On Thu, Apr 18, 2024 at 6:34 PM Junio C Hamano <gitster@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Dragan Simic <dsimic@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > > How about introducing "--label=<string>" as the new option,... > > I still think --rfc=WIP is a lot more natural and easier to > understand, and it is just the matter of how you introduce it. > I'll show you how in a separate patch later. > > The problem I see with an overly generic word like "label" is that > it would mislead readers to say "--label=important" and expect it to > appear on an extra e-mail header, not as a part of "Subject:". > > But we can do this to get the ball rolling, without bikeshedding > what option name to use. Until we find a good name, users can > use --rfc=WIP and when we do find a good name, it can be added > as a synonym, possibly deprecating --rfc, and if we never agree > on a good name, that is fine as well. I remain skeptical that adding such an option is necessary, even though I made a similar suggestion earlier in this discussion as an alternative to `--resend`. I'm especially skeptical since the existing `--subject-prefix` covers this use-case already (i.e. `--subject-prefix="RESEND PATCH"`). It's dead simple to use and doesn't require any magical incantations with corresponding complex implementation such as the proposed `--label=RESEND$` which renders as "[PATCH RESEND]" instead of "[RESEND PATCH]"; `--subject-prefix` already handles this without any need for magic. I do understand and am sympathetic to the desire to reduce the typing load (hence, the original `--resend` proposal), but I have difficulty believing that `git format-patch` is so commonly used throughout the day that the time saved by typing `--resend` over `--subject-prefix="RESEND PATCH"` warrants the extra implementation, documentation, and testing baggage. Likewise, I don't see the value in `--label=WIP` (or `--rfc=WIP` or whatever) over the existing more general `--subject-prefix`. If reducing the typing load is the primary concern, then a very simple middle-ground would be to give `--subject-prefix` a short alias (i.e. `-S`). It's true that `-S "RESEND PATCH"` doesn't reduce the typing load as much as `--resend` does over `--subject-prefix="RESEND PATCH"`, but it seems a reasonable alternative which doesn't significantly increase implementation, documentation, and testing costs.
