Re: [PATCH v2 0/3] config: read both home and xdg files for --global

[Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>]

Chris Torek <chris.torek@gmail.com> writes:

>> Git still reads the XDG config as part of its effective configuration,
>> as shown by listing the configuration without `--global`:
>>     $ git config list --show-scope --show-origin
>>     global  file:/Users/delilah/.config/git/config    xdg.config=true
>>     global  file:/Users/delilah/.gitconfig            home.config=true
>>
>> The documentation, quoted in [1] and [2], states that `--global` should
>> read from both files ...
>
> I have a related question: which of the global file(s) does
>
>     git config --global --edit
>
> edit? Which one(s) should it edit?

I _know_ that having git-config read per-user configuration from
both places was a deliberate design choice to help those who choose
to migrate away from ~/.gitconfig to the XDG layout, while making
sure we do not disrupt those who choose not to migrate.

For the write-out path of "git config --global set var val", we also
chose accordingly, knowing that the majority of users back then had
their per-user configuration in ~/.gitconfig and some, but not
necessarily all, wanted to migrate to the XDG layout, while avoiding
writing the same thing twice to different places.  Therefore, "git
config --global --edit" should follow the choice in the same spirit
as the existing write-out code path (and no, I do not think we want
to open two files in users' editors).

As to the primary focus of this topic, I think "git config --global"
for the read path was not designed as carefully as the write-out
code path or the general "git config" sequence when we introduced
optional support for the XDG layout.  Any discrepancy between "git
config" when reading per-user values (to be overridden further by
per-repository settings) and what "git config --global" reads from
per-user files is very likely not due to any deliberate design
choice, but merely bugs caused by a slip of the mind.