11:18:50AM -0800, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> > Thanks for a nice reading - I can not imagine a better version.
>
> Yup, the flow of the logic feels very natural with this version by
> making it clear that the case that the default "-1" is returned to
> us is where we need to figure out an appropriate value ourselves.
> An added bonus is that the scope "struct stat" has is limited to the
> absolute minimum.  I like it, too.

Thanks, both.

Thanks,
Taylor

Re: [PATCH v3] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Taylor Blau]

Hi Chandra,

On Thu, Jan 04, 2024 at 10:20:17AM +0000, Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget wrote:
> ---
>  Documentation/git.txt |  5 ++---
>  write-or-die.c        | 19 ++++++++-----------
>  2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

Thanks very much for working on this, and taking some of my suggestions
into account.

This version looks great to me.

Thanks,
Taylor

Re: [PATCH v3] write-or-die: make GIT_FLUSH a Boolean environment variable

[Junio C Hamano]

"Chandra Pratap via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com> writes:

> From: Chandra Pratap <chandrapratap3519@gmail.com>
>
> Among Git's environment variable, the ones marked as "Boolean"
> accept values in a way similar to Boolean configuration variables,

With "Among" you probably mean that there are many and some of them
are "marked as 'Boolean'", so I'd do "variable" -> "variables" while
queuing.

Other than that, looks great.  Will queue.  Thanks.