Bug 27235
| Summary: | mergemaster needlessly confusing | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Product: | Base System | Reporter: | roelof <roelof> |
| Component: | conf | Assignee: | Doug Barton <dougb> |
| Status: | Closed FIXED | ||
| Severity: | Affects Only Me | ||
| Priority: | Normal | ||
| Version: | Unspecified | ||
| Hardware: | Any | ||
| OS: | Any | ||
|
Description
roelof
2001-05-09 21:00:01 UTC
Responsible Changed From-To: freebsd-bugs->dougb Over to mergemaster maintainer. roelof@eboa.com wrote: > Use 'd' to delete the temporary ./etc/login.conf > Use 'i' to install the temporary ./etc/login.conf > Use 'm' to merge the old and new versions > Use 'v' to view to differences between the old and new versions again What do you think of this: Use 'd' to delete the temporary ./etc/login.conf Use 'i' to install the temporary ./etc/login.conf Use 'm' to merge the temporary and installed versions Use 'v' to view the diff results again roelof@eboa.com writes: > Even though I do know that in this case I would like to go with the > newer or temporary or even lower version, I do not know whether that > is the left or right version. The new version is on the right. > So what's a mere human to do? Read the merge(1) man page. DES -- Dag-Erling Smorgrav - des@ofug.org Dag-Erling Smorgrav wrote: > > roelof@eboa.com writes: > > Even though I do know that in this case I would like to go with the > > newer or temporary or even lower version, I do not know whether that > > is the left or right version. > > The new version is on the right. > > > So what's a mere human to do? > > Read the merge(1) man page. Of course. Where else. What was I thinking. Reading the mergemaster(8) to find out how mergemaster works. There it's not to be found. To wit: nisser:~$ /usr/bin/groff -S -man -Tascii /usr/src/usr.sbin/mergemaster/mergemaster.8 | egrep "( right| left)" mergemaster will source scripts that you specify right before it starts nisser:~$ Mind you, that's more than merge(1) produces <g>: nisser:~$ /usr/bin/groff -S -man -Tascii /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/rcs/merge/merge.1 | egrep "( right| left)" nisser:~$ Either way it misses the point. Which is that inconsistent naming is a bad thing. How would you refer to source which has the habit of dereferencing to come to the needed address using three or more distinctly named variables? I know how I would call it. But the last time I actually did - in a public forum - it got, ehm, dereferenced in the neighbourhood of a twirling cooling device ;). Roelof PS I would change it myself if I had the time. Which I don't. At least not unallocated <g>. -- _______________________________________________________________________ eBOA® est. 1982 http://eBOA.com/ tel. +31-58-2123014 mailto:info@eBOA.com?subject=Information_request fax. +31-58-2160293 Doug Barton wrote: > > roelof@eboa.com wrote: > > > Use 'd' to delete the temporary ./etc/login.conf > > Use 'i' to install the temporary ./etc/login.conf > > Use 'm' to merge the old and new versions > > Use 'v' to view to differences between the old and new versions again > > What do you think of this: > > Use 'd' to delete the temporary ./etc/login.conf > Use 'i' to install the temporary ./etc/login.conf > Use 'm' to merge the temporary and installed versions > Use 'v' to view the diff results again I'm not truly happy with temporary. It indicates, justly so, it's status; yet has the connotation of having less importance than it actually has. In that sense proposed, I feel, would be better. Coming from the FreeBSD team a proposal carries weight that a temporary something does not. Use 'd' to delete the proposed ./etc/login.conf Use 'i' to install the proposed ./etc/login.conf Use 'm' to merge the proposed and installed versions Use 'v' to view the diff results again Next the last line. I think: Use 'v' to view the differences again says enough in so little words that it's hard to misinterpret. The biggest pain is in the interactive merging, though. [hm. Maybe this works better when I press return] Roelof PS I'll get back to you on the merge part -- _______________________________________________________________________ eBOA® est. 1982 http://eBOA.com/ tel. +31-58-2123014 mailto:info@eBOA.com?subject=Information_request fax. +31-58-2160293 Doug Barton wrote: > > roelof@eboa.com wrote: > > > Use 'd' to delete the temporary ./etc/login.conf > > ... > > What do you think of this: > > Use 'd' to delete the temporary ./etc/login.conf > ... Ok, I'm currently biting the bullet so the this is a live comment. What you didn't cover in the previous mail was the merging. Like the mail/aliases. Mergemaster(8) makes no mention of either left or right. Which is a bit of a bummer since I've by now forgotten which was what. But I've increased the width to 100 so it looks like right is new and left is old. Nonetheless... How should I deal with this? [Leave it for later] m # $FreeBSD: src/etc/mail/aliases,v 1.10.4.1 2 | # $FreeBSD: src/etc/mail/aliases,v 1.10.4.2 2 %? l: use the left version r: use the right version e l: edit then use the left version e r: edit then use the right version e b: edit then use the left and right versions concatenated e: edit a new version s: silently include common lines v: verbosely include common lines q: quit would be clearer when stated something like %? l: use the left or installed version r: use the right or newly suggested version For sure it would. Even whilest merging this very file I had to look up which was which. Another suggestion is to add an option which would clear the screen before presenting the next set. That would really help in determining where the new set starts. Using less as pager I can of course do that, but that takes a whole keypress. Roelof PS the typing was life, the sending not. Was busy <g>. -- _______________________________________________________________________ eBOA® est. 1982 http://eBOA.com/ tel. +31-58-2123014 mailto:info@eBOA.com?subject=Information_request fax. +31-58-2160293 State Changed From-To: open->analyzed I committed the fix I proposed in the audit trail to -current, and will MFC it in time. State Changed From-To: analyzed->closed Fix was MFC'ed |
