25bd3acd04
Neither of these functions ever returns a value other than zero.
Instead, they expect unrecoverable errors to exit immediately, and
things like "--exit-code" are stored inside the diff_options struct to
be handled later via diff_result_code().
Some callers do check the return values, but many don't bother. Let's
drop the useless return values, which are misleading callers about how
the functions work. This could be seen as a step in the wrong direction,
as we might want to eventually "lib-ify" these to more cleanly return
errors up the stack, in which case we'd have to add the return values
back in. But there are some benefits to doing this now:
1. In the current code, somebody could accidentally add a "return -1"
to one of the functions, which would be erroneously ignored by many
callers. By removing the return code, the compiler can notice the
mismatch and force the developer to decide what to do.
Obviously the other option here is that we could start consistently
checking the error code in every caller. But it would be dead code,
and we wouldn't get any compile-time help in catching new cases.
2. It communicates the situation to callers, who may want to choose a
different function. These functions are really thin wrappers for
doing git-diff-files and git-diff-index within the process. But
callers who care about recovering from an error here are probably
better off using the underlying library functions, many of
which do return errors.
If somebody eventually wants to teach these functions to propagate
errors, they'll have to switch back to returning a value, effectively
reverting this patch. But at least then they will be starting with a
level playing field: they know that they will need to inspect each
caller to see how it should handle the error.
Signed-off-by: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Git - fast, scalable, distributed revision control system
Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations and full access to internals.
Git is an Open Source project covered by the GNU General Public License version 2 (some parts of it are under different licenses, compatible with the GPLv2). It was originally written by Linus Torvalds with help of a group of hackers around the net.
Please read the file INSTALL for installation instructions.
Many Git online resources are accessible from https://git-scm.com/ including full documentation and Git related tools.
See Documentation/gittutorial.txt to get started, then see
Documentation/giteveryday.txt for a useful minimum set of commands, and
Documentation/git-<commandname>.txt for documentation of each command.
If git has been correctly installed, then the tutorial can also be
read with man gittutorial or git help tutorial, and the
documentation of each command with man git-<commandname> or git help <commandname>.
CVS users may also want to read Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt
(man gitcvs-migration or git help cvs-migration if git is
installed).
The user discussion and development of Git take place on the Git mailing list -- everyone is welcome to post bug reports, feature requests, comments and patches to git@vger.kernel.org (read Documentation/SubmittingPatches for instructions on patch submission and Documentation/CodingGuidelines).
Those wishing to help with error message, usage and informational message
string translations (localization l10) should see po/README.md
(a po file is a Portable Object file that holds the translations).
To subscribe to the list, send an email with just "subscribe git" in the body to majordomo@vger.kernel.org (not the Git list). The mailing list archives are available at https://lore.kernel.org/git/, http://marc.info/?l=git and other archival sites.
Issues which are security relevant should be disclosed privately to the Git Security mailing list git-security@googlegroups.com.
The maintainer frequently sends the "What's cooking" reports that list the current status of various development topics to the mailing list. The discussion following them give a good reference for project status, development direction and remaining tasks.
The name "git" was given by Linus Torvalds when he wrote the very first version. He described the tool as "the stupid content tracker" and the name as (depending on your mood):
- random three-letter combination that is pronounceable, and not actually used by any common UNIX command. The fact that it is a mispronunciation of "get" may or may not be relevant.
- stupid. contemptible and despicable. simple. Take your pick from the dictionary of slang.
- "global information tracker": you're in a good mood, and it actually works for you. Angels sing, and a light suddenly fills the room.
- "goddamn idiotic truckload of sh*t": when it breaks