Subject: Re: [PATCH v2] git-commit.txt: clarify -t requires editing message

From: Adam Monsen <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:53:19 -0700

Junio C Hamano wrote:
> You still say "the message is considered empty and" but I think it
>  probably reads better without it.

Do you like the patch without those words?

> Strictly speaking, it is not a "mandatory fillable form", but 
> whatever text you put in the template is advisory to the users.

Ok, right on. I understand the template feature now since you've
patiently explained it to me (thank you!). I still want to plainly
convey that even if my template is the following:

	~~~~
	zip module: continue to expand transformer
	
	This WIP will eventually provide expanded
	transformer functionality.
	~~~~

I *cannot* just save and quit my editor (unless I supply
- --allow-empty-message). That's the behavior I find confusing: git
telling me a non-empty commit message is an empty commit message. If I
save that text above (zip module... etc) in FILE and do `git commit -t
FILE`, save and quit my editor, git says "Aborting commit due to empty
commit message." Lies! A more precise message would be "Aborting
commit due to unmodified commit message template."

Based on the current documentation I misunderstood that -t could be
used to review a boilerplate commit message and save it verbatim.

...AHA! I just figured out a way to do exactly that:

	git commit --edit --file=FILE

aka

	git commit -eF FILE

Yay! No idea how I missed that before.

Anyway, it still seems like the documentation for "git commit -t"
could use improvement. I actually wouldn't mind seeing a short example
template like the one you provided, maybe in the EXAMPLES or
DISCUSSION section.