From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: David Kastrup Newsgroups: gmane.comp.gnu.utils.bugs,gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: diff-mode misinterprets empty lines. Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:58:35 +0100 Message-ID: <857ijtwgpw.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> References: <85ir3l767y.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> <87ir3d1tn7.fsf@penguin.cs.ucla.edu> <878x494f9w.fsf@rho.meyering.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1196852317 31765 80.91.229.12 (5 Dec 2007 10:58:37 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 10:58:37 +0000 (UTC) Cc: Paul Eggert , bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org, Stefan Monnier , rms@gnu.org, emacs-devel@gnu.org To: Jim Meyering Original-X-From: bug-gnu-utils-bounces+gnu-bug-gnu-utils=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed Dec 05 11:58:46 2007 Return-path: Envelope-to: gnu-bug-gnu-utils@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1Izrxm-00087x-2B for gnu-bug-gnu-utils@m.gmane.org; Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:58:46 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1IzrxV-0002R3-IN for gnu-bug-gnu-utils@m.gmane.org; Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:58:29 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1IzrxS-0002OM-8U for bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org; Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:58:26 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1IzrxO-0002F8-2B for bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org; Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:58:24 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1IzrxN-0002Ep-GI; Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:58:21 -0500 Original-Received: from fencepost.gnu.org ([140.186.70.10]) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1IzrxN-0005vz-0Y; Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:58:21 -0500 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lola.goethe.zz) by fencepost.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1IzrxG-0002u5-GR; Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:58:14 -0500 Original-Received: by lola.goethe.zz (Postfix, from userid 1002) id CC24F1C40B64; Wed, 5 Dec 2007 11:58:35 +0100 (CET) In-Reply-To: <878x494f9w.fsf@rho.meyering.net> (Jim Meyering's message of "Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:17:15 +0100") User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/23.0.50 (gnu/linux) X-detected-kernel: by monty-python.gnu.org: Linux 2.6, seldom 2.4 (older, 4) X-BeenThere: bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Bug reports for the GNU utilities List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: bug-gnu-utils-bounces+gnu-bug-gnu-utils=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: bug-gnu-utils-bounces+gnu-bug-gnu-utils=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.comp.gnu.utils.bugs:15304 gmane.emacs.devel:84725 Archived-At: Jim Meyering writes: > Since I was thinking of using that new option always, I considered > changing the source to make the default in my private binary be to > enable the new option. Since I'd rather not have to make private > changes, what do you think about having a compile-time option to > change the default? Not even a configure-time flag. > > Since Emacs may eventually change to accept the new format, it may > make sense to change the default and to provide a > --no-suppress-blank-empty option. No, it does not make sense to change the default. Emacs is just one of many tools processing diff output. I remember gratuitous breakage of git, too. There are far too many tools relying on the _documented_ diff output formats (please read (info "(diff) Context") for a detailed explanation of the diff formats) that it makes sense breaking things all around for no tangible benefit. I don't understand why this change was made in the first place, and I don't understand why people would want to gratuitously make the format less reliable to parse by tools, when the main usage _is_ the application by independent tools. -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum