Subject: Re: Git 1.1.6.g4d44 make test FAILURE report

From: A Large Angry SCM <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 19:52:00 -0800

Junio C Hamano wrote:
> A Large Angry SCM <[email-masked]> writes:
> 
>>Also, git-var complains when used by an account with an empty gcos
>>field; thereby, breaking all the non-C git commands even when the user
>>is not committing.
>>
>>If the _intent_ was to force commiters and author names in commits,
>>why was the test not placed only in commit-tree.c?
> 
> git-var was more or less intentional.  Scripts such as
> git-applypatch, git-commit and git-tag use the command to grab
> COMMITTER_IDENT to generate sign-off line and tagger information
> when asked, and commit-tree.c changes alone would not catch
> them.
> 
> A user eventually would make commit so it may not be a too bad
> to _strongly_ encourage setting up these environment variables,
> by being nasty ;-).  I agree it would be _very_ annoying until
> you either fix your gecos and/or environment.
> 
> Ideas welcome.

It also breaks a lot of commands not related to making commits; 
git-fetch for one.