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From: Linus Arver <linusa@google.com>
To: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Cc: Linus Arver via GitGitGadget <gitgitgadget@gmail.com>,
	git@vger.kernel.org, Christian Couder <chriscool@tuxfamily.org>,
	Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 5/6] trailer: rename *_DEFAULT enums to *_UNSPECIFIED
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2023 22:30:11 -0700	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <owlywmwdsdr0.fsf@fine.c.googlers.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <xmqqil820z25.fsf@gitster.g>

Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:

> Linus Arver <linusa@google.com> writes:
>
>> ... I prefer the
>> WHERE_UNSPECIFIED as in this patch because the WHERE_DEFAULT is
>> ambiguous on its own (i.e., WHERE_DEFAULT could mean that we either use
>> the default value WHERE_END in default_conf_info, or it could mean that
>> we fall back to the configuration variables (where it could be something
>> else)).
>
> Yup.  "Turning something that is left UNSPECIFIED after command line
> options and configuration files are processed into the hardcoded
> DEFAULT" is one mental model that is easy to explain.
>
> I however am not sure if it is easier than "Setting something to
> hardcoded DEFAULT before command line options and configuration
> files are allowed to tweak it, and if nobody touches it, then it
> gets the hardcoded DEFAULT value in the end", which is another valid
> mental model, though.

True.

> If both can be used, I'd personally prefer
> the latter, and reserve the "UNSPECIFIED to DEFAULT" pattern to
> signal that we are dealing with a case where the simpler pattern
> without UNSPECIFIED cannot solve.

SGTM.

> The simpler pattern would not work, when the default is defined
> depending on a larger context.  Imagine we have two Boolean
> variables, A and B, where A defaults to false, and B defaults to
> some value derived from the value of A (say, opposite of A).
>
> In the most natural implementation, you'd initialize A to false and
> B to unspecified, let command line options and configuration
> variables to set them to true or false, and after all that, you do
> not have to tweak A's value (it will be left to false that is the
> default unless the user or the configuration gave an explicit
> value), but you need to check if B is left unspecified and tweak it
> to true or false using the final value of A.
>
> For a variable with such a need like B, we cannot avoid having
> "unspecified".  If you initialize it to false (or true), after the
> command line and the configuration files are read and you find B is
> set to false (or true), you cannot tell if the user or the
> configuration explicitly set B to false (or true), in which case you
> do not want to futz with its value based on what is in A, or it is
> false (or true) only because nobody touched it, in which case you
> need to compute its value based on what is in A.

Thanks for the illustrative example! I don't think we have a case of a
"B" variable here for trailers.

> And that is why I asked if we need to special case "the user did not
> touch and the variable is left untouched" in the trailer subsystem.

I think the answer is "no, we don't need to special case". I'll be
dropping this patch in the next re-roll.

> Thanks.

