May I suggest that " The most approaching commands" doesn't make much sense as English (I don't think a command can "approach"). Perhaps it should be " The most appropriate commands". Regards, Richard. Richard Kerry BNCS Engineer, SI SOL Telco & Media Vertical Practice T: +44 (0)20 3618 2669 M: +44 (0)7812 325518 Lync: +44 (0) 20 3618 0778 Room G300, Stadium House, Wood Lane, London, W12 7TA richard.kerry@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: git-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:git-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jean-Noel Avila Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2017 10:07 PM To: git@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: rashmipai36@xxxxxxxxx; Jean-Noel Avila <jn.avila@xxxxxxx> Subject: [PATCH v2 1/3] usability: don't ask questions if no reply is required There has been a bug report by a corporate user that stated that "spelling mistake of stash followed by a yes prints character 'y' infinite times." This analysis was false. When the spelling of a command contains errors, the git program tries to help the user by providing candidates which are close to the unexisting command. E.g Git prints the following: git: 'stahs' is not a git command. See 'git --help'. Did you mean this? stash and then exits. The problem with this hint is that it is not formally indicated as an hint and the user is in fact encouraged to reply to the question, whereas the Git command is already finished. The user was unlucky enough that it was the command he was looking for, and replied "yes" on the command line, effectively launching the `yes` program. The initial error is that the Git programs, when launched in command-line mode (without interaction) must not ask questions, because these questions would normally require a user input as a reply while they won't handle indeed. That's a source of confusion on UX level. To improve the general usability of the Git suite, the following rule was applied: if the sentence * appears in a non-interactive session * is printed last before exit * is a question addressing the user ("you") the sentence is turned into affirmative and proposes the option. The basic rewording of the question sentences has been extended to other spots found in the source. Requested at https://github.com/git/git-scm.com/issues/999 by rpai1 Signed-off-by: Jean-Noel Avila <jn.avila@xxxxxxx> --- builtin/am.c | 4 ++-- builtin/checkout.c | 2 +- help.c | 4 ++-- 3 files changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/builtin/am.c b/builtin/am.c index a95dd8b4e..f5afa438d 100644 --- a/builtin/am.c +++ b/builtin/am.c @@ -1312,7 +1312,7 @@ static int parse_mail(struct am_state *state, const char *mail) } if (is_empty_file(am_path(state, "patch"))) { - printf_ln(_("Patch is empty. Was it split wrong?")); + printf_ln(_("Patch is empty. It may have been split wrong.")); die_user_resolve(state); } @@ -1940,7 +1940,7 @@ static void am_resolve(struct am_state *state) if (unmerged_cache()) { printf_ln(_("You still have unmerged paths in your index.\n" - "Did you forget to use 'git add'?")); + "You might want to use 'git add' on them.")); die_user_resolve(state); } diff --git a/builtin/checkout.c b/builtin/checkout.c index bfa5419f3..05037b9b6 100644 --- a/builtin/checkout.c +++ b/builtin/checkout.c @@ -1287,7 +1287,7 @@ int cmd_checkout(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix) */ if (opts.new_branch && argc == 1) die(_("Cannot update paths and switch to branch '%s' at the same time.\n" - "Did you intend to checkout '%s' which can not be resolved as commit?"), + "'%s' can not be resolved as commit, but it should."), opts.new_branch, argv[0]); if (opts.force_detach) diff --git a/help.c b/help.c index bc6cd19cf..4658a55c6 100644 --- a/help.c +++ b/help.c @@ -411,8 +411,8 @@ const char *help_unknown_cmd(const char *cmd) if (SIMILAR_ENOUGH(best_similarity)) { fprintf_ln(stderr, - Q_("\nDid you mean this?", - "\nDid you mean one of these?", + Q_("\nThe most approaching command is", + "\nThe most approaching commands are", n)); for (i = 0; i < n; i++) -- 2.12.0 Atos, Atos Consulting, Worldline and Canopy The Open Cloud Company are trading names used by the Atos group. The following trading entities are registered in England and Wales: Atos IT Services UK Limited (registered number 01245534), Atos Consulting Limited (registered number 04312380), Atos Worldline UK Limited (registered number 08514184) and Canopy The Open Cloud Company Limited (registration number 08011902). The registered office for each is at 4 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London, NW1 3HG.The VAT No. for each is: GB232327983. This e-mail and the documents attached are confidential and intended solely for the addressee, and may contain confidential or privileged information. If you receive this e-mail in error, you are not authorised to copy, disclose, use or retain it. Please notify the sender immediately and delete this email from your systems. As emails may be intercepted, amended or lost, they are not secure. Atos therefore can accept no liability for any errors or their content. Although Atos endeavours to maintain a virus-free network, we do not warrant that this transmission is virus-free and can accept no liability for any damages resulting from any virus transmitted. The risks are deemed to be accepted by everyone who communicates with Atos by email.