From: William Hatfield <whatfield.git@gmail•com>
To: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox•com>
Cc: git@vger•kernel.org, glencbz@gmail•com, avarab@gmail•com, ps@pks•im
Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/5] submodule: add 'reversive' traversal options to foreach
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2026 16:02:16 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <1F5D3AAF-3E5E-4AD0-A48B-90B9D545FB21@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <xmqqbji7yo3x.fsf@gitster.g>
> On Feb 2, 2026, at 1:52 PM, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox•com> wrote:
>
> William Hatfield <whatfield.git@gmail•com> writes:
>
>> This series introduces robust post-order (dependency-ordered) traversal to
>> `git submodule foreach` through three new flags: `--reverse-traversal`,
>> `--append-superproject`, and the shorthand `--reversive`. These options allow
>> users to process nested submodules before their parents and include the
>> superproject in the operation, enabling reliable automation for
>> dependency-ordered cleanup, builds, and deployment workflows.
>>
>> Highlights:
>> - Implements all new traversal flags in both the C helper and shell script.
>> - Provides a comprehensive test suite (t7425) that validates the new behaviors.
>> - Updates documentation to describe the new options and their intended use.
>>
>> These changes make submodule automation more powerful and flexible for advanced
>> and dependency-sensitive use cases.
>
> A few comments on the overall structure and concepts.
>
> * We do not want to see tests in a commit separate from the commit
> that fixes. The downside of such a layout of a series needs to
> be understood. An earlier step of a series may introduce a line
> with "test_expect_failure" plus a short summary of what the piece
> fixes, followed by a large amount of code to show exactly what is
> being tested and expected outcome. But when reading the step
> that comes later that fixes the issue, readers will only see
> changes from "test_expect_failure" to "test_expect success" with
> most of the test to remind them what the issue was hidden away
> from the view, in the post-context of patch hunk. A commit that
> has both the fix and the test that describes the expectation is
> much easier to work with.
>
> * The name "--reverse-traversal" makes sense only to those who know
> what the normal traversal order is, but it is far from clear what
> the normal submodule traversal order is, because there is no
> "natural" order to traverse. Any of the combination of "top
> down/bottom up" "width first/depth first" would make sense
> depending on the application. If you are doing "bottom up", for
> example, please name it as such.
>
> * The name "--append-superproject" sounds strange. It sounds as if
> you are appending the superproject to something else, but I
> suspect that is not what is happening; instead perhaps you are
> leaving the traversal of the superproject at the end, or
> something?
>
> Thanks.
Thank you for the feedback, I will apply it in regard to test fixes in the same commit.
Do you have any recommendation regarding names of these flags?
Do you have a preference for: —postorder-traversal or —bottom-up-traversal?
What about: —include-superpoject or —execute-in-superproject-last?
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-02-02 21:02 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 11+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-01-31 21:43 [PATCH 0/5] submodule: add 'reversive' traversal options to foreach William Hatfield
2026-01-31 21:43 ` [PATCH 1/5] t7425: add tests for reversive submodule traversal William Hatfield
2026-01-31 21:43 ` [PATCH 2/5] submodule: teach and plumb reverse-traversal behavior William Hatfield
2026-01-31 21:43 ` [PATCH 3/5] submodule: teach and plumb append-superproject behavior William Hatfield
2026-01-31 21:43 ` [PATCH 4/5] submodule: introduce reversive shorthand mode William Hatfield
2026-01-31 21:43 ` [PATCH 5/5] doc: document reversive traversal and related modes William Hatfield
2026-02-01 9:03 ` Jean-Noël AVILA
2026-02-02 21:10 ` William Hatfield
2026-02-02 18:52 ` [PATCH 0/5] submodule: add 'reversive' traversal options to foreach Junio C Hamano
2026-02-02 21:02 ` William Hatfield [this message]
2026-02-02 21:25 ` Junio C Hamano
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