Subject: Re: [PATCH] bugreport: add 'seconds' to default outfile name

From: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2023 09:27:27 -0700

Jacob Stopak <[email-masked]> writes:

> Currently, git bugreport postfixes the default bugreport filename (and
> diagnostics zip filename if --diagnose is supplied) with the current
> calendar hour and minute values, assuming the -s flag is absent.

Is "postfix" a verb that is commonly understood?  I would say
"append" would be understood by more readers.  Also, is "calendar"
hour different from other kinds of hours, perhaps stopwatch hours
and microwave-oven hours?

> If a user runs the bugreport command more than once within a calendar
> minute, a filename conflict with an existing file occurs and the program
> errors, since the new output filename was already used for the previous
> file.

This is totally expected and you made an excellent observation.

I personally do not think it is a problem, simply because a quality
bug report that would capture information necessary to diagnose any
issue concisely in a readable fashion would take at least 90 seconds
or more to produce, though.

Instead of lengthening the filename for all files by 2 digits, the
command can retry by adding say "+1", "+2", etc. after the failed
filename to find a unique suffix within the same minute.  It would
mean that after writing git-bugreport-2023-10-14-0920.txt and you
start another one without spending enough time, the new one may
become git-bugreport-2023-10-14-0920+1.txt or something unique.  It
would be really unlikely that you would run out after failing to
find a vacant single digit suffix nine times, i.e. trying "+9".  It
would also help preserve existing user's workflow, e.g. they may
have written automation that assumes the down-to-minute format and
it would keep working on their bug reports without breaking.