  reply	other threads:[~2023-09-26  5:30 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 72+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2023-08-05  5:04 [PATCH 0/5] Trailer readability cleanups Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-08-05  5:04 ` [PATCH 1/5] trailer: separate public from internal portion of trailer_iterator Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-08-07 21:16   ` Glen Choo
2023-08-08 12:19     ` Phillip Wood
2023-08-10 23:15       ` Linus Arver
2023-08-10 22:50     ` Linus Arver
2023-08-05  5:04 ` [PATCH 2/5] trailer: split process_input_file into separate pieces Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-08-07 22:39   ` Glen Choo
2023-08-11  0:41     ` Linus Arver
2023-08-05  5:04 ` [PATCH 3/5] trailer: split process_command_line_args into separate functions Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-08-07 22:51   ` Glen Choo
2023-08-11  0:59     ` Linus Arver
2023-08-11  1:02       ` Linus Arver
2023-08-11 21:11       ` Glen Choo
2023-08-05  5:04 ` [PATCH 4/5] trailer: teach find_patch_start about --no-divider Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-08-07 23:28   ` Glen Choo
2023-08-11  1:25     ` Linus Arver
2023-08-11 20:51       ` Glen Choo
2023-08-05  5:04 ` [PATCH 5/5] trailer: rename *_DEFAULT enums to *_UNSPECIFIED Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-08-07 23:45   ` Glen Choo
2023-08-11 18:00     ` Linus Arver
2023-09-09  6:16 ` [PATCH v2 0/6] Trailer readability cleanups Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-09  6:16   ` [PATCH v2 1/6] trailer: separate public from internal portion of trailer_iterator Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-11 17:10     ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-09  6:16   ` [PATCH v2 2/6] trailer: split process_input_file into separate pieces Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-11 17:10     ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-09  6:16   ` [PATCH v2 3/6] trailer: split process_command_line_args into separate functions Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-09  6:16   ` [PATCH v2 4/6] trailer: teach find_patch_start about --no-divider Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-11 17:25     ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-14  2:19       ` Linus Arver
2023-09-14  3:12         ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-14  5:31           ` Linus Arver
2023-09-09  6:16   ` [PATCH v2 5/6] trailer: rename *_DEFAULT enums to *_UNSPECIFIED Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-11 18:54     ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-14  2:41       ` Linus Arver
2023-09-14  3:16         ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-22 18:23           ` Linus Arver
2023-09-22 19:48             ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-26  5:30               ` Linus Arver [this message]
2023-09-09  6:16   ` [PATCH v2 6/6] trailer: use offsets for trailer_start/trailer_end Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-11 19:01     ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-14  1:21       ` Linus Arver
2023-09-14  3:18         ` Linus Arver
2023-09-22 19:50   ` [PATCH v3 0/9] Trailer readability cleanups Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 1/9] trailer: separate public from internal portion of trailer_iterator Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 2/9] trailer: split process_input_file into separate pieces Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 3/9] trailer: split process_command_line_args into separate functions Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 4/9] trailer: rename *_DEFAULT enums to *_UNSPECIFIED Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 5/9] commit: ignore_non_trailer computes number of bytes to ignore Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 6/9] trailer: find the end of the log message Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 7/9] trailer: use offsets for trailer_start/trailer_end Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 8/9] trailer: only use trailer_block_* variables if trailers were found Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 19:50     ` [PATCH v3 9/9] trailer: make stack variable names match field names Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-22 22:47     ` [PATCH v3 0/9] Trailer readability cleanups Junio C Hamano
2023-09-22 23:13       ` Linus Arver
2023-09-23  0:48         ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-26  5:40           ` Linus Arver
2023-09-26  6:22     ` [PATCH v4 0/4] " Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-26  6:22       ` [PATCH v4 1/4] commit: ignore_non_trailer computes number of bytes to ignore Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-26  6:22       ` [PATCH v4 2/4] trailer: find the end of the log message Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-28 23:16         ` Jonathan Tan
2023-10-20  0:24           ` Linus Arver
2023-10-20  0:36             ` Junio C Hamano
2023-09-26  6:22       ` [PATCH v4 3/4] trailer: use offsets for trailer_start/trailer_end Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-09-26  6:22       ` [PATCH v4 4/4] trailer: only use trailer_block_* variables if trailers were found Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-10-20 19:01       ` [PATCH v5 0/3] Trailer readability cleanups Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-10-20 19:01         ` [PATCH v5 1/3] commit: ignore_non_trailer computes number of bytes to ignore Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-10-20 19:01         ` [PATCH v5 2/3] trailer: find the end of the log message Linus Arver via GitGitGadget
2023-10-20 21:29           ` Junio C Hamano
2023-12-29  6:42             ` Linus Arver
2023-12-29 21:03               ` Linus Arver
2023-10-20 19:01         ` [PATCH v5 3/3] trailer: use offsets for trailer_start/trailer_end Linus Arver via GitGitGadget

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