Subject: Re: [PATCH] better git-submodule status output

From: Mark Levedahl <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:14:15 -0400

Junio C Hamano wrote:
> Sylvain Joyeux <[email-masked]> writes:
>
> People who rely on working submodule support, do you have any feedback on
> this patch?  I do not use submodule myself, so it is hard for me to judge
> how much value (if any) this patch is adding to the real world use of the
> status subcommand.
>

The new format is changed from the old in an incompatible way (anything that 
parses the old output will break), and the new output is very cryptic. I do not 
think that I would remember the various symbols in use here (+-<>!M). While the 
information may be useful, I would think a better way would be to append a more 
descriptive annotation (similar to that provided after a checkout), probably on 
a separate status line, definitely controlled by a "-v" option.

> 
> This "fetch" feels very wrong.  The user did not ask you to change the
> state of the repository, but this will silently change the remote tracking
> branches.  The repository after all might be unreachable.

Status is a local operation, it must not try to access the net (which for me 
will frequently fail). Status changing the remote branches is a definite no-no.

Mark