Subject: Re: [PATCH v3 1/1] ls-tree.c: support `--oid-only` option for "git-ls-tree"

From: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2021 19:35:59 -0800

Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]> writes:

> Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <[email-masked]> writes:
>
>>> That is what I would call over-engineering that I would rather not
>>> to have in low level plumbing.
>>> ...
>> We've got --format for for-each-ref and family (also branch etc.), and
>> for the "log" family.
>
> But I didn't comment on them. ls-tree is a lot lower-level plumbing
> where --format does not belong in my mind.

There is a lot more practical reason why I'd prefer a less flexible
and good enough interface.

I can see, without coding it myself but from mere memory of how the
code looked like, how such a "we allow you to choose which field to
include, but you do not get to choose the order of fields or any
other string in the output" can be done with minimum disruption to
the existing code and without introducing a bug.  On the other hand,
I am fairly certain that anything more flexible than that will risk
new bugs involved in any large shuffling of the code, which I am
getting tired of.

So there.