Hi, On Tue, 8 May 2007, J. Bruce Fields wrote: > On Tue, May 08, 2007 at 04:53:11PM +0200, Karl Hasselström wrote: > > I would introduce it with a paragraph or two right where committing is > > covered the first time. Explain that the empty file list box to the > > left contains the changes that will be committed when you press the > > commit button, and that the file list box on the right contains the > > changes that won't be committed. By clicking on a file name you get to > > see the diff to the file, and by clicking on the icon you move it to > > the other file list box -- that is, you stage/unstage it. > > > > And now comes the clever part: Introduce the index, by explaining that > > it essentially _is_ the left file list box. Explain that git-add is > > the command-line equivalent of moving changes to the left box, and > > that git-commit without arguments simply commits what's in the index > > -- exactly like git-gui's Commit button. > > > > I think it could work. :-) > > Definitely, sounds fun. > > For the in-tree documentation, maybe I'm just my crusty text-centric > commandline point of view, but I'd rather have the primary explanation > continue to depend only on text and commandline examples, and then add a > note telling people that playing with git-gui may help develop their > intuition for the way the index works. > > But I think it'd be interesting to try out the above approach with > screenshots, etc., on a web page someplace. It might also make a good > visual aid for a talk. Usually a wiki is a perfect place to start this... Ciao, Dscho